new one just started, from Pacific Grove....

This is a large one, 30 x 40 I think. I am enjoying the use of color and am somewhat letting the design come along as I go. I have so many pics from my trip to Pacific Grove last November to study with Ovanes Berberian. He really stressed the use of "juicy color". That doesn't mean that he didn't use grays. I think the use of grays in his work is his genius. This day was overcast, but with some clearing later in the morning. I wanted to start with plenty of color though, and then decide how much to leave in. I still have some major decisions to make here, one being how much light to bring into it. That is the challenge with the cloudy weather. The rocks on the right had some light on them, so I will try to keep the water beyond them nice and rich in color. The rocks on the left are darker, so the water beyond will be lighter. At least that is my thinking right now.
I took the picture because I needed to break away from it for a while, and see it from another viewpoint. Most of the time when I take a photograph at first glance I will see glaring problem. It is the same concept as using a mirror. Just taking a break works well too.
I'm excited to take another trip with a friend of mine next weekend to paint in this area again plein air. I fell in love with the Pacific Grove. It is a little sleepy town near Monterey with an amazing coastline walking distance from the little hotels in the area. Much less expensive than Carmel, but close enough to drop in for some gallery visits and shopping. I'll come back with some painting studies for some more larger pieces. I just got some new 36 x 48 inch canvases so here goes!
Have a nice Valentine's Day weekend.....

Yesterday's Oil Painting Class

Here is yesterday's set up. We ventured across the street from the Capital Art Center where I teach a beginning/intermediate oil painting class. It was so nice outside how could we not? Some of the ladies in the class want to learn to paint in "plein air", (in the fresh air). We have been painting still life set ups in the studio for a while.

They did very well, in fact, outstanding. I can't begin to tell you how much of a blessing this class is. To see how far the painters have come. It takes a committment to learn how to paint, but what a payoff! Most of the class has started from no or very little experience. I love to see them grow. I am growing right along with them. We all still have so much to learn. 

We set up the still life outside and it was beautiful. Next week we will take our little outdoor studies and begin a larger studio painting, using the studies we painted yesterday, along with a photo reference. The light did change, but the shadows on our set up just got better.

Palo Alto Baylands - wonderful painting spot!

Baylands Study 6x8"

Palo Alto is where my teacher Brigitte Curt teaches plein air classes. Allison and I went out yesterday and painted the Baylands, a wonderful marsh area by the little airport there off of Embarcadero Street. Brigitte and Jim have been teaching for 14 or so years in the area. They work as a team most times, and the knowlegde, compassion and passion for teaching shows and is very welcoming.

You must check out their websites:
http://www.classart.org/

http://www.provenceworkshop.com/

I was blessed to go to Provence last summer. I need to get out there and work on my skills with all the plein air opportunities coming up!

Baylands Study 2 5x5"

Day Two Capital Plein Air - Painting 1

"The Hanger Restaurant at Twilight"
Oil on Linen
9 x 12"

Finally got a painting in yesterday evening. On day one Michael and I were in San Francisco at the Presidents Cup. Got home Sunday night and went into the studio at Capital Art Center at noon to help sign in the artists and take care of some last minute Gala details. Rene joined me at 3 and by 5 o'clock we decided to go ahead and get a painting in since it would rain like crazy today. So, we set up and I had my first experience painting in the dark! It was dusk when I started and I stuck with that look throughout the painting. We kept waiting for the little red lights to come on, but they never did. I had no idea how the painting looked until I got home. Oh well, it was a good warm up for tomorrow night when the painters are scheduled to paint a nocturn. I'm planning to go down to the I Max theater and paint the fountain, lights and reflections. Hope it doesn't rain!

Hope you can come enjoy the fun Friday night.

The Village of Brantes

On a beautiful warm day we drove to the village of Brantes. It sits on a hill in the Luberon Valley, a little bit farther for us to drive. Before entering the village we stopped on a hairpin curve where Jim told us we were going to paint. Okay! After that, we earned our lunch and dinner just walking up into the village. The bell tower stood above it all. A very historic place with an old, old church that was open to the public. And then, as we get beyond the bell tower, an incredible view! The valley below with a few ranches and then the huge mountain range behind. We had lunch right there in a little restaurant/book store, outside looking at the view.

After lunch, it was time to take a historic tour by our walking encyclopedia/teacher. For the rest of the afternoon, we opened our sketch books to record some of the beauty inside the village. Finally, we had the opportunity to visit the local potter and his wife. Ooo la la!

