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.

San Luis Obispo Hill Paintings

Bishop's Spring 14 x 14( Bishop's Peak)

 

Bishop's Summer 14 x 21(Bishop's Peak)

 Graceful Hill, SLO,12 x 16

Over the past year I have been lucky enough to travel to the Moro Bay and San Luis Obispo area to paint more than once.
I'd like to live in the area some day because of the ocean and all the hills to paint.
I took my William Wendt book, looking for his famous painting of a hill from the area and finally found it but it was covered in fog both trips.( I am pretty sure it was Hollister Peak)
I found a quiet place to paint near the Poultry Science building that had a great view of Bishop's Peak. The plug of volcanic rock sticking out from the pedestal of  an oak-covered base was a different geology than what I'm used to.
There are gorgeous fields and marshes to paint near Los Osos and Montana D'Oro just to mention a few places I didn't get to.
Up in Cambria, there is a walk along the bluff with a sign that marks the exact southern limit of the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary . I'd like to go back and paint the view of the southern end and find the northern end  and paint that as well. I like painting Mt Diablo often, but painting in a new place with different hills sparks my love for painting all over again.