A Studio Painter, for Certain.

The week in Monterey was a great enjoyable time, and also a real learning experience. So many beautiful things to paint, it almost didn’t matter if we drove anywhere or just stayed put.

Plein air has never appealed to me, and it was stinkin’ hard, but I think I got better as the week progressed. I don’t love the process or the results enough to invest in a good easel/tripod set up (those run $700-$1000!) I’m still not convinced that it improves one’s skill; maybe it does if plein air is the preferred style, but honestly, I look at those paintings by people who are a Big Deal and think that someone needs to find a good optometrist.

So, I am fully committed to being a studio painter. It is good to have decided who I am, finally, at age 65, after 18-1/2 years of oil painting. Maybe someday I’ll get a wild hare and try to paint quick, thick, and sloppy slick (but I may not sign those).

However, I don’t consider the time spent painting plein air as a waste of time. It taught me a way to paint a little bit faster, how to focus more on the composition, that my easel was a major annoyance, and now I have the ability to paint plein air, should anyone ask me to do so (more for the process than the product).

A clean palette without sand and a level place to set it—such a relief.
A long-overdue sequoia painting is drying before scanning and delivery.
A little more progress on the Marble Fork bridge.
This is a commission of a giant tomato for someone in Florida.

You may have heard me profess my love of the beach in the past a time or two. I ordered a stack of snapshots of the beach and waves, along with some smooth 5×7″ boards (called “gessobord”) to practice painting waves and beach scenes. IN THE STUDIO!! FROM PHOTOGRAPHS!

BECAUSE I AM A STUDIO PAINTER!

So there.

Simply Home

Navel Contemplation, 10×10″, oil on wrapped canvas, $200

Before the Solo Show “Simply Home”

Today’s post is a bit behind reality, a peek into what happened before the show was hung or opened.

When I got home from Monterey, I had to dive into getting all my work together to deliver to CACHE, the gallery hosting my solo show, “Simply Home”.

Photo by Liesel Lund, my roomie

More than anything, I wanted to detail and finish those 10 plein air beachy paintings. Alas, even when one is a certified grown-up, one does not get to do just what one wants to do. Part of being a real grown-up is being trustworthy, responsible, and following through.

Phooey. So, I boxed up everything, and with Trail Guy’s master’s degree in packanology, we loaded the good pick-em-up truck, and delivered it all to Exeter.

When we got home, I faced some unfinished canvases.

First, there is the fact that Kaweah Arts has sold out of the tall paintings of sequoias and has been waiting for at least one for several weeks. This still is not quite finished here because it needs a signature, the edges painted, to dry, and then it needs to be scanned.

Another painting has been on hold for awhile. Initially I was going to push to get it done for Simply Home, until I realized that if a customer insists on taking home a purchase, I’d better have something ready to plug into that hole.

I started this painting in June.

It seemed daunting until I mixed up the colors and realized that I can DRAW with my paintbrush, using PHOTOS instead of standing outside wishing that the water would just hold still for a pair of minutes.

Yes indeedy, I am a studio painter and probably always will be.

Simply Home

CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.

Groves, Hills and Mountains, oil on wrapped canvas, 10×20″, $450

Plein Air Painting in Monterey: One Last Peek

Among the 100 or so folks in Monterey at Fall Color Week, there were fantastic painters along with rank amateurs: my work fell solidly in the middle. I am a studio painter, and this whole thing stretched me. I could go on and on about what I learned, but I suspect that if you are not an artist, it will cause you to click off this page, maybe (horrors!) even unsubscribe (but ask me privately if you have questions about the value of plein air painting).

Liesel Lund painted this AND sold it while at the retreat.
Bill Davidson is kind of a big deal painter in the area and served as our guide to good places to paint. I think he offered this painting to us at a discounted price of $1000.
Pauline Roche was one of the first people I met while standing in line at registration. She painted this on the day I skipped out on Fisherman’s Wharf. She truly understands accuracy in architectural subjects, and I wish I had seen this view. Alas,I was trying to find a tripod for a borrowed pochade box that morning.
Wendy Ahlm was my favorite artist there. She had two different buyers vying for this painting while it was still wet. This is her website.
I forgot who did this. It is the view I wished I could get.
Pam Newell’s rocks blew us all away with admiration.
Wendy Ahlm did this on the first day when most of us were riding the Struggle Bus.

And then there are my paintings. I did 10 total, but only showed 8 of them in the room where we placed them each evening.

And thus we conclude our long series of blog posts “Plein Air Painting in Monterey”.

Now we can return to our regular blogging topics, and maybe I’ll actually finish some of these paintings to where I might confidently put them up for sale.

Simply Home

Here is today’s painting, done in the studio (because I was NOT going to carry my bad easel 4 miles), for Simply Home, a solo show at CACHE.

