Sonoma Plein Air Art Festival 2016 Day 4 Paintings

Hill of Blue Oaks 12 x 12

Hill at Kenwood 9 x 12

Poppy Paintings

Poppy Meadow 14 x 14

Windy Day Poppies 24 x 18

These were painted a while ago, just getting around to posting. Available The Fairmont Gallery, Sonoma CA

Curry Point Calm 12 x 22 Plein Air Watercolor

 Curry Point Calm, Plein Air 12 x 22

The drought has brought out a very understated landscape, the subtle taupey /lavenders and buff grays are way out of my painting habits.
There is no point in going out to see if I am not going to try to be true to what is out  there
I liked this subject because it was a still day with no wind and I could see across the Central Valley to the Sierras.

Still staring at it, I think it is done, if I want more saturated color I would do another painting vs glazing this one over. It helps to remember sometimes less is more.

After the Fire VII and After the Fire VIII

After the Fire VII 9 x 12

After the Fire VIII 13 1/2 x 16 1/2

I enjoyed painting in the evening in July  so I went back up  Mount Diablo to paint the next two After the Fire series in the early evening.
The light changed the colors so there was an orange/ pink cast to the colors that reminds me of the pinkish caste to the light during a fire. These were painted from South Gate Rd near Rock City where a few trees recently were removed and a new vista of the summit and burnt area is visible. The bare soil took on a lovely terracotta color in the evening light. And I am learning how to compensate for how quickly the light changes at this time of day. (Giving the visual memory muscles a work out for sure)

"Late July Hills", Plein Air Watercolor Study 9 x 12

Late July Hills 9x 12 watercolor painted on location, Mount Diablo.
I needed a break from driving way up to the burn zone, this was a quick hour and a half in changing light.
 The faster the light is changing, the smaller I paint. I also stop when the light is gone and complete these paintings from memory rather than try to paint in the dark. The different scale of the shapes appealed to me and the value pattern was all there, one of those turn my head and say "that's a painting" moments

Demonstration: " After the Fire II " 18 x 24 (Mount Diablo)

I thought it was time to post a demo.

This is Mount Diablo during the brief rainy season after the fire. The pink slash of exposed chert contrasted with the greens of spring.

After the Fire II 18 x 24. Still trying to get a good picture of the final piece.

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.

Summer Hill, Upper Valley 18 x 24

Summer Hill Upper Valley 18 x 24

Some paintings take a LOONG time, I 've had this one on the easel for months.
 I did not want to stop painting it.
 I saw a painting of this hill by Arthur Hill Gilbert about three years ago and I have been hunting for this hill  ever since.
I am in love with this hill. The rounded slopes of the grassland remind me of sculpture and the oaks and chaparral are full of strong  exciting colors and textures.
Here is a detail of the chaparral:

In process ,on my easel today, Fresh Greens

"Fresh Greens" 18 x 24. In process , I like it so far.
We are having an early spring and it's been great getting out to paint.
 This is in a valley about 5 miles from my house. I probably have one more painting session before it's done. It felt great to stretch out, 18 x 24 is a larger size for me and one I've been meaning to try for a while. Painting larger seems like a logical way to paint panoramas.

Wild at Heart , A California Hill Painting

Wild At Heart, 14 x 14

I've been tweaking this in the studio after starting it in late spring on Mount Diablo.
It is a meadow from what I consider the heart of Mount Diablo.
Up past Curry Point and the outer ridges, there were some  rare and late wildflowers from this past spring with it's late and sparse rains. I like the soft purple brown colors on the oaks as they were leafing out and how that worked with the greens and oranges in the meadow.

"Across the Valley", Mount Diablo Plein Air Watercolor

Across the Valley 22 x 22

This was started last fall and finished after a long winter of work this spring.
It has been very difficult to get a good image because of the value shifts in transparent and opaque passages of color. The blue green in the top part and blue violets in the lower section are transparent and the deep crimsons and burnt oranges are relatively opaque. In person, this painting looks great ,but every time I take a photo the light bounces back through the paper and shifts  the value on the transparent passages. This was printed in Plein Air magazine and it is much truer to the painting in the magazine than it is here. I don't want  to change the painting for the sake of a photo. The cool and warm balance here works very well for me and it's always fun taking a red and green scene and making it not look like a Christmas Tree.

Plein Air Magazine thumbnail