Final paintings of Spring Break

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. 

Dramatic skies

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?