Workshop Day Two

I have to share some photos from yesterday's workshop. We had a wonderful day out at Lover's Point in Pacific Grove.

After the sun began to set we found the light to be amazing, and continued to paint.....

I haven't had a chance to take photos of the artwork yet. I've been here for three weeks already and this view never gets old. It changes so many times each day as well as throughout the day. The colors are very inspiring.  Going home on Friday.

Workshop Day One - Rain at Fisherman's Wharf

We had rain today for the first time all month. It also happened to be my first day teaching a workshop here in Monterey. It's okay, it was still beautiful, although a bit chilly and wet. We made arrangements to paint on the pier under a patio roof to stay dry.

I loved working with my students from the Sacramento area, I have missed them. Above I demonstrated how to paint a notan before starting the initial study. This gave us the opportunity to concentrate on the design element and at the same time observe what was in front of us.

The most important thing out there is to relax, use your view catcher and look for a way to simplify what is in front of you. It was a challenge because we had to stay under the patio to stay dry and so our options were limited. Everything around us was rather busy, complicated and overwhelming. So it was a good exercise in learning to make it into a simple design.

I painted a quick Notan study. We used a two value design concept to begin the study in paint and after that we added a third value. The important thing is to keep it simple and make the decision about the dominant value shape. Our choices are the dark, the middle, or the light value. Always in a good design, one of them will be dominant. It doesn't matter which one - you will have a middle keyed painting, a darker painting or a light key painting. 

Try to keep an attitude of exploration. Try things and don't worry about mistakes. It is all an experiment! Take your time and paint as many Notan studies as you need in order to find the best design for your painting. 

After this you are free to paint your color study with the value design already established, which will free you up to think through the process in a more creative way. Just be careful to stay within your value shapes with smaller variations of value, using color. Simple as that! But as they say, not easy. This exercise will teach you to see and "think" like an artist.

Rainy Day at the Wharf
Oil on Linen Panel,  6x8"

Last Night and This Morning

 Patris arrived yesterday evening to stay a couple of days. We had a great time last night just before sunset on Lover's Point, just had time for a quick study.

This morning was bright and sunny, a little breezy, but we went out again to catch some color. Tonight we head over to Sunset Drive to catch the sunset, although it will be cold. We decided last night to bring our cars over and park them to block some of the wind. We will see how it goes, but it was so beautiful last night we have to give it a try......

Fisherman's Wharf and Lover's Point

Light at the Wharf
Oil on Linen Panel   8x6"

The Point
Oil on Linen Panel  8x6"

The pink stuff is out in full bloom now. The weather today will be the high 60's which is the warmest since I arrived. My friend Patris from Patris Studio and Gallery will be here to paint with me tomorrow. And the students for the workshop next weekend will be arriving on Thursday. My friend Dee will be here this week also. I'm ready for it!
Have a wonderful Easter my friends....

Plein Air Convention Day Three

Carmel Beach Afternoon

Oil on Linen  8x10"

Buy it Here

I painted this piece yesterday afternoon when all the painters went out. I have to say that being out there with these big names is a little like going out on the golf course with Tiger Woods. Scary. But I made myself get out there. I had never been to the beach south of Carmel. Wow is it beautiful. After painting here I went on a little drive to the State Park area where I found a bunch more painters. I enjoyed watching a few of them for a while, including Kathleen Dunphy. I loved her little piece. It is amazing to see all these umbrellas out there where the artists were painting together. What a sight.

Day Two at the Convention

"Docked"
Oil on Linen Panel   8x6"
Available HERE for $95 for the rest of April

Yesterday I got to go out and paint a little while between conference presentations. I didn't get finished with this little piece so I finished it today.  One of the most enjoyable things about coming to this event is that I get to meet other artists out there while painting. I painted along side a lovely lady who is also a teacher, from Texas yesterday. Her name is Maren.  I hope to paint with her again soon.

This morning I got to see a double demonstration with Randy Sexton and Larry Moore. It was very intertaining! They painted a model on a motorcycle up on stage. I'll try to get some photos of their finished works and post them for you..

This is where I was out on the Wharf again yesterday. The group went out to Asilimar this evening to paint, but I decided to take a break and paint tomorrow. We are going to Carmel Beach.

Thanks for stopping by....

Plein Air Convention Week in Monterey

"At the Wharf"

Oil on Linen Panel  6x8"
This painting is available HERE for $95 for the remainder of April

I arrived in Pacific Grove a couple of days ago and unpacked my gear because I'm gonna stay awhile.
I'm here for the Plein Air Convention, but I'm staying to paint and teach a workshop. I found the cutest little cottage here in Pacific Grove. The weather is beautiful after driving down from Truckee in the falling snow. Then a night at my daughters house in Sacramento, and the drive to PG.

I was a little tired if you know what I mean. But I got up early and got some things unpacked, showered and went for a nice little walk to the beach. Only three little blocks to the Ocean, right at the Lovers Point Park. What a great location! I'm scoping out places to set up and paint. The parking situation looks pretty good for those students who are coming to paint with me. We might have to move our cars every couple of hours or park on a side street. But that's not so bad. I need to make sure there are restrooms nearby too.

At the convention I will be going out to paint in three or four locations. They are taking us to Carmel Beach, Point Lobos, Asilomar State Beach and Fisherman's Wharf.

Tomorrow is the first day of the Convention and I've had a couple of days to get settled in. Today I went out and painted with the Plein Air Painters of Monterey. They hosted a paint out at the Wharf.
Before I met them this morning, I stopped west of Lover's Point.

"West of Lovers Point"

Oil on Linen Panel   6x8"

This painting is available HERE for $95 in April

I had to get out there today and get my fingers dirty. I have not painted outdoors since last June in Southern France. As you may have guessed, I'm not really that much of a plein air painter. By that I mean I don't usually hold up out there for long before I start to loose energy and focus. So I paint in the studio for the most part. But that doesn't mean I don't believe plain air painting is essential. It is! 

I've been working very hard to get more healthy and take care of myself. So the rest is in God's hands. I do know this, if I can keep at it, I will. 

These two pieces are just to get me going and I'm hoping to get some more in this week out there, along with about 700 other painters that are here for the event. My plan is to paint small and keep it simple. My goal is to paint using the transparent color wash method to design in an abstract manner as I begin each painting. From there I want to lay in thick confident strokes of color using a large brush. I'm hoping to get more confident and more bold as I go. I feel better just getting started today. I  am pretty rusty so let's hope it gets better!

The week will be packed full, but I will try to keep you posted. But the weather looks good and I'm gonna get out there and paint!