A blog about art in general, and painting in particular. And about learning to see....
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| I love to paint the laguna! I am always astonished by the variety of color found there; it is different each & every time. I need to fix the sky holes in the trees, but the colors in this little painting make me very happy! |
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| This 5" x 7" study was painted very quickly because it was extremely hot that day and I was with my dog, who is old and can't tolerate the heat for much time. I painted it at the cemetery on Green Valley Road in Sebastopol. I love cemeteries for their peacefulness, and this one is especially lovely for its small size and beautiful view. Before I started my painting, I was sitting on a bench taking in the view. I noticed a handmade wooden box attached to a wooden post next to the bench. Inside the box, I found a small notebook and a pen. Inside the notebook was written, "Welcome, all! This notebook is lovingly dedicated to the memory of ______. Please feel free to leave a note." Family members of ______ had left notes, photos, and cards over a long period of time. Additionally, people who had never known the deceased gentleman but were visiting the cemetery (like me) had left their thoughts about a wide variety of topics. Interesting idea. I still need to work on the foreground of this painting. I'm not happy with the grass, and the tree needs more branches... |
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| Rain will start tomorrow, so today was my final painting excursion of this vacation week. The sky was full of perfect clouds today. The painting on top was done on Green Valley Road in Sebastopol; the other painting was done overlooking the Laguna down the road from Analy High School. Yesterday, I began using a different, lighter yellow: cadmium yellow light, as recommended by artist Kevin Macpherson for a limited palette. For both these paintings, I used only 4 colors---the cadmium yellow light, along with ultramarine blue, alizarin crimson, and titanium white. It makes the whole process simpler to use so few colors, without really limiting any color possibilities for the paintings, since so many colors can be mixed from those four. |
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| Yesterday, the skies were unbelievably beautiful and dramatic. As I drove out of Guerneville to run errands in nearby towns, it seemed to me incredible that this show in the sky--completely unpredictable from day to day--is available to us earthlings every day. I am far from capturing even a bit of its splendor, but it is fun to try. The first painting I did (top) was painted from the parking lot of Martinelli Winery on River Road. The second painting was painted down the road from Analy High School in Sebastopol, looking out over the laguna. My practice this week, of completing as many small paintings en plein air as possible, has certainly been humbling. I will keep at it, with the conviction that with time and practice, improvement will come....right? |
