This vineyard painting was beginning in an abstract way, but I didn’t know where to go next. I thought of completing it as a traditional plein air painting, but I really liked the graphic stripes that were there — so I split the difference and added a goat painted in a loose way, with some unusual colors.
Although I really enjoy doing Plein air painting with my painting buddies, sometimes I just want to paint them instead the landscape. Trees, hills and sky can be wonderful, but it’s nice to change it up occasionally.
If you take a moment to think about it, you could paint anything outside and it would be “plein air” — you could paint an abstract! A couple of weekends ago, I decided to just give it a try. This was not done all at once, I added the artist watching who arrived later, so it can’t be called “alla prima”. Why is it that we use terms in other languages to describe some of these things? Maybe it’s because we feel like it gives it more gravitas or legitimacy as art or something.
in Marin – along the coast. a sunny calm day.
this little watercolor was intended to be a literal rendering of the trees but it was rather winsome at this stage, I thought. All this wonderful transparency, we wish we saw more of “out there” as well!
This is an “alla prima” or “all at once” painting from a few months past up on the Sonoma Coast. It works better from a distance than right up close, as you get more of the feeling of the coast stretching off South. I may work on it some more, in the studio.
Hi all,
I will be participating in the Plein Air Painters of Mendocino Annual show which starts Friday, March 7. This is primarily a landscape show, as you may have guessed, with a popular subject being the beautiful Mendocino coast. If you are planning to visit the coast, this is a good month to do it as it — the whales are normally migrating north in March. They come very close to shore at this point in California, and you can easily see them at Point Cabrillo as well as all up and down the coast. Come up, and enjoy whale sighting and check out the art!
I will be in Jack London Square at the Pavilion Building, as in past years. It’s such a great, airy, open space, really pleasant. I have new plein air work from around the Bay Area, and Mendocino.
We are the largest group showing in one location in the entire East Bay Open Studios, and we have teamed up with another group just a few doors down at Market Hall, so between the two locations there are 80 artists.
Hours and days: Saturday & Sunday — two weekends — June 1 & 2, June 8 & 9 — open 11 am to 6 pm
It’s just plein fun!
Hope to see you there!
Keyhole Rock Mendocino 20 x 16 oils
While trying to squeeze in a few paintings for the last week’s plein air paintout in Alameda, someone told be that this old crane by the ferry landing at the north end of the island will be torn down soon. If we had the relative strength of an ant, we wouldn’t need these, I think it’s fascinating how we create these things which help us do amazing feats of construction which we couldn’t otherwise do.
A lot of people commented on this painting. You can see it at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts at 1601 Paru Street, Alameda August 10-September 29. There may be a reception, if so, I’ll post that soon.
This is the Plein Air Paint Out paintings will be on display and on sale from 11 am, reception at 5 pm.
I was going to insert a photo of an finished painting, but I forgot to take pictures — well, you’ll just have to come see them! Here’s a detail of another unfinished one.
I don’t know how the crabbing is going this season, but all these pots were stacked up in the harbor. From what I hear it’s mostly over within a few weeks of it’s mid-November starting point. There are still boats being built — that blue one in the background has been put together in the last year. It still needs finishing, has no gear, but it looks solid.
