Rockin' Again

I was recently in Laguna Beach with some out of town guests and we had a lovely time visiting the different rocky coves along the coast there. It is a beautiful area to visit and to paint.

On The Rocks, 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

Rock On

New painting. 'Laguna Rocks' 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

Lake View Completed

As promised, here is the painting I created from my plain air expedition in Irvine last week. I am very happy with how it turned out.

'Across the Lake' 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas.

Lake View

Here is another look behind plein air painting.

My next painting spot was beside a lake in Irvine, very different from the previous week's location. Thankfully the temperatures were lower and there was lots of shade.

There was also some very visible and noisy wildlife.

Which were also cute.

But a little worrying too. 

Having once been chased by a goose, I decided that keeping a decent distance between me and a goose and its babies felt like the right thing to do.

There were a lot of elements in the scene in front of me so it took me a while to decide what to do. Painting wisdom states that it is what you leave out of a scene that is often more important than what you put in.

In the end I decided to simplify and turn this urban lake scene into a rural lake scene. So no houses, no boats, no docks, no gazebo.

Next time I'll post my finished painting.

Paint Out

I have recently embarked on a new adventure - painting outdoors. 

I have previously painted with watercolours in the open air while on holiday but it has been on an ad hoc basis and just for myself. Now I plan to paint outdoors as part of my repertoire as a painter.

Plein Air painting is mostly associated with the Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet and post-impressionist painters like Vincent Van Gogh who used it to capture the changes in light and record life and the landscape of the French countryside.

Last week, I joined a group of other plein air painters at Quail Hill in Irvine for a morning of painting.

After finally getting set up, (hopefully I will become quicker as I get more use to my equipment) I began to capture the scene ahead of me while battling  wind and the bugs who seemed determined to join the fun by running around my palette.

Staying hydrated was also important as it was a very warm morning. A lesson learned for next time was to wear longer sleeves and cover my neck since I walked away with a little sunburn.

Even so, it was a fun experience and I am happy with the result. Quail Hill 5" x 7" Oil on Canvas paper.