Big House, Little Painting

The LGAA, Los Gatos Art Association, Plein Air painters group meet on Monday mornings. We have a pretty consistent group showing up - whether we meet in town or down the coast in Monterey or up at Davenport. A good solid 11-15 painters I think. Unless it is the Monday of the year when we meet at a spectacular home of one of our members. 

The home belongs to David. I'll leave it at that. It's amazing, a stunning hacienda on many acres with a pond, many fountains, a carriage house, an adorable shed, plants and flowering trees... the works. It's like a trip to Tuscany. So, it's no surprise that on this particular Monday.... we had over 25 artists.

I love when OTHER painters paint street scenes and corner stores, storybook cottages and barns. I love it and I struggle to do it. Architecture is not my thing. I have painted David's home before and although I like that painting, it shows more of a slowly sinking, aged and wobbly adobe cottage in my rendering ;)

This time I really spent a lot of time on the drawing. Getting the angles, the windows right, the roof top... I think it paid off. I am much happier with this painting and can see a lot of areas where I improved in the paint application as well. Having the 'good bones' of a good drawing underneath the paint worked out very well. There's hope for me!

Plein Satisfaction

Today's outing to Plein air paint with my Los Gatos Art Association group was just what I needed. 

I'd had such a shift and growth in my work from the week painting in the Escalante Canyons Art Festival which was followed a few weeks later by a no good painting attempt back home. Very frustrating but it happens. 

I was even a bit anxious for my outing today... Would I be able to keep all the good changes I've made in my landscape paintings??? 

Yes. I'm happy to say, yes.

I painted a cluster of trees along a walking trail and that's a subject matter I've not tackled before, but I loved the rhythm and light on the trees and I think I captured what attracted me to the scene.

A Little Davenport

I have been so busy with back to back icon contracts I haven't been able to make it out for Plein Air Mondays. Just couldn't let that continue!

Woke up at the wee hours of Monday, drove to Davenport for a relaxed and delicious breakfast (the amazing bakery happens to have amazing omelets too, go figure.) Just up Hwy 1 is a great surfing beach which is also our painting beach!

I worked a tiny canvas, only 6x8 and then drove back to the studio to make... more icons!

San Juan Bautista

Another great painting location, thank you LGAA!

A bit of a ways south, but just the drive puts you into a new, relaxed mindset and for me... one ready to paint.

Well... HOT at home turned out to be OMG freezing in San Juan Bautista. Thank god for the pile of fleece that seems to make itself at home in the back of my car.

Wind and cold and wind and wind and tree blossoms falling into the paint, onto the painting... I ended up switching to the palette knife because it was easier to pick out the debris ;)

Heat Relief

It's been HOT. Dry and HOT for months. It was a great relief to be at the coast to paint this week. I feel like I was absorbing all the fog and desperately trying to bring it home!
A little painting, it was going really well, fresh and loose and then... I worked into it and lost some of that specialness. Still, pretty happy with it. But, an undue or rewind would be excellent!

Overworked I think. Wet sand is perplexing too and don't get me going on white water froth! So much to learn!

Morgan Hill Morning

One of the great things about being a part of a painting group is that you learn about new painting spots! and someone else is planning the day!

Plein Air Mondays with the LGAA (Los Gatos Art Association) met in Morgan Hill, down a side street at the end of dead end road... yes, exactly the kind of place you would not find on your own ;)

Plein Air Mondays

Keeping it local this week, we painted in Los Gatos. It was a very HOT morning - I'm definitely going to have to invest in a better sun umbrella! (I've heard good things about Bestbrella)
#pleinair #losgatos #saramordecai #glenridge #toohot #landscapepainting