October Oak 12 x 12 Plein Air watercolor

October Oak 12 x 12

I ran out of Q Burnt Orange while painting this one.
The importance of the bits of blue green ( I used manganese blue hue and cobalt turquoise for the blue green color patches.) to contrast with the warm autumn colors is what I was concerned with colorwise .
The distance away I was standing was important , it allowed me to see the larger shapes and not try to paint every leaf.

Hollister Peak Morning, Hollister Peak Afternoon, Port San Luis , Plein Air watercolors from San Luis Obispo

Hollister Peak Morning 14 x 21

Hollister Peak Afternoon 14 x 21

Port San Luis  10 x 16

After a few tries, I was able to paint Hollister Peak in San Luis Obispo. The peak is so close to the coast that it is frequently covered with fog.

This was a good chance to look at the effects of morning vs afternoon light on the same subject. The peak was famously painted by William Wendt as " Where Natures God hath Wrought ". I am happy to have my own versions of this subject.

The afternoon version of this was a challenge, I usually paint in the morning. The colors were cooler and closer together in value in the afternoon.

 Port San Luis was a wonderful place to pull over with the beach next to me and the ridge in front of me.
I was directly across from the entrance to another Diablo, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.