Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

Great time painting today at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. 17 painters! Millions of families with kids celebrating Earth Day in the tide pools, so very crowded. Painted two: acrylic of the cliffs/beach/tide pools; pastel of a huge stump with poppies.

An experiment

I had been watching David Dunlop and his "Landscapes Through Time" series. In one teaser for his new season he demonstrated how JMW Turner achieved his luminous atmospheric effects in painting Venice. I've been intrigued by Dunlop's techniques for years, but never tried it, because it seems suited for oil painting, which I prefer not to do.

Decided to try it out with his scene from memory using Ceracolors (cold wax paints). This was clearly NOT the kind of medium to use with his technique, but I did achieve and learn something in the process.

Dunlop's finished scene painted in Venice on site:

And now my experiment painted from memory in about 20 minutes:

San Juan Bautista

Love this little historic mission town! We had a gorgeous spring day, just 4 of us, painting here. Didn't want to paint the mission itself again. But this one turned out pretty crappy.