Half Moon Bay Painting Again

Nice ending to the "unofficial" summer, Labor Day Weekend. Painted in Half Moon Bay with the Burlingame Plein Air Painters group and we had a blast. Not a bad result.

Deja Vu, another view

I must have painted half a dozen of the Pigeon Point lighthouse. It's just a gorgeous spot and the lighthosue itself is statuesque. Unfortunately, it's fenced off in an ugly way until they can do the quake retrofits. But still worth painting and we had a good time in great weather today.

Presidio

Drop dead beautiful day painting at the SF Presidio. I had forgotten just how gorgeous the views are from all over this former Army post. Fabulous weather and a food truck "off the grid" extravaganza to boot. Can't beat that!

Ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more!

Great time yesterday painting at the Harley Goat Farm in Pescadero. But I never got to paint the goats!

Back in the Saddle Again!

After a long hiatus due to health and weather, I finally got back into the kayak yesterday and had a fun paddle in the outrageously warm weather.

Was testing out 2 pieces of kit: Removu P1 remote viewer and floating pole for my Gopro. Mounted the P1 on my wrist and linked by wifi into the camera, which was mounted our of my reach on my Railblaza with the pole extending it further. Setup worked very well.

So here's to some fun!

Encaustic adventure

Three ancient techniques I have wanted to try, but never got around to: encaustic, fresco and egg tempera. An art store was giving a demo of encaustic, so I signed up, and they actually let us try it out. Too expensive and messy for me, but fun to do for once.

So here's the result - on the left true encaustic (wax and pigment only) done with massive brushes and a blowtorch - on the right second attempt using incision, oil stick on wax. Obviously easier without the blowtorch! Then there's the 2000 year old master works that I was hoping to turn out on the far right...... I dont' think I'll pass that one off as mine. LOL

Picchetti Winery Painting Day

Up in the hills above Cupertino, near where Terri Nuckels and I used to mountain bike 20+ years ago, is an open space district with a working winery inside. Picchetti is historic. Some nice old barns, winery building and a house.
We did have fun, though a small group, today. Painting up here was pleasant, though not really moving.
I am not satisfied with this painting at all. It's passable, but looks amateurish. And the color rendition starting with my cell phone is really way off!
Learned something, or reinforced what I thought from last time: Painting on those cheap canvas boards is not what I like at all. I prefer the stiffness, absorbency and smoothness of gessoed panels, and I think I'm going to stick with those from now on. Paint flows better, drawing with the brush is far finer and less frustrating, and coverage seems superior.
Anyway, here's today's product and a picture from a different viewpoint.

Ahhhh, Carmel!

You can easily forget how beautiful it is around Carmel by the Sea. In fact, we'd never even been to the beach there before, and it's great.

Had a nice overnight at Carmel by the Sea with Nancy. Pleasant weather. Good room and view. Nice dinner. A good, quick, though not cheap, get away, which I've needed.
Nailed a couple of good pix in the bargain. First is a colorful pic of the marine layer hanging over the bay; pen, pencil, pastel and gouache. Second is strictly inks on colored ground of a well known cottage in the shopping district. (If you click on them to see the full picture, what comes up is actually much larger than the originals, so won't quite look the same. Back away from the screen.)
I seem to be hitting my stride.

Pebble Beach

Not the famous golf course, but the little beach on the San Mateo Coast, where I always used to take the kids. Hidden, but gorgeous!
Painting group was out in force. Perfect weather for painting and some really nice views.
This one started with a tonal gray knife underpainting, then brushed over in colors. The scan is off on color, as the sky and sea are actually gray, rather the bluish.
The picture is not exactly the same viewpoint. I was down below on the beach, so the perspective is altered.

Oy!

Wayne Thiebaud has nothing to fear from my art work, that's for sure!

Monterosso framed

Land's End in San Francisco

Chilly day painting under the dismal clouds with the group. We were perched above the Sutro Baths and the Cliff House. They have made a very large lookout building and set of parking lots and revamped the trails and overlooks. Some nice wildflowers in bloom though. Scanner cut off slight bit at bottom and left side, but the composition still works.

Stanford (Cantor) Museum & Ridin Sculpture Garden

Just three of us today for a lazy painting outing to the Cantor Visual Arts Center on Stanford Campus. First one is of the entry statue to the museum, I think it might be Gerald Cantor dressed in toga. This is pen, watercolor, watercolor pencil and gouache. Second one is a Rodin entiteld "prayer" in the garden. That one is all pastel pencil.

Commissioned?

Nancy redid the bathrooms and they came out quite nice. But bare, as the old decor was removed and not reusable due to color and style. She suggested that I paint a picture for over the toilet, where a painting had hung before.

So I sized up the space and picked out a photo of a tiny street square in Monterosso al Mare that I like so much. Right colors sort of, right orientation, and a simply interesting design.

Set about with my acrylics and the photo taped to a wall outside and did up a reasonable facsimile. At least it captured the shapes, colors and composition reasonably well.

Hung it on the wall and everyone seems to like it. Though I know all the faults (and there are some glaring ones), it just works and works well and is intriguing enough to hold interest. Not the actual colors of the bathroom, but a set of complementary tones that works well with the decor. Now just waiting for a frame I ordered to finish it off and hang it properly.

I actually dislike copying anything! This is not normal for me and I can't say that I'm bad at it (much better at that 30 years ago on the rare occasions that I did copy a photo), but it usually does not inspire me. This time seemed to work.

So both Nancy and Lisa kept saying, "I didn't know I could actually commission you to paint something." Not sure that part is going to work out too well for me!

Pacifica Beach

Good day with the painting crew at Pacifica Beach. This is San Pedro Point. Lots of surfers out, great weather and company.
Went to visit Alex & Jamie's new home nearby and it's delightful.
Here's another of our artists' pic of me painting on the beach. Barbara Golden caught me perfectly!

Music Concourse Golden Gate Park

Out painting today after seeing the de Young exhibit with the painting group. We had fun. Didn't want to carry heavy equipment, so only did some ink and pencil sketching instead. Not bad for quickies:

Montara Light House

Painting Cameron's Pub & Johnston House

Just south of Half Moon Bay on Highway 1 is Cameron's English Pub. Across the road is the historic Johnston House, a New England style "saltbox" house that is about 150 years old. Fields of early yellow mustard covered the hillsides.
We had a good time, though I had camera difficulties all day.

Painting the Town of Woodside Red (or Green, as the case may be)

Great day with the painting group in Woodside. Sunny skies, warm temps, lots to paint. I decided to give myself a break from thick paint and do some quick watercolor, ink, pastel type small sketches. Those came out fast and fine. Suspect this may remain my favorite medium and style. Onward and upward...

Happy Valentines Day!

Had a great paddle yesterday in the very warm sunshine. Glad to be in California.