To leave a comment on this blog click  onto the comment link at the bottom of the blog. I'd love to know what you think and we can reply to each other if you would like to discuss anything about painting or France!

My French Getaway

Got back on Tuesday night, after two days of travel. Trained from Southern France on Monday up to Paris, and flew out on Tuesday, 14 hours of flight. Surprisingly, I feel pretty good. Slept throughout the night (mostly) these last two nights. I'm up early this morning watching the Tour de France, as they are cycling right through the same region in which I've spent the last couple of weeks. Beautiful country, sky's, fields of lavender and warm weather!

I've taken over 23oo photos and now face the task of trying to organize and post the ones I want to share with you. My trip started with five days in Paris, so I will start with those photos first and document my trip so you can follow along! So much to share so I'll be working hard to get it all posted. I'm excited about the photos. For me, this was the trip of a lifetime and I want to share the experience. Originally I was to take the workshop in Provence but since this was my first trip abroad I decided right away that I couldn't go all the way to France and not spend at least a few days in Paris. It all worked out beautifully and was better than my greatest hopes.

More to come...

Everyday?? Another one for the 50 50 Show

I've been talking with my students about painting on a regular basis. Everyday? Well, maybe. At least we can begin to think about how to make an effort. Why? I couldn't explain it better that Clint Watson did on his blog in 2006. I am also a fan of Kevin Mcpherson and have his books. In them he talks about painting small, everyday.

READ CLINT'S BLOG BELOW:

Creativity begets Creativity So Get Small for Erfahrung
by Clint Watson on 8/9/2006

In the art production game, continuous practice and improvement is essential to growth, particularly if youre looking for rapid growth. Along comes Robert Genn of The Painter's Keys, "We're all familiar with the problems associated with Sunday Painters. Cranking up the old machine once a week may be okay in the vintage car hobby--but it's bad news in the creativity game. The steady worker who applies his craft daily is more likely to make creative gains than an intermittent one." If this law of creativity werent true we could all just recline by the pool for four days a week and go to work on Friday and complete our responsibilities with a great blast of productivity. But life doesnt work that way and trying to work against the natural law of creativity would make as much sense as passing a resolution to skip winter. While were at it, why dont we just make life easier for all those scientists and just round off pi to the next whole number?Unfortunately, practicing our craft daily can be quite a challenge. Real life intervenes for so many of us. I think for those who are serious about making strides in their art (which probably includes everyone reading this newsletter), the old adage is true, Practice makes perfect. The good news is that a little bit of practice will go a long way. If you're currently a weekend warrior, find ways to hone your craft at least A LITTLE BIT during the week. Perhaps it's just a sketch pad during your lunch hour...perhaps just a 30 minute study. Creativity begets more creativity so it's critical to keep your mind in the zone.In painting, experience can be looked upon as a function of the number of paintings an artist has created. In effect, the more paintings youve done, the more experienced you are. Kevin Macpherson recommends working small as a way to gain experience rapidly. He writes in his book, Fill You Oil Paintings with Light and Color, When you step up to a small canvas to try something new every day rather than working and reworking a large painting for weeks, you see progress. You learn to master techniques such as brushwork and texture, which boosts your confidence. Painting on a small scale also forces you to ignore inconsequential details and look for larger shapes, broader color relationships and overall composition. It gives you the ability to look at a scene as a whole. He further recommends committing to paint 100 small paintings as a means to rapid growth.Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light and Color by Kevin Macpherson:http://www.kevinmacpherson.com/When you get in the creative zone more often, you strengthen the neural pathways that allow you to be creative, thus making it easier to be even MORE creative. Its sort of like developing a habit to be creative.

Nietzsche identified two different kinds of knowledge. On the one hand you have the things you know from personal experiences and from personal observation, which he called erfahrung. There are also the abstractions you think you know - the kinds of things that you read about in art books and from viewing the works of others - which he called "wissen."Although wissen teaches us ideas in the intellectual realm, experience based knowledge; erfahrung catapults us up the growth curve so much faster. Trying to become a better painter through wissen alone would be like spending your Sunday watching home improvement television instead of just fixing that leaking faucet.Now that Ive given you a bit of wissen on the subject, get out there and get some erahrung! And dont forget to get small.Thats my view, post a comment to send me yours.Sincerely,Clint WatsonSoftware Craftsman and Art FanaticPS: "No one can draw more out of things, books included, than he already knows. A man has no ears for that to which experience has given him no access." (Friedrich Nietzsche)

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