The Hazel 'A' 6X8 O/P
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Mayday!
No, not a cry for help, yet... Went painting yesterday with two amazing illustrator/artists and wound up in Tilden Park in Berkeley. This is what I ended up with.
Mike and Tiffany were working in gouache, a medium I've always struggled with, and came away with beautiful images of this scene. Hopefully they'll post!
Little Farm, Tilden Park, Berkeley. 6X8 O/P
Mike and Tiffany were working in gouache, a medium I've always struggled with, and came away with beautiful images of this scene. Hopefully they'll post!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
New pochade in the wild
Finally got to take the little Alla Prima Pochade outside for a proper session.
It's been forever, but I finally got to use the new box. I actually "took it for a spin" way back when I first got it, but that session was unsuccessful, gear wise and especially painting wise. I ended up sending the box back to Ben for a quick modification, he put magnets on the top side of the lid to store the side tray when packed up rather than the bottom (the standard location). It's a small point, but without the change, it meant hving to screw the quick release plate on and off every time I set up and again when packing up. Kind of defeating the purpose of a "quick" release plate. Again, awesome service from a real craftsman, he didn't even charge me for the work, and I'm happy to report that everything works great! I thought I might have an issue with how small the mixing area is (it's REALLY tiny), but it actually made me scrape down the palette more often, which in hind sight is a good thing for me when trying to keep my colors clean. I'm still building my little kit ( I just got a new bag to carry it all in) but that's half the fun when you're a gear junkie : )
At the Berkeley Marina 6X8 O/P
It's been forever, but I finally got to use the new box. I actually "took it for a spin" way back when I first got it, but that session was unsuccessful, gear wise and especially painting wise. I ended up sending the box back to Ben for a quick modification, he put magnets on the top side of the lid to store the side tray when packed up rather than the bottom (the standard location). It's a small point, but without the change, it meant hving to screw the quick release plate on and off every time I set up and again when packing up. Kind of defeating the purpose of a "quick" release plate. Again, awesome service from a real craftsman, he didn't even charge me for the work, and I'm happy to report that everything works great! I thought I might have an issue with how small the mixing area is (it's REALLY tiny), but it actually made me scrape down the palette more often, which in hind sight is a good thing for me when trying to keep my colors clean. I'm still building my little kit ( I just got a new bag to carry it all in) but that's half the fun when you're a gear junkie : )
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Tahoe in Snow
Started this one outside, but the tree I was under was no shelter for sideways blowing snow.
This was as far as I got before being snowed out, a pretty fierce storm blew in pretty quickly forcing a hasty run back to the car. Still, it was more than enough information to let me play with and still be true to the scene (mostly). Once I got home, I saw how horrible my initial lay-in for the foreground river was and altered it for a more interesting angle. I also added a little more color because with the overcast, blizzardy conditions, it was pretty much just a black and white scene. A real nice subtle study in values. I don't know if adding color kills that effect, but it felt like it needed it. Maybe I'll go back and try it again in just grays.
Here's a picture from the previous day, the weather was much clearer, and my long slog uphill schlepping all my painting gear through knee deep snow only got me tired, and bad photographs. Still, scouting around for scenes was really fun, I just need to remember to pack the snow shoes next time. That and a lunch, dang I got hungry!
Truckee River 6x8 O/P
This was as far as I got before being snowed out, a pretty fierce storm blew in pretty quickly forcing a hasty run back to the car. Still, it was more than enough information to let me play with and still be true to the scene (mostly). Once I got home, I saw how horrible my initial lay-in for the foreground river was and altered it for a more interesting angle. I also added a little more color because with the overcast, blizzardy conditions, it was pretty much just a black and white scene. A real nice subtle study in values. I don't know if adding color kills that effect, but it felt like it needed it. Maybe I'll go back and try it again in just grays.
Here's a picture from the previous day, the weather was much clearer, and my long slog uphill schlepping all my painting gear through knee deep snow only got me tired, and bad photographs. Still, scouting around for scenes was really fun, I just need to remember to pack the snow shoes next time. That and a lunch, dang I got hungry!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Spring 2010
Some weekend stuff...
Near the Sugar factory in Crockett, Ca. 8x8 o/p
Looking North from the Es Anderson Equestrian camp, Tilden Park, Berkeley Hills. 6x8 o/p
Near the Sugar factory in Crockett, Ca. 8x8 o/p
Looking North from the Es Anderson Equestrian camp, Tilden Park, Berkeley Hills. 6x8 o/p
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
New Rig
Ooooo...!
Well my new pochade from Ben over at Alla Prima arrived last week, ain't she purty? Here it is right after I cut the glass and siliconed it into the palette bed (the ugly white silicone has since dried clear). It's a replacement for the Julian experiment. I really wanted a small paint box that I could carry around and use like a sketchbook for oil sketches, and I think this will fit the bill nicely. At 6X8 it's seriously tiny, but it's got the two key features I was looking for in a little sketchbox: integrated panel storage, and enough clearance in the lid to keep wet paint on the palette. As my buddy Ian says (he just got this guys' big brother) these are just beautifully crafted, with lots of clever design solutions. Maybe I'll go into a deeper review once I get it a little dirty : )
In the top pic, that's a tiny 5X7 panel loaded on the box. A 6X8 pretty much covers the entire mounting area, and slides perfectly into the lid.
Mt Tam from the Albany Bulb 5X7 O/P
Well my new pochade from Ben over at Alla Prima arrived last week, ain't she purty? Here it is right after I cut the glass and siliconed it into the palette bed (the ugly white silicone has since dried clear). It's a replacement for the Julian experiment. I really wanted a small paint box that I could carry around and use like a sketchbook for oil sketches, and I think this will fit the bill nicely. At 6X8 it's seriously tiny, but it's got the two key features I was looking for in a little sketchbox: integrated panel storage, and enough clearance in the lid to keep wet paint on the palette. As my buddy Ian says (he just got this guys' big brother) these are just beautifully crafted, with lots of clever design solutions. Maybe I'll go into a deeper review once I get it a little dirty : )
In the top pic, that's a tiny 5X7 panel loaded on the box. A 6X8 pretty much covers the entire mounting area, and slides perfectly into the lid.
Mt Tam from the Albany Bulb 5X7 O/P
Monday, February 1, 2010
Between Bouts of Heavy Rain
Looking NE from the hills at Del Valle Regional Park 6X8 O/P
Looking north up the coast from the Muir Beach overlook 6X8 O/P
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