"Painting En Plein Air" © 9 x 12

In our last blog, we featured a painting of the Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena and that reminded me of this painting that I did last Fall. There were several artists painting in the area that day and I was having trouble finding a spot to paint where I wouldn't be blocking someone's view or wouldn't have someone else in my view. Since the light was quickly changing and I was getting tired trying to find a spot to paint, I decided to paint this scene and include the artist. I am happy with this painting because it is much more interesting with the figure in it. The artist who was "in my way" turned out to be the central focus of the painting!

This painting is currently being exhibited at "The Old Mill" in San Marino (1120 Old Mill Road). The Old Mill ("El Molino Viejo") is a charming historical building and is the gallery of the California Art Club.

"Memories of the Arroyo" © 16 x 20

This painting is called "Memories of the Arroyo" because Frank and I have many fond memories of this location. For many years we’ve enjoyed painting in the Arroyo Seco area with our artist friends and participated in several of the California Art Club’s paintouts followed by an art sale held at the Casa de Arroyo. A portion of the proceeds always went to the renovation and preservation of the Arroyo Seco so we feel a part of its beauty. For several years, it was a "tradition" for us to go to the Arroyo and paint on New Year's Day when it was quiet and the weather was ‘picture perfect.’ I can’t count the number of times we have painted the Colorado Street Bridge and its ‘sister’ bridges further downstream and the paintings always get sold to locals who live near the Arroyo. This painting is my most recent one of the bridge. No "takers" yet, but I have only shown it a couple of times.

"After the Rain" © 24 x 30 Sold

Those of you who live in Southern California know what the "June gloom" is but for those who don't, it is the overcast mornings we have during the month of June. The gloominess usually "burns off" by 11:00 a.m. to reveal a nice sunny afternoon. Anyway, the June gloom we are experiencing right now reminded me of a painting I did last year of a scene in Bishop, California. It had just rained and the sun was just trying to peek out afterward. The mountains in the background were still misty but the sun was shining in the foreground. This was my attempt to capture that mood but some of nature's light effects are elusive when it comes to painting. I guess I got close.

While I was in the studio painting this scene, one of our patrons stopped by, spotted the half-finished painting on my easel and said she wanted to buy it when it was done. I wish I could sell all of my paintings that way!

"Summer's Gold" © 6 x 8 Sold

Our posting of last week prompted me to look back at some of my paintings of coastal scenes. I'm not sure anymore where this scene was from but I think it was somewhere on the Malibu coast. The obvious reason for this painting was the "glow" of the sunset and the reflections on the water. I sold this one almost immediately after it was painted. As I recall, the paint was still wet when I sold it to a lady who had lived in Southern California for several years. In a matter of days, she was going to move back east and wanted a little painting of the coast as a remembrance. Currently, I am painting a series of paintings from our recent trip to Visalia but as soon as I am done with the series, I might paint some more coastal scenes. I love the challenge of painting the different moods of the ocean.