Plein Air in the Valley

Last week an email message popped up on my computer from a gal I had met in my portrait and still life class taught by Johanna Spinks.  Lani had started the class at LAAFA to pursue her interests in portraiture, but she was already very good.  Lani Emanuel had completed her art studies at the Art Center in Pasadena. I hadn't heard from her in a while, so I emailed back to see what she was up to.   Turns out she lives not too far away and was interested in doing some plein air painting.

Sepulveda Basin Plein Air
8"x10" Oil on RayMar Canvas

We met last Wednesday at the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Preserve and had a great time exchanging ideas -- she's had some great experiences -- and laughs.  The basin was filled with beautiful egrets, happy cormorants and a large variety of other birds.  The Audubon Society was even there preparing for classes for children.... what a treat for them!

I tried to paint big SHAPES and not noodle the painting to death.  I used the palette knife some as well as the brush.   I was trying to build up some interesting texture but keep the values correct.  I had started with a red toned canvas and I liked the way the complementary red still showed through the green foliage.  Although I was happy with the overall look of the study, upon reflection (no pun intended) I would have made the light area in the water appear less rough to indicate the relative calm of the water  - although their WAS a breeze - and done more with the colors reflected in the water.  I think we both had a nice time and enjoyed painting in a beautiful area. 

Fall Lineup

"Fall Lineup"
6"x8"
Oil on RayMar Canvas


I was driving back to the home where I grew up to pick up my Dad for our weekly Sunday night dinner when I saw these pumpkins lined up on the porch rail of a neighbor's house.   I couldn't help myself..   I just loved the complementary colors and the way the pumpkins faded into the dark of the porch.

I always carry a camera with me, so I stopped the car and walked up to the porch and took a few photos.   Yesterday I sat down to paint using several of the photos as references.

I started with a small canvas toned with grey gesso and black acrylic.  The shadows from the tree in the yard were falling across the blue wooden slats of the porch and across the pumpkins.  The light didn't reach back toward the porch area so as I painted the pumpkins, I wanted them to look like they were emerging from darkness.

  

I loved working on this little painting.. trying to watch my values and make the form read "round".   I wonder if my Dad saw these pumpkins as they sat on his neighbor's porch.  Happy Fall!

Lagoon II ..... A Painting "Revisited"

 
"Lagoon II"
16" x 12"
Oil on Raymar Canvas

On Saturday I finished my Christmas Card painting....(Yeah... finally something ahead of schedule.)   I'll post more about that one in a blog post later on.

I finally did a "redoux" on my "Lagoon" painting from several months ago.  

The first time I posted it most people had said they liked it ... maybe because I said I enjoyed painting it so much, but two artists I admire and from whom I requested critiques, made suggestions that I've tried to incorporate in this version.   My friend and art teacher, Johanna Spinks, felt that the land mass above the black bird.. (heron??) was uninteresting... nothing to look at.  Then later I took the painting with me to Greg LaRock's workshop because he offered to critique a few paintings if we brought them with us.  He said the same thing about the first land mass and also suggested that the way the painting was divided into two sections by the water in the middle sort of made the painting look like it should be cut in half and made into two paintings.  Greg talked a lot in his workshop about paying attention to the "path" we as artists want to help the viewers' eyes to travel as they view our paintings.
 
For whatever reason, last Saturday night as I was sleeping, my mind settled on this painting and planned some changes.   (Do we ever REALLY sleep???)  So on Sunday I decided to drag it out and repaint "revisit" it.  The background and second land mass seemed to work fine so I left them as they were.  I worked again on making the grasses more interesting using color and brushwork.  I actually painted on a printed image of the painting to see how I could change the shape of the foreground land mass so that it didn't cut the painting in half... then when I was happy with the idea, painted it on the actual painting..... such is the beauty of oil painting... If you don't like it... paint right over it and cover up the old part.   Then to add more interesting places to draw the eyes, I added two egrets coming in for a landing... or taking off... not sure.

The original scene was from a visit to the Malibu Lagoon sometime last year.  The Lagoon is just north of the Adamson House in my previous posts and also north of the Malibu pier and Surfrider's Beach.

I think I like this version better!!

Google Maps... Belfast Harbor

I've been working on a painting that I will be using for this year's Christmas card, but suddenly realized that I had almost missed Bill Guffey's month-end deadline for his Virtual Paint Out Blog.  So between answering the doorbell last night on Halloween, I quickly painted this little scene and sent it to Bill.

Bill is an artist who has chosen to paint the world "virtually".  He uses Google and visits various places around the world and chooses views to paint.   He became quite well known as he painted and posted views from every state in the United States (except Hawaii which doesn't yet have street views) using views from Google.  Since then, he has started his new blog... the Virtual Paint Out Blog..... where he chooses a city in the world and challenges other painters to use street view to find a view to paint.