Salt Creek Falls, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $650

CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00. 125 South B Street, Exeter, California

Plein Air Painting in Monterey: the Area

Today I will show you photos from the area. There are so many that I will just do it as a “gallery”, which is a collection of photos without all the chit-chat. Okay, maybe a tiny bit of chit-chat to explain 2 of the photos. Or maybe 3.

This is the sad little house that my drawing student is working on. A drawing of the house, not the actual house.
This was the very first structure one of my long time students drew a very long time ago

Simply Home

Today’s painting from Simply Home, a solo show at CACHE in Exeter.

Take Me Home. . . 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $650

CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.

Plein Air Painting in Monterey: Sunset and Sundries

Although I am still going on and on about the week of plein air painting in Monterey, now that Simply Home has opened, I will show a painting from the show each day until I either run out of paintings or run out of days.

Each evening I ate dinner quickly, grabbed a to-go cup of decaf coffee, and scooted down to the beach for a little time before our evening gathering sessions. Everyone loves sunset at the beach in California, but most people stayed at the tables conversing and having dessert. It was just too loud in there for me, and the beach was calling.

I never did see the green flash because the sky was never clear in the west. Besides, I’ve never seen the green flash and wonder if it really exists or if it is like Sasquatch.

These photos are beautiful, but in Plein Air World, it is VERY BAD to paint from photos. You may use them for reference, but if you aren’t painting on location, your paintings will be SUBSTANDARD. So there.

(Oh yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it, eh?)

There were a few oddities that caught my eye throughout the week. (I used “sundries” in the title because of the alliteration.)

This car was parked near me when I sat on a wall painting. A very dressed up young woman appeared briefly, but I was too engrossed in my work to figure it out. Probably engagement photos.

This was behind the counter where we got our meals.

Yeppers, me too.

This house was next to the building where we had our Rah-rah sessions, and one evening it was lit up like this. Too bad about the car in front. I could paint it; our Fearless Leader told us to only paint houses when there are clearly cars there to indicate that the owner is home, because then you are likely to sell the painting! I was too busy to stand around painting houses.

Simply Home

Here is painting #1 from Simply Home.

Sunset Over the Kaweah, 16×20″, oil on wrapped canvas, $650

CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.

Simply Home, Now Open!

We arrived about 15 minutes before the reception began, and the light was so nice coming around from the side of the gallery.

This is the early moment of Is It All Ready? before people arrive, the moments when I think, “Oh no, what if no one shows up??”

The gallery board is so welcoming, and Trail Guy seemed to know everyone.

It started to fill up. Say hi to Paula!

Then the gallery got full, the art director introduced the gallery board president, who went on and on about me, making me look good. It was a little embarrassing, and kind of fun too, because we interacted a little, as we like to do. Then I said my little spiel, ending oh so cleverly with how I always return to Tulare County after seeing other places, because it is “simply home”.

When the gallery was full, I didn’t take any photos, of course.

Lots of visiting with old friends, meeting a few new folks, and then when no one was left except gallery board members, when there was just 17 minutes remaining, this couple came in. It was an old friend of mine from about 30 years ago, and her husband, whom I had never met!

They bought three paintings. Insert a big goofy grin here, as I remind myself that is exactly why I NEVER NEVER NEVER close up my booth early if I am doing an art bazaar. NEVER close early. Besides, I was really happy to see my old friend, because we only email from time to time.

Finally, I took a photo of the guitar man, who filled in all the awkward pauses and set the tone for a nice evening.

CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.

Final Weekend of the 2024 Mineral King Season

Business first

First, an ad. I hope to see you all (my tens of readers) on Saturday!

Mineral King

Many people enjoy Mineral King in summer; fewer make it there in the fall, and a very few make it up in the winter (for many good reasons, beginning with the locked gates). I think of it as a summer place, and with this year’s extended heat, the season seemed lengthy. The added time was a gift, because we thought it was toast with that stupid Coffeepot fire.

Lots of photos for you to enjoy today. . .

Pink stuff from the fire, severe pruning, and a few smokes.
Crews are still working, and there are many many dropped trees.
We got mail! (Thank you T & L P)
The water is low; the colors are fading.

I went out with my dying camera battery to capture a few photos in the sunshine.

It was good to see that work has gotten done on several cabins in spite of the rude interruption of the stupid Coffeepot fire.

3 new roofs are in this photo… prolly too small to pick out here.

The next day began overcast. We went for a walk past Crystal Creek to see if we could discover any fall color. Nothing to see. Hiking Buddy and I went out a bit later, thinking it might be our only chance. However, the sun came out later, so we went back out. Look at the difference the sun makes! (And please excuses the dark spots from Trail Guy’s camera, which I borrowed due to forgetfulness on my part to bring the backup battery.)

