This is a work in progress. I’m using a few photographs I took at the Trabucco Ranch plein air painting event organized by the Sierra Foothill Conservancy. The angles in the lower half of the painting are all wrong so I’ll be fixing those today. The bright colors are the under colors. The sky will be lightened.
December 29, 2009
Perhaps complete. I worked on the foreground grass this morning.
December 28, 2009
It was mostly overcast today. The chicken hid under an oak tree. There must be a hungry hawk hanging around. The turtles didn’t even want to come out from behind the wood stove. When they did the box turtle feasted on squash, pear and blueberries. The desert tortoise just watched. Yes, we have a permit for the tortoise.
I spent the day working on ‘November Meadow’. I painted the foliage in the middle ground, working all over to create a natural pattern of color and texture, concentrating on values.
I painted the grass in the foreground last and then touched up the middle ground. The grass, as well as the middle ground are many layers. Now I’ll let it sit to see if I notice anything that bothers me.
December 27, 2009
‘November Meadow, Yosemite Valley’ is the current painting I’m working on. The meadow had lacey texture with shades of off whites, rusts and a little sage green. We’ll see if I can keep it ‘quiet’ in the color department. I’m working on a half sheet of Art Spectrum’s Colorfix paper in a dark blue (13×19). I’ve laid in the under colors and pattern of the grass. Now I’ll build up the layers. I’m working from the top down. I’ve just begun defining the tops of dried flowers with grass behind them.
‘August Meadow, Yosemite Valley’ is almost done…..if I say it’s finished I’ll see something that needs to be ‘fixed’. I love the colors and textures of the meadows. These silver grey plants were standing in grasses that ranged from rust to gold to green. The edge of the forest created the background. The tips of conifers were catching the late afternoon light.
The painting will sit a while before framing. It’s not as dark in real life….if it looks dark on your monitor. I can’t tell where the ‘correct’ tilt of my monitor should be to see things realistically. That makes it hard to adjust photographs.
18.5 x 26.5 Pastel $1600 Framed to 24 x 32 in German silver color aluminum with Plexiglas.
My ‘Christmas Cactus’ is blooming nicely. It sits on my desk during the winter. During warmer months it’s outside. I received this plant for my birthday from my adopted mom, Joann, about 6 years ago. I painted it a few years ago.
December 25, 2009
Last year we had a storm on December 25. Yosemite was a winter wonder land blanketed with snow. On December 26, ’08, I took this picture below El Capitan along the Merced River. The day never warmed above 23 degrees.
The final judging results have been released. The email notifications arrived tonight, December 13. I did not make it into this years show with my pastel of Horse Tail Falls entitled ‘February Moment’. This was a fun piece to create especially since I started it while demonstrating at Williams Gallery West during Art Hop. As usual I can’t stay away from color. The painting’s dimensions are 13 X 19, framed to 20X26. $800