I had never done it, so when I was researching Belfast, Ireland, which was October's city, I inadvertently chose one of the photos that people post on Google Maps rather than actually using street view.   I painted this little 5"x7" view of Belfast Harbor between trick-or-treaters on Halloween night.   Luckily, I didn't invest too much time in it, because it didn't qualify.  I really didn't realize that the STREET VIEW photos are different than those that are posted under images on the Google Maps.... because of that, this one didn't qualify for the paint out.           :o(               (Even though Bill quite clearly states that in the directions.... sigh... guess I really should learn to read directions.)

It was kind of fun, but if you're going to try it, make sure to use the street views and not the posted photo images!!

One Day Workshop Through the California Art Club

"Cottage Near The Beach"

8"x10"
Plein Air Oil on Board

Last Wednesday was a fabulous day.  I had signed up for a workshop with California Art Club Signature Artist, Sharon Burkett Kaiser.  I had met her earlier at one of the Club's quarterly paint outs and besides being kind and gracious, she has a remarkable memory for people and has remembered me each time I've run in to her.   THAT is an amazing gift to the people she meets. 

Although I've been fortunate to paint with her and others a few times, I'd never taken a class from her because she no longer teaches.  However, when the CAC said they were offering a one day workshop to be taught by Sharon, I jumped at the opportunity.

We were rained out the first time and the event was postponed but Wednesday was perfect and clear.  You could see the entire Santa Monica Bay... all the way across it to Manhattan Beach and Palos Verdes... and even to Catalina!!   Just gorgeous.

Sharon asked not to be quoted etc. so I won't talk about the workshop except to say that I enjoyed it thoroughly and learned from her.   She's a great person and a wonderful artist!!  I aspire to learn more about color and temperature and value...  She's a fabulous source of information.   If Sharon and CAC ever decide to team up again for a workshop, TAKE IT!!

It was also fun because there were several artists I know from other places all there painting together.  I also got to meet new artists which is always a treat.

There are many flaws with this plein air piece, but I decided to take Sharon's advice and not spend more than ten minutes on it at home... in fact I didn't spend any time on it... I'll use it as a reminder of a lovely day spent at Adamson House (again).  The plein air piece I painted the week before was a view looking south along the coastline, but this one was on the north side of the grounds looking out through the entrance gates across Pacific Coast Highway to the Serra Retreat Center which I believe is up past the greenish hillside you see in the painting.

More Fun With A Palette Knife

"Eucalyptus Grove"
7"x5"
Oil on board

I wanted to play some more with the palette knife and decided to try a little landscape.  I used a photo that I had liked of a Eucalyptus grove with flowers blooming in the foreground. 

Obviously, I need to practice techniques which will vary the strokes of the palette knife, but I sure enjoy pushing all that thick paint around.....    AND you don't need to wash the brushes afterward!!

Besides... I kind of like this little painting!

Along the Pacific Coast

Along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, CA, is a beautiful gem of a home built in the early 1930s by the Adamson family.  The home is gorgeously enhanced by the use on the outside and inside of original Malibu tiles.  Of course the fact that the generous home is situated on beautiful grounds between Malibu Surfrider's Beach and the Malibu Lagoon make this a painter's and visitor's delight.  At one point the Adamson family owned most of this coastline.  - The grand life! ... Hard to even imagine!      The good news is that now all of us can enjoy this beautiful spot.

On the third Thursday of each month, the CALIFORNIA ART CLUB sponsors a paint out.  In the past it has been held in the arroyo in Pasadena, but recently they have asked the various chapters throughout the state to host these paint outs at various sites to accommodate members everywhere.

You can see my plein air 8x10 called "Guardian of the Waves" above.  Check out Sharon's on her website.

My friend, Sharon Weaver, and I drove to the Adamson House where we met our host, George Malone.  We had the most perfect weather and thoroughly enjoyed the painting day and getting to know one another as we ate lunch and shared ideas about our paintings with one another.  It turns out I've met George once before when I was painting with Sharon Kaiser and Maria Klar at Tapia State Park last June.

Here is some info from the Adamson House website:  "The lavish use of exquisite ceramic tile, produced by Malibu Potteries (1926-32), is a hallmark of the house. The use of decorative tile has always been characteristic of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Mrs. Rindge wisely decided to utilize the unique red and buff burning clays that existed in the Malibu area, as well as an abundant supply of water from a spring in Sweetwater Canyon, to establish the Malibu Potteries.  Beginning in 1926, a profusion of brilliant tiles flowed from this establishment to hundreds of residential and public buildings throughout Southern California.  

TODAY (October 25th) is International Artists Day.   Hopefully all of us can find creative outlets to express our spirit and vision.  ...............  Support artists of all types..     eat delicious foods, appreciate beautifully built cabinets, listen to stimulating music and own your own gorgeous paintings!