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.
Guard at the gate at Golden Gate Fields. I liked the simplicity of this scene, and simplified it even further. Midday. This is a lonely job these days. Many people pass on the new Bay Trail section which follows the shoreline just a few feet away, but few go up the hill towards the race track, mostly trainers, vets, other support people. We chatted for a short time, his wife is an artist, but paints only horses, and more horses. I think he hopes she’ll branch out and try a new subject some time. I may work on this more, add some detail, or maybe not, it is ok with me.
At my mechanic’s recently, I saw a really sweet old car, just seven years older (and way more interesting) than my first car — a 1965 Fiat. He allowed me to take a photo or two, and I ended up making a painting of it against an abstracted version of his shop.
What’s special about this car? It was the first Fiat Nuova 500 Coupe to be exported to America. In Italy, they had a different standard for placement of the headlights, so to comply with U.S. standards, they moved them to the right height without re-tooling the body. Result: the Frog-eyed Fiat!
This painting is now a part of the family of art and music at the Argonaut Garage! Thank you Jason!
my fiat looked like this
Not nearly as much fun, but it got great gas mileage when it ran! (Even better when it didn’t!)
With one foot in Alameda, one in Mendocino County—I will be joining two artists in a show at the Scharffenberger Cellers in the beautiful Anderson Valley. I will be bringing some urban scenes to balance out the bucolic!
Join us at:
SCHARFFENBERGER CELLARS Tasting Room
8501 Hwy. 128, Philo, CA 95466 (707) 895-2957
Woods, Wine and Water
Explore the Intertwining of the Wild & Human
Maeve Croghan, Debra Lennox and Micaela Marsden
November 17, 2017 – February 15, 2018
RECEPTION FOR THE ARTISTS!
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017 from 5:30-7:30 PM
AT THE SCHARFFENBERGER CELLARS TASTING ROOM
June 6, 7, 13, 14, 11 am – 6 pm. 55 Harrison street, Oakland. www.markethallartists.com
I knew the two ships I painted a few years ago were going to be moved out to other ports, so I went down to Alameda Island with my camera to see if I could capture them again. I happened to get there on the very day they were being moved! I counted myself super lucky, and stuck around to watch & photograph what I thought would be a relatively quick process. 4 hours later, they were gone! I got to hang around with some of the sailers, both women and men, from nearby ships who were happy to see them leave and in high humor. One of the ships is named the Algol. I didn’t stick to “reality” with the colors, as that grey-painted steel can be pretty dreary.
more about the Algol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Algol_%28T-AKR-287%29
Irises have a lot of style, as far as flowers go. They are more shapely, and have more presence than your average 5-petalled, even-tempered type! It is a challenge getting the right purple, though. Some colors which exist in nature simply do not exist in paint. I worked and worked and worked on the color, and though I like it, I never quite achieved the purple I could see on the flowers themselves.
This was pretty fun, they actually thought to include an artist-focus on a quiet race day last Saturday. They were good to us, gave us coffee in the morning, lunch at noon, some cool schwag, and a show at the end of the day. ArtSpan was a partial sponsor, and documented the day http://www.flickr.com/photos/artspan/sets/72157635362810297/
Here’s my second 2-hour oil sketch from the day — the water needs work, but I like the colors. It’s an impossible view of the Bay Area, with Mt Tam in the background just for fun!
here’s a preview detail of an unfinished painting of a house on Lincoln Street just a few blocks away from the Frank Bette center in Alameda. I think I’ll call it “Island Living” – it’s really all about the speed limits, 25-35 mph all over the island!
Come to the show and sale at the South Shore shopping center if you’re nearby, it’s on THIS COMING SATURDAY, all day, pretty much.
Micaela Marsden 