This is the second plein air painting I did in Monterey. I set up in the shade by the path to Asilomar Beach (another struggle against that easel), and this time I was determined to do a better painting.
This painting gave me hope that I might be able to paint plein air. It also gave me time to decide to look for a trash can large enough to stuff the easel into.
After I got home, I retouched it and finished it to this level.
This one deserved to be signed.
SIMPLY HOME
Heading to Eagle Lake, 16×20″, $650
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
This is the first plein air painting I did in Monterey. We set up on Asilomar Beach, and I tried to concentrate on painting when I just wanted to put my feet in the water and enjoy the waves. Instead, I tried to paint while the waves kept moving and my easel kept fighting against me.
Then it was just too hot and frustrating to keep standing there, so I packed it up and took this back to my room.
After I got home, I retouched it and finished it to this level.
That’s odd—I still haven’t signed it. I wonder if I can make it better. . . maybe in another year or two. I’ll sign it next time I am painting.
2025 SIMPLY HOME Calendar, showing many of the paintings from my show of the same name. $25, and I will pay the sales tax (if you live in California) and mailing (if you order).
This is the view looking east from in front of the Mural Gallery & Gift Shop. See the awning straight ahead? That is on the third location where I had my studio in Exeter.
While at the Mural Gallery for my November shift, I painted. My goal was to be productive in between customers by completing some of the plein air paintings from the week in Monterey.
Worked out pretty well.
I liked these enough to sign them. When they are dry, I will show the before and after versions.
This one is better, but I can’t wait to put a railing on the bridge and bark on the sycamore trees.
As I was moving everything out to my car, I looked east and remembered many reason I always loved being in Exeter: tractors in downtown, the water tower with EXETER on it, seeing Sawtooth and Homer’s Nose, trees with fall color, the Post Office, all visible from where I used to have my studio.
One of the three places my studio was in Exeter was in the second story of this brick building, which houses the terrific store Rosemary & Thyme.
One last view in case you didn’t get enough photos today.
SIMPLY HOME
OAK GROVE BRIDGE #28, 24×30″, oil on wrapped canvas, $1800
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
Krista asked me to paint again with her at the airport bridge in Three Rivers on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Before I went, I hung out with Jackson a little bit.
He wasn’t very hungry because he let the gopher live. Didn’t even pounce.
I drove to the same place with its multiple No Parking signs.
This time, I had a tripod that the little cigar box pochade attached to. Gear management is one of the great challenges of plein air painting. I won’t be buying a $700-1000 easel set-up for plein air painting unless something really changes in my abilities and interests. But I will continue to experiment and try various arrangements.
My roommate in Monterey won this brush clip in a raffle and passed it to me. It’s pretty useful, but I only use one or two brushes when I paint plein air and don’t plan on needing more. I don’t like to own stuff that I don’t need, so I passed it to Krista, who is very determined to learn this method of painting.
With a tripod, I was able to stand to paint and use my stool as a shelf. The big wooden box was passed to me by a friend who changed his mind about wanting to paint, and it is a handy way to carry my stuff. It weighs more than I’d like, and it seems as if it opens backwards, so it may go the way of all excess equipment—into the hands of someone else who needs it. The verdict isn’t in yet.
This isn’t too bad, and maybe I will like it after fixing and finishing it in the painting workshop at home.
When the sun was off the scene, we started packing, and I turned around and saw this.
It’s all about the light. Always.
One thing that is happening to my abilities as a result of plein air painting is that I am noticing new scenes to paint, looking at sunlight instead of just the subject matter. Maybe this alone is worth the time, effort, and money spent on this adventure.
Another set of days without the internet sent us on a walk in the middle of the day. When virtual life isn’t accessible, try real life.
The star of autumn in Three Rivers is the Chinese pistache tree.
Excuse me? This is indeed a peculiar sight.
The Remoria*l Building has tremendous Chinese pistache trees.
