Sketchy

Rainy weather sketching in the little moleskine. The first one here is an exploration in color and composition of an old oil painting I did of some Monterey pines out at Baker Beach in San Francisco. I liked the basic idea, but something about it just didn't sit well with me. I'll do another larger oil version based on this gouache composition sketch. The second was trying to capture some other pines near the Legion of Honor. The rainy day created a nice misty and mysterious feeling in the trees that I found appealing.

 Both are watercolor and gouache in my mini watercolor moleskine. I found some new found inspiration in this medium from a workshop I took given by the amazing Erik Tiemens. Coincidentally, I just went to a gallery opening last night featuring Erik, and another favorite (and all around nice guy) Terry Miura at the Holton Studio Gallery down the street from me. If you're in the area (even if you're not!) you owe it to yourself to see these gorgeous paintings in person, the web just can't do them justice.

From the hills

Just a quick sketch so I could get home to watch game 3 of the World Series (from a few weeks ago. Go giants!) 

Mt Diablo from the Seaview trail. 6X8 O/P

More from the Valley

Two more little sketches from the Valley

 Last light along the Merced 6X8 O/P

 

Leaving the Valley  6X8 O/P

Postcard from the Valley

Sure it's a cliche painting, but sometimes a view like this is just irresistible. One of a few scenes I did when my sister Lisa (also a painter) came out to visit. She had never been to Yosemite, and we both had a blast painting in the perfect weather.

Valley view 8X10 O/P

Pine Lakes Backpacking Trip

Had one of the best Birthday weekends ever... A short but sweet trip up to the East Side of the Sierra just north of Bishop, Ca. with Kim, Kirkby, and fellow painters Frank Serrano and Andre Nobrega, what's not to like?

Lower Pine Lake at sunrise. 6x8 O/P

 

Waterfall from Lower Pine Lake 6x8 O/P

Shoreline Rocks, Pine Lake. 6x8 O/P

We lost almost half a day painting due to rain, which turned into hail, then rain again, but it was too beautiful to care!

West Oakland Pickup

Been busy traveling lately, but here's one from back in July, just to hold the posts til I can get to the latest from the recent Sierra backpacking trip.

West Oakland Pickup, Peralta@24th. 5x7 O/P

Old and new

Here's one from back in March when I went with my buddy Mike up to Tilden and painted at the Equestrian Camp behind Lake Anza. Got to meet little new baby Elliot too!

Tilden Eucalyptus 6X8 O/P

Next is from a great day out with another painting buddy Richard. We headed out to Fairfax up in Marin to check out Tim Horn's 'Open Studio' and shmooze with a genuinely nice guy and amazing artist. By the way, I'm now the proud owner of an original Tim Horn, a gorgeous little jewel of a painting that he did of an old Cadillac he saw in L.A. I really like Tim's simplification of forms and his strong sense of design, there's lots to be inspired by in his work for sure. So suitably inspired, we left the Horn home studio/garage, and headed West down Sir Francis Drake Blvd. then up Nicasio Valley Rd to the most perfect little farming village in West Marin. We found this ridiculously picturesque scene and set up. A word of warning, if you're painting here and near the road, be sure to go during the week. The noise of day tripping Harleys passing by every other minute, could very easily ruin the bucolic peaceful painting experience of the unsuspecting artist ; )

 

Nicasio Ford 6X8 O/P

Too cool to pass up, but looked nearly black and white when viewed from up front. A nice back lit scene though.

Happenings

Just some stuff you might see hanging on a wall somewhere : )
The Saulnier brothers Anthony and Chris were nice enough to let me park a few field sketches on the wall of their restaurant 900 Grayson, our absolute favorite place for breakfast. If you live in the East Bay (heck, if you're in the Bay Area at all), you HAVE to eat here at least once. You can't ever go wrong with their Chicken and Waffles with a side of Cheesy Grits (yum!). It's kind of neat how a theme emerged for this wall, I wasn't planning on a Berkeley theme, but it just sort of shook out that way. All of these paintings, with the exception of the seascape (Muir Beach) were done in and around Berkeley. Most just a few miles from the restaurant! These will probably be up for a month or two, or til they get sick of em' : )

Next up is a little piece for the "Take a Chance on Miniatures" exhibition at the Napa Valley Museum. I answered a call for entries which requested 4 paintings of which they would select one. They liked them all so I got to choose which to hang! I went with  this little cloud study I did in Bishop a while back. I actually hate this frame, but the frame I originally had on it before I read the fine print, turned out to be too large to keep the entire piece under 64 sq inches. Oh well, if someone does buy it, I can always point them to a Holton Studio frame.

From the NVM website:
"May 4-June 2 Napa Valley Museum invites visitors to take a chance on winning miniature works of art created by 80 participating artists in the Take a Chance on Miniatures exhibition, May 4 – June 2.  Many of the artists will be present at the exhibition’s opening reception on Friday, May 4 from 5:30–7:30pm. This year’s juried exhibition, curated by Jennifer Garden, features work in all medium including sculptures and paintings no larger than 64 square inches. All artwork will be raffled off as a fundraiser for the Museum. Visitors can purchase raffle tickets for $5 each or five for $20. Four awards (People’s Choice, Curator’s Choice, President’s Choice and Executive Director’s Choice) will be presented to the artists at the exhibition’s closing reception on Saturday, June 2."

That's all for now!

From the driver's seat

Just a quick sketch of a cool looking Mercedes bus thingy.

Color Notes

Done super quick because I spend more time wandering around looking than painting, as usual...

 

Among the eucalyptus above Lake Anza.  5X7 O/P

Last light at Wildcat Canyon. 6X8 O/P

For both of these I had just enough time to get the broad colors and values fixed before I lost the light. It seems lately, that once the sun  goes down it's just instantly dark, but, it's not long til the time change. Also, the countless miles of wandering can be a bit dis-spiriting at times, but it's allowed me to find some new spots, and see old ones in a new light. Can't wait to get back to these locations, I'm prepped with my new studies!

Pre-rain

The rains are coming now in full force, here are a few recents from brighter sunnier days.

End of the day glow in Tilden. 6x8 O/P

Arrival of fog at Inspiration Point. 5X7 O/P