While hanging out with my little friend, I showed her something peculiar.

That was there all weekend and no one knows why. So, we added a pair of found sunglasses. We are easily amused at our cabins, always finding something fun to do.

There is such a nostalgic feeling to the season’s final stay at our cabins. Although we see our neighbors throughout the year because we are real life friends, closing is a bit melancholy.

While we made one final stop at the community dumpster (managed by Trail Guy, the all-purpose mayor), I took the borrowed camera for one final look at some fall color. Turned out to be more fall light than actual autumn-type colors.

And finally, it is a huge relief that the temporary bridge allowed us to come and go all season.

I never did figure out the necessity of this sign. The word “temporary” made me want to drive much faster than 5 mph.

Plein Air Painting in Monterey: Friends

As we spent time painting or at meals or meetings, we gradually got to know one another and learn names, although there was a lot of name-tag reading all week long. I met John Lynch of Toronto on the first day, so his name got cemented into my overloaded memory.

John spent several mornings working on the same painting. The last morning, I almost shouted, “YOU NAILED IT!”, but I managed to keep my voice down, and he graciously talked to me about the importance of plein air painting. I wish I had recorded his wisdom.

John Lynch’s morning painting. I think this is his website, but I am not sure because he isn’t wearing the Fall Color Week hat in the photo here. He was very skilled, kind, and knowledgeable.

Liesel, my Roomie, cranked this out in one manic session. It sold immediately, and she will be making prints. Here is her website: Liesel Lund Fine Art She is a terrific painter who approaches art entirely differently from me, absolutely committed to making “joyful impressionist” work, which fits with her joyful personality. This is my favorite of her paintings, and although I hinted outright, she didn’t turn it into a roommate gift. (We are exchanging calendars of our work for 2025.)

Eric Rhoads, our fearless leader, is possibly the highest energy, most positive can-do (and does it all) man I’ve ever met. He is the publisher of Plein Air and Fine Art Connoisseur magazines, a producer of how-to painting videos, author of an art business book (out of print), organizer of plein air expos and retreats, and those are only the things that I remember off the top of my head.

Eric was Our Mighty Enthusiastic Fearless Leader and Charlotte became my hero by saving my week with the loan of her extra pochade box.

I met another Jana, whose last name I never learned. She noticed my name tag and introduced herself on Day 5. We were just tickled to run into someone else with the same not-so-usual name, but I never saw her again. Her husband was there to film an instructional video for Streamline Publishing, and I only got his first name of “Frank”.

This is me with Roomie on the last day when we were so happy to have been together for a week.

Simply Home

And one more reminder of Saturday’s show opening:

Plein Air Painting in Monterey: Sunrises

We were a group of about 100 people at Asilomar, plein air painting together, walking on the beach together, having meals together, meeting together in the morning and the evening, and sharing living quarters (unless we paid an additional astronomical fee for a private room).

With a crowd of enthusiastic painters, I had to work to find solitude. So, I walked on the beach or on the road overlooking the beach every morning. Sometimes I saw other people with our style of name tags, sometimes painting or walking, but also a handful of other morning folks along with surfers.

I think this is yarrow.
Looking east had a nice sky one morning when we had clouds, but I preferred looking at the ocean.
It seems that if I painted that colorful sky piece, it would look fake.
More looking east in the morning on the cloudy day.
Each morning had a very brief moment where the foam looked almost pink.
And then it went magically bright.

Tomorrow I’ll show you some of the new friends I made.

Meanwhile, back to the future:

Architecture at Asilomar

Many of the buildings at Asilomar were designed by Julia Morgan, the architect best known for designing the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. She is also known for many fine buildings in Berkeley, AND a building at the Springville Hospital (for TB) here in Tulare County, now torn down due to earthquake standards.

Pencil drawing of Wayside at the Springville Hospital

Roomie and I were assigned a room in The Stuck-up Inn.

Our room was shockingly small for two people and all the painting gear. The room assignments were a mystery, because some of the people who paid for a single room had rooms that were much larger. Weird.

It had rooms around a central courtyard, where I sat to paint one afternoon after I had a fight with my easel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the living room each morning before the sun came up. It was a place to be alone (so thankful no one else thought of hanging out there!), to stretch, to read, and to experience some solitude before taking a pre-breakfast walk at (or on) the beach and joining the teeming mass of painters.

In spite of the space limitations, I was completely charmed by the age and the details of the building. As Roomie said, it forced us to spend more time out painting. I was very thankful for the fact that we were so compatible.

Crocker Dining Hall
Main building/lodge/office/etc.

Next time, I will show you photos of the sunrises and other things that caught my attention in this week of painting in Monterey.

Meanwhile, back to reality: