Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 4 (AM)

Every moment is filled. There are too many places to see, too many people to meet, too many places to paint. So, today’s blog will only show the morning painting session on Day 4.

Roomie and I skipped the morning announcements and found our way to the Carmel Mission. I love those 21 missions and give the credit to my 4th grade teacher at Ivanhoe Elementary School. I drew the Carmel Mission a long time ago.

The mission seems to be more of a museum than a church now , not opening until 10 a.m., and charging admission, so Roomie and I set up behind an elevated cross where we could look over the wall into the courtyard.

I propped my borrowed easel minus a tripod on the wall, and started with a horizontal format.

Nope, the tower was too tall so I flipped the canvas around. Looks square in this photo, but it is vertical, 8×10″.

This is the view, and that tree blocked the rose window. Nothing to be done except to try and paint the tree.

Roomie and I painted together, and I quit before she did. She is accustomed to plein air painting and knows how to push through to a completed painting whereas I reach a point where I just give up, figuring on fixing all the messed up places later.

So, while I waited for her, I walked to the gate and held the camera on the other side of the slats for this photo.

There were so many flowers in bloom in the garden, both inside the gate and outside. This is Lady Banks rose, which blooms in about April in Three Rivers.

Check out the matiliha (matilija? matilijah?) poppies!

Good enough. I want to finish this at home, get all the architectural details right and fix that dominant tree. I don’t know why it was so hard. I texted my friend JC this observation: plein air is desperately difficult.

But I KNOW I can make this painting look better (when I can reclaim my life and have some uninterrupted studio time!)

One last photo, and then we headed to our next destination for afternoon painting. I think I could fill two weeks of just painting at the Carmel Mission (and then taking them all home to fix).

Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 3

Day three was a test of my gear: could I fit what I needed into my trusty red daypack and carry my 3-legged stool under one arm and the loaner pochade box in my other hand along a trail?

Yeppers.

We started at Garrapata State Park, along the bluffs on Highway One.

We painted all morning, then headed to Point Lobos. (I wonder if there were ever wolves there??) We were hot and tired after several hours of painting in the sun, but my roommate said that I HAD to see China Cove (she had done reconnaissance the previous day).

Well holy guacamole, it was spectacular! Several people, including my roomie, stopped at a particular spot, but I wanted to explore a bit farther. Look at these options!

A
B
C

A blew me away with the color, and it was where my little group set up. B was my first choice, but there was no place to set up without blocking the trail. (We were warned that we’d get a ticket if we blocked the trail or set up off the trail.) C was also quite intriguing, but again, there was a lack of set-up space. I also considered another place because it had a bench, but the view was meh compared to those first three.

So, I ventured back to my little group and just got in line because there was space and there was shade.

This photo doesn’t do justice to the green-blue of the water.

I was contending with the cable at the edge of the trail.

I didn’t take a good final photo. I’ll have to finish and scan it when I get home so you can see it.

It was a good painting day, almost finishing 2 paintings, with only detail left to really polish them off. Thursday is a day in and around Carmel.

P.S. There are so many other things about this adventure to share besides my painting progression and locations. I might continue the series next week after I am back home.

Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 2

After a fight with my stupid french easel on Day 1, a lovely lady lent me a pochade box, or maybe it is a box easel. All I had to do was find a tripod to set it on. “All I had to do”. . . ahem.

The talking lady on the phone directed me about 8 miles to a shopping center in another town, where I checked at Michael’s (no tripods, only the same shoddy kind of easel that I already own), and then at BestBuy. Turns out that camera easels are inadequate, so I left empty-handed.

The talking lady then directed me to Old Fisherman’s Wharf, where I found a pay-to-park lot, saw too many cars and people but recognized no one, so instead of painting, I went in search of a sad little house.

“A sad little house?” you are probably asking.

Yeppers. One of my drawing students has a photo of a certain house in Pacific Grove that he just loves. I found it without the help of the talking lady (because I had looked at a real map in advance and this time kept a sense of direction) and took many photos for him. That redeemed the morning.

However, I came here to paint so that I can learn to paint better, not run around on useless shopping errands and chase down photos of houses. So, I settled in at the little lodge where I am staying to practice using the new-to-me pochade box while finishing a painting from yesterday.

It was time to field-test the new set-up. I drove around the peninsula, hoping to get a good view of the Point Pinos lighthouse, but alas, it was closed and fenced off. So much beautiful rocky coastline to choose from, so I found a spot, PARALLEL PARKED (YEA ME!!), and gathered my gear.

