When the King tides photography project came up, I remembered these rocks painted during a normal high tide. It was a foggy, grey day, but these rocks jumped out strongly while everything else was in the background and soft. I felt a little bit of color would make it feel more “welcoming”. Hey-it’s my painting, I can do whatever I want with it!
#landscape #landscapepainting #waterscape #oilpainting #hightide #contemporarypainting #californiacoast #bayarea #shorebirdpark
The trees on my block turn orange, red, golden yellow at different rates, the tree in front of my house being one of the last to turn—just stubbornly hanging on to summer I guess, so I painted one tree over. I basically got drawn in to playing with color instead of trying to be realistic and following all of the precise colors and shapes.
Ha! Shadows can be so much fun – something not really there which is visible! In this case, the Carquinez Bridge provided the structure to obstruct the sun. This bridge is composed of an old trestle-ish looking bridge for going North, and the new graceful Southward bridge. I might add a few more pencil lines.
This road wound its way through vineyards, fields, farmlands to arrive to a hunting lodge in the Tuscany hills, of Italy. From my first trip to Italy to paint for a week at an old farm turned agriturismo. It was the most delightful trip and great introduction to Italy’s lovely northern countryside – and food! I was never an Italian food aficionado until visiting and tasting the real thing. This painting has gone through some changes – as the years pass I see things I want to change. This latest iteration is much brighter than earlier ones. You sometimes lose something you like, but often gain something else. The future may hold more versions…!
This old truck has served its days and now rests in a farmyard in Solano County with plants growing in he bed. The landscape is my own invention. I was guessing it was an International, and, it is a 1968 International Harvester!
Beat, but not forgotten!
in Marin – along the coast. a sunny calm day.
a few years ago my plein air group and I took a trip up to the Guerneville area. We rented a cabin on the Russian River and spent three days eating, painting, socializing and generally having a blast. One of the days, we headed out to Goat Rock, along the coast. As we got closer to the coast, the fog became thicker and thicker, until by the time we arrived at our destination, it was a thick blanket you could scarcely see through. Some of us continued south until we could find some clearer skies, which we did, but I returned to Goat Rock determined to paint that almost-island. Still socked-in, but I set up my gear and focused on a nearby bramble tangle. It turned out to be an abstract, and super fun.
An alla prima painting from this past Sunday – yes, that HOT Sunday. Staying cool in the shade of a grove of eucalyptus begged the subject of the sheltering trees. These trees shed their skin continually it seems, and they have interestingly shaped trunks if you take a few moments to look at an individual or two. This is a little wet, there may be a few more things to add later on. I’ll not nominate anyone for this challenge, because I want to allow my fellow artists to continue on their journeys at their own discretion and in their own time.
I worked on this painting more, struggling a bit with the interface between “reality” and non-reality (orange and purple areas). It’s settled down a bit and I like the general direction now.
I won’t finish that title —but you may think of the author Gabriel García Márquez. We must find and connect with the things we love and take joy from. Everything is helpful, from simple pleasures like a morning cup of coffee in your favorite cup to the more complex and absorbing occupations you may assign yourself. Connect with friends, get exercise, write a virtual letter. I challenged some of my painting friends to a Wolf Kahn-style effort. I’m not sure I really accomplished that. I was inspired by a photo I took of some clouds at sunset after a rain right here in the suburbs. You don’t have to be limited by what your landscape really is— take what is working and inspiring for you, and discard what is not. (see reference photo below)
I’ll keep working on this and I think I see what direction it needs to go now. However, any suggestions are welcome!
Micaela Marsden 