This is the largest flowering pear tree I know of. It is the first to bloom (usually mid February) and the last to turn in the fall. There are a couple of tiny hints of red near where the big cable emerges on the right.
Rumor has it that this former playground for children will become a playground for grown-ups. (You can’t see in this photo, but the sparkly thing I hung on the gate last week is still present.)
I commented to Trail Guy that the abundance of acorns is rather remarkable this year. He said, “Oh yeah? You ought to look behind our work shop!”
So, I did.
We hear them hitting the metal roof and rolling down at night.
Finally, here is the largest buckeye tree I know of. It turned bronze in late June, or maybe early July. These native trees run on a different schedule.
Simply Home
Red Barn, Big Oak, 16×20″, $650
*Remorial is how our neighbor taught us to say “Memorial” when she was 9.
For about 2 years, my friend Krista has been asking me to paint with her in Three Rivers. Last week we had an entire day without electricity, phones, internet, so it seemed like a good time to leave home and paint outside. Besides, it is always a pleasure to hang out with a friend, especially outside on a nice afternoon in our scenic foothill town.
I thought about places to paint, and it is tricky when every shoulder of the road is marked with NO PARKING signs. I decided that I didn’t care, and if anyone wanted to tow Fernando away, we would have a conversation about it, and it would turn out just fine. (Our sheriff is an artist.)
This view shows the curve on the right side of the road as it heads to the bridge.
This view shows the tall sycamore trees on the left.
I wanted both, so did a sketch to see if I could squish them both in. Good thing you know that I can draw, or you might be a little worried about the quality of this sketch.
Here is my substandard plein air equipment, perfectly functional for my limited interest in this method of putting paint on canvas.
Here we go, another sketchy messy beginning.
The light changed quickly, and then all the color was gone.
That’s fine, because I took the painting as far as I could figure out while painting on location. I just don’t understand how to smash all sorts of details together; maybe someday I will, but I can’t imagine that I would like the results. I think I will like this painting after reworking it in the painting workshop at home.
Krista and I had a great time together; it is very likely that we will do this again.
Simply Home
Silage, Silos, and the Sierra, 6×12″, $145
CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.
It started out to be a fine day. The time change was over, my neighbor and I had a good morning walk, the election was behind us (phew, what a stressor that has been), and I had a list of phone calls to make, my website to keep repairing, some sketching/designing to do, and of course, paintings to finish. On top of that, there was planning to do because of a scheduled all-day power outage the following day.
The grove needed something.I added orange blossoms.
The Sequoia Gigantea is drying.
I reworked the Asilomar beach path. This was my second painting during my week of plein air painting, and it is one I liked, probably because the scene held still, as opposed to those manic ocean waves.
Tucker was enjoying the sunshine and keeping me company (this cat LOVES me).
Then the power went out. WAIT, WHAT?? It’s not tomorrow yet.
A friend from about 2 miles below me said it was out for her too. She was driving down the hill and reported that there was a fire at the dam. (Turned out to be more in Lemon Cove than actually at the dam.)
It wasn’t dark out, so I worked on the Marble Fork Bridge painting for awhile, using enlarged photos on my laptop for details until the battery needed charging.
Life in Three Rivers: Within one week, the internet went out for a day and thus, no phone either. Without internet, no cell phone for me because we have no signal. Then we had a scheduled power outage, but it went out a day earlier. Currently we have road construction causing 10-15 minute delays in town.
At least our water hasn’t gone out in awhile.*
Simply Home
Peach Orchard, 10×10″, $200
CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.
Today, 6:30-7:30, I will give a demo/talk called How To Draw at CACHE. The spaces are all full.
*WROTE THAT TOO SOON. A DEER BROKE A HOSE BIB, WE STARTED WASTING WATER AT A RATE OF 6 GPM, SO WE DREW SOME WATER AND SHUT OFF THE MAIN. THE PLUMBER WASN’T AVAILABLE, AND EVENTUALLY TRAIL GUY FOUND A WAY TO BYPASS SOMETHING, BLOCK SOMETHING ELSE, AND GET WATER BACK TO THE HOUSE. Excuse me for shouting. This has all been so annoying.