This spot will do quite nicely.

Because the pochade box has no tripod, I have to schlepp a little stool along to sit on in order to hold the box on my lap.

Enough already. I can finish this later. I want to go down to beach now!

Yesterday I was surprised by the lack of shells on the beach. Today I discovered why there aren’t any at the Asilomar Beach—they are all in this little cove!

Am I learning to paint better? Am I getting better at plein air? People say nice things about my paintings, but they are all so very encouraging and genuinely nice that it’s hard to know if they mean it.

Mostly so far I have simply struggled with my gear. Wednesday we will be going to 2 different places, both slightly hard to get to, requiring car pooling and some “hiking”. I put that in quotes because of so much hiking experience in Mineral King, but this may prove to be more difficult than expected due to my poor gear management. As always, more will be revealed. . .

Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 1

On Day 1, we stayed at Asilomar. People needed to get accustomed to their equipment, the schedule, the weather, the whole situation, so it made sense to stay on the premises, which are walking distance to the ocean.

Our room is so tiny that I am keeping my supplies in the trunk of the car. After assembling what I thought would be useful for the morning painting session, I headed to the beach. My easel is heavy and cumbersome, so when I saw this, I thought it might be a good place to paint.

But the ocean was calling me, so I soldiered onward.

Is that PEBBLE BEACH, the fancy golf course over there??

After walking around a bit, taking a few photos, and thinking about the options, I did one quick sketch to confirm my choice.

Next, I wrestled with my heavy, rebellious excuse of an easel, finally getting it situated.

Here is a series of progression photos.

The painting was interspersed by conversation with passersby and other painters. We were told that it is best to not look at other people’s work while painting because it causes discontent and do-overs. As a result, there was much joking about wiping off canvas and starting again after seeing other’s efforts.

Painters were set up all along the beach.

The painting session was also interrupted by occasional walks into the water.

The kelp was very thick, and although I didn’t see a single shell, I did encounter this jellyfish.

I took one final useless photo, thinking it would show me the scene in order to finish the painting later. Alas, it was too bright out to see the screen of the camera, hence the “useless” description.

I didn’t really like my painting, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it better and it was hot. Didn’t matter, because this is all about practicing and learning. So, I headed to the other spot that I had chosen in the morning. It was in the shade, rather chilly, which was a nice change. An employee of Asilomar stopped by where several of us were setting up to remind us of the “excessive heat warning”. I almost fell down laughing but managed to restrain myself.

I’m liking this one and will definitely finish it later. I even got one final useful photo because I was able to see the screen of the camera. (Okay, not so useful. You can see how the light changes over the course of 2 hours.)

However, I am wondering where to buy a new easel and if I can find a trash can large enough to accommodate this sorry excuse of a plein air easel.

More will be revealed. . .

Navels in the Orchard

Navels in the Orchard is actually just navels on canvas, another oil painting of Tulare County citrus.

I painted the details working from the back to the front, which means first I painted the items which are the farthest away from the viewer.

Usually I wait until the painting is dry to photograph it. But look at the weather —the sun wasn’t shining, making the wet parts sparkle.

RAIN! (No lightning, please)
Navels in the Orchard, 10×10″, $200

News on Four Topics

Painting

I finished these two oil paintings, to be held in reserve for when the Mural Gallery in Exeter needs to be resupplied with citrus paintings.

Navels on the Tree I, 6×6″, $65
Navels on the Tree II, 4×6″, $45

Mineral King

The Mineral King road and recreation restrictions were scheduled to be lifted on Saturday, September 21. By now people who need to know will know for sure if that has happened.

This is how Mineral King looked in September of 2023. At the time of composing this blog post, I hadn’t been up there in almost 3 weeks.

The Book About TB

The TB book index problem is not repaired but we now have a plan. Instead of an index that can adjust itself to repagination, we will have a static index. This means that after the manuscript is formatted, I get to go through the index word-by-word and make sure the right page numbers are listed.

This is my favorite photo in the upcoming book. (Historic Saranac Lake Collection, 2022.4.6. (Courtesy of the Trudeau Institute)

2025 Calendar

Is it a good idea to show you the calendar now? They have arrived, are now for sale, and here is the part I am unsure of: they are a sneak peek into my upcoming show, Simply Home, which opens on October 19, a month from now. Wait, this isn’t truly a “spoiler”, because I have been showing you the progression of paintings for almost a year now!

2025 Calendar Front Cover — Simply Home, $25

The Mineral King road and recreation restrictions were lifted at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 21.

Orange Paintings Sell Better Than Pomegranate Paintings

Since Exeter’s Mural Gallery (121 South E Street) is reopening (TODAY!), I have a renewed interest in painting oranges.

The painting on the left is untitled, so for now I will call it The Painting Formerly Known As Turning Leaf. (I thought that Turning Leaf was a good painting, but apparently I was alone in my opinion.) The painting on the right is also untitled, currently known as The Painting Formerly Known As An Unsold Pomegranate. (Ditto my thoughts on that pomegranate painting.)

Easel place swap!

Not good enough yet.

Better, but photographed with an unsightly wet shine.

Therefore, I did not photograph The Painting Formerly Known as a Pomegranate.

Instead, I started a new painting. Painting oranges reignited my enjoyment of the subject, so this time I really started whooping it up with a 10×10″ canvas.

I’m going to really like this painting (until I change my mind and retouch it.)

P.S. These won’t be in the Mural Gallery just yet. They need to get finished, dry, titled, and scanned.

Fix ’em Up, Make ’em Better Than Before

Yesterday I told you that the paintings retrieved from Silver City will be heading to Exeter’s Mural Gallery, which reopens September 19 (TOMORROW!) after a summer-long renovation. (I don’t think they have a website, but their physical address is 121 So. E Street (next door to the former Wildflower Cafe, at the edge of Mixter Park, home of Exeter’s first giant outdoor mural.)

These 5×7 oil paintings on panels got freshened up and will be sold with little easels. I didn’t photograph the process out of respect for my readers who have no interest in miniscule improvements to paintings.

And here is a table full of Mineral King paintings. I painted them quickly, in order to hustle them up the hill for the usually excellent selling month of August at the Silver City Resort. Alas, we had a thunderstorm which caused a lightning strike which began the Coffeepot fire on August 3. So, I brought them home.

They aren’t terrible, but I studied each one and found at least one thing to improve. I started at the bottom left, and here is a photo for comparison. Prolly a useless exercise for you to discern what got improved, but here goes anyway.

And now the entire table-full has been renovated.

You’ll just have to trust me that they are all a little bit better than before. By the end of the day, the light has changed significantly enough that they look different in photos, whether or not they’ve been retouched.

Now they must dry and I must rescan them in order to have a good record of each painting, because OF COURSE they will sell.

A New Still Life

A week or two ago I told you about working in Mineral King, when I spent time digging through photos, looking for ideas to paint two new still life paintings. (Would that be “still lifes” or “still lives”? Eh, who cares?)

So, I started one, and concentrated so hard that I forgot to photograph the process.

Dry quickly, please!

Now I need to decide if there is time to paint a third piece and if I want to go with a citrus theme or the round things in blue bowls theme or the color theme.

I do love me some blue bowls. Sometimes I put lemons in them just because they look pretty, and then I end up wasting them.

Do you still respect me? (did you ever?)

Working in Mineral King

With all those posts about Mineral King, did you wonder if I am still working?

Thank you for your concern. It may look as if I am just loafing in Mineral King, taking bad photos, and wishing it wasn’t smoky.

HOWEVER, I spent some valuable time with a very savvy artist friend (Krista Fulbright, who has her work at CACHE right now—don’t walk, RUN to see the show). I showed her all my paintings for my upcoming show at CACHE (opening date Saturday, October 19) and she gave me excellent honest input as to how to improve the body of work.

Every piece I have is a landscape with a single exception.

I asked Krista if I should just leave this one out, and she said yes, or choose 2 more subjects to go with this. WHAT? PAINT MORE? Maybe.

I took a box of photos to the cabin, and sorted through to find possible companion pieces. A former drawing student/good friend/cabin neighbor and Trail Guy shared their opinions as I tried several combinations. (Didn’t have the painting with me —just one of the reference photos).

All the photos (and a little saucer of pistachio shells)
This collection is based on color.
This collection is based on round blue containers of round objects.
This collection is based on citrus.

I haven’t decided yet. First, I need to polish, refurbish, and refine about 4 or 5 other paintings.

So, you can see that I sometimes even work in Mineral King.

ABOUT THE FIRE: The Park has closed Mineral King to recreational activity, including trailheads, trails, and campgrounds. There is also a possibility that the road may close before the end of the weekend due to “fire front slowing backing down closest to the road in the general Lookout Point area.