Diego y Frida: A Chalk Mural

Marin held a 'Pop-Up' Street Painting festival this year; a little smaller, invitation only. It was wonderful! Amazing talent. Spot on organized. Perfect weather. Most of all, a great opportunity to play and create with my chalk friends.

This year, the event had a theme. That's fun, that's new! The theme: 1940s.

The illustrator in me thrived on the theme. Research and photos and articles... the thread wove in and out and around so many interesting subjects and then. I found. Diego Rivera.

At the World's Fair in San Francisco, 1939-1940, Diego Rivera was invited to participate in the 'Art in Action' program. Visitors to Treasure Island were able to watch artists create, and Diego Rivera created a 72' long mural that can now be seen at SF City College. While here in SF working, Frida Kahlo (his ex-wife) decided to remarry. They were wed at SF City Hall on December 8, 1940 (Rivera's birthday.) 

My sketch made it into the Pink Section in the SF Chronicle and I just am so happy with my finished mural! My nieces joined me too this year, they always do and they are spectacular artists!

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!

California Art Club - paint out!

Every now and again the NorCal/San Francisco chapter of the California Art Club plans a paint-out for its members. I love running into painting friends, past teachers and artists who I admire... and we all meet up for a painting day. This time, there was a promise of wine tasting too ;)  Yes please.

The location was up north in the wine country, in Kenwood, at Chateau St. Jean Winery. Beautiful! it was challenging, I don't often paint buildings and then of course there were the rows and rows and rows of vineyard.

I opted for the "Chateau" because it was very special with little orb lanterns strewn across the main lawn. Lovely...

There was however, no wine. It was madness there, lots of people picnic-ing and stopping by to wine taste. I never found the CAC wine tasting area and when I went into the actual tasting room... I felt like the step-sister in my grubby painting clothes with all the fancy wine enthusiasts.

I'll just open a bottle at home, thanks.

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, keep it going

I've been really good about making it out for plein air painting once a week.

Here are some of my favorites:

"Paint Burlingame"

My first plein air 'event!'

"Paint Burlingame" is a one day plein air painting event. Artists find their own location within a given radius and spend the day painting. I loved it! I went up to the town a few days before hand to 'scout' locations. I fell in love with an original old Library, a tiny little arts and craft style adobe with huge eucalyptus trees all around it.

I set up on a corner and between the neighbors stopping by to check out the progress or the falling of branches and leaves that were keeping me on alert... plus the wonderful smell of the eucalyptus - well, I had fun ;)

At the end of the day we were to submit our finished painting, in a frame and ready to hang... for the Auction!

A nice family that lives near the library and visit often with their young son purchased the painting too, so that was the perfect ending to a great day.