Walking isn’t as easy as it used to be. I walk shorter distances more slowly than I used to, wearing Crocs instead of these shoes, which I now have listed on eBay.
Until the time change, my friend and I walked in the dark. Sometimes it felt adventuresome, as if we were getting away with something. On the days when her schedule isn’t tight, we still go 4-5 miles, although that’s nothing compared to when we trained together for a 1/2-marathon. Still, we are happy that we can walk and can do so in places without traffic, traffic lights, or sidewalks.
In the predawn lightDuring daylight hoursIn the predawn lightDuring daylight hours
One day recently, Trail Guy and I poked along our street where he pointed out a peculiar sight on our neighbor’s lot.
Not real, mighty peculiar, and completely without an explanation.
I found a small sparkly on the ground, which I ended up securing to the fence of the former day care at the Presbyterian Church.
While admiring the view from the Catholic church, I wondered what the bright red was in the distance. It most likely is a truly spectacularly bright tree. We weren’t so fortunate when we chose our own Chinese Pistache trees, nor when they created volunteers on our lot.
I’ve always admired this barn across the highway, and being November, I also admired some red trees in the distance.
Walking more slowly and going shorter distances does increase one’s awareness of the surroundings. That is a good trait for an artist to cultivate.
P.S. Yeppers, two churches in our neighborhood, neither one “ours”.
SIMPLY HOME
Walnut Orchard, 10×10″, $200
CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.
Tuesday, November 12, 6:30-7:30, I will give a demo/talk called How To Draw at CACHE. It is full.
Last week I did some sketching and designing for a very difficult pencil commission. It is breaking a hard and fast rule that I have set for myself, but I can’t figure out how to say no and still help the customer. It’s too scary to show you right now. . . more will be revealed. . .
Then I painted hard. How hard?
I painted so hard that my brush snapped. That’s a first for me in 18 years of painting.
These two paintings got moved into the house near the wood stove to dry. There’s more to be done on both, but I am spending my week working on my presentation for How To Draw.
IMPORTANT
Tuesday, November 12, 6:30-7:30, I will give a demo/talk called How To Draw at CACHE. Contact me if you are interested, because seating is limited and there is one more spot.
SIMPLY HOME
Olive Orchard, 10×10″, $200
CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.
Last week was a rough one for tech. My blog croaked, which led me to realize that my entire website was AWOL. This led to many phone calls, and a large expenditure. Then, when I had things working again, thanks to Rowland, Mario, Eva, and Ken Joe Sam (Really? No, really??), we had a day without internet, cell service, telephone, or teevee. (I didn’t miss that last thing.)
So, I painted, after spending a bit of time in the studio making plans and taking care of administrative tasks. Those necessary parts of an art business are too boring to tell you about.)
Mr. Antisocial Jackson was suddenly interested in everything I was working on.
This painting is either 11×14 or 12×16, but I don’t remember. I am painting it so that if someone needs to take a painting from Simply Home, I will be able to put something in the hole.
Tucker took a break with me.
This lighthouse painting, done mostly plein air, still needed to be finished in the painting workshop. (I draw in my studio and paint in the workshop, because painting can get messy.)
It will look better when it is scanned. This was photographed with my inferior phone camera. And as always, it will look better in person.
Pippin was happy to sit behind me while I painted.
REMINDER: Tuesday, November 12, 6:30-7:30, I will give a demo/talk called How To Draw at CACHE. Contact me if you are interested, because seating is limited.
SIMPLY HOME
Homer Barn, 12×16″, SOLD
CACHE Gallery hours are Fridays 1:30-4:00, Saturdays 10:00-4:00, Sundays noon-4:00.
