Sunrise pedestrian bridge watercolor

Although this doesn't seem like much of a Valentine's day post, the Sunrise pedestrian bridge is one if the places I took my wife on our second date almost 24 years ago. She has always loved this bridge, so I thought I would dedicate this painting to my wife.
 I based this painting on a photo I had taken on the same outing as I had taken photos for Autumn along the river, so the color palette is very similar, and I love the reflections on the calm water of the river.

Autumn along the river

It is finally feeling like fall weather here in Sacramento! Yesterday was a sunny but crisp morning in the 40's and normally I would not venture out in the cold this early (8 am on a Saturday) but my daughter had an appointment to go to, so after dropping her off, a headed down to the river near the Sunrise Blvd river access along the American River. I had most of my painting supplies with me but was only inspired enough to take a few pictures with my phone due to the cold. The leaves of the trees along the river are starting to turn their many colors, and the river, although very low due to a very dry year, was peacefully reflecting those colors. An egret, which was actually sitting in another spot along the river, seemed to be enjoying the early morning calm as much as I was, so it seemed fitting to place him in the painting.

Wild irises along the river, plein air

A beautiful spring day along the American River, I went out to enjoy the river and sun with some friends. Of course I was inspired to do some painting, with the wild irises all in bloom along the banks.
Why do I paint? I paint because it allows me to escape from work and go within to find joy. Painting creates an intimate connection with my subject, in this case, my favorite model, Mother Earth. This plein air painting done at William B. Pond is a perfect spot for demonstrating this: a quiet spot away from the bustle of the city where I can reconnect with nature.

I actually painted this same tree cluster a couple of years ago as one of my first plein air paintings, but from a different angle, William B Pond.  It is amazing to see how much my painting style has improved over the last couple of years.

gristmill plein air reworked

Sometimes after letting a painting sit for a while, I will go back and see if I can improve on it.  Usually it doesn't take a month before I do this, but in the case of my Gristmill Plein Air painting, it has been longer than that.
It did not seem quite finished but I could not quite figure out what it needed.  I decided to post it onto a facebook paged where fellow artists critique your work.  Wow, talk about putting myself out there! There was lots of input as to how to improve it.  One of the comments was that the waterline cut the picture right in half, it looked like two different paintings put together, and there was no point of focus.
So I decided to just go for it, and try to apply some of the ideas that had been thrown out there.  I raised the waterline and broke it up with some grasses. I lightened the foreground a bit and darkened the background to try to create more depth in the painting. And I added a point of interest, the fisherman. I rarely put people in my plein aire paintings so this was a big challenge. He looks a little stiff but I think it works.

 

Before

After

American river plein aire, Untitled

Many artists that I have talked to do value studies with a quick pencil sketch before they start a painting. I usually just throw a couple of pencil lines down on my watercolor paper to help with placement but don't really think a whole lot about values. So I decided to give value studies a try to decide if it is a value-able use of time and effort :) 

This pencil sketch only took 5 minutes and I can see how important it would be if I was going to take the painting back to the studio to work on it. Instead, I finished painting all on location and found that it was easier just to refer back to the real scene than my sketch. I did find that some of my artistic choices were thought out ahead of time with the sketch instead of while I was painting.

Since I was experimenting with value studies, I decided to do another sketch that I will take back to the studio and see how that works out...

Gristmill plein air watercolor

The weather here in California is just too nice to paint inside, so I took advantage of a warm February afternoon to head down to the river. My plein air supplies are pretty simple: a pad of watercolor paper, a pencil, a few brushes, my paint palette, and a cup to hold my water. I also grabbed a blanket from the trunk of my car since I forgot my folding chair I usually carry. I found a nice sunny spot on a log near the American River and started to paint. I love the little rapids flowing over the rocks but I am still trying to figure out how to convey that in the painting.

Afternoon fishing on the American River, watercolor

I decided to take my pencil drawing of Afternoon fishing on the American River and turn it into a watercolor. I liked the composition of the drawing and I had all of the light and dark values.  I just needed to put in color.  To simplify things, I took my original drawing and enlarged it on the copier. Then by putting it up on the window (instead of  a light box), I traced my main outlines. From there, I just had to get creative filling in the colors, drawing from what I remembered  a month ago when I was sitting down by the river.

I've got this painting ready to enter into the "Painting Where the Wild Things Are" show at Sacramento Fine arts Center,  art inspired by the American River Parkway.

Plein air painting small rapids

I am taking advantage of this wonderfully warm spring weather...although the down side is that we need more rain. The river is particularly low right now.  I am fascinated with the movement of the water, and the effects it has on the reflections on the water, bouncing light and colors in different ways. So here is my attempt to capture this small section of rapids as it flows over the rocks.

Plein air painting on the American River

One of my favorite spots to paint is along the American River. It never disappoints. I can always find a beautiful, serene view.  And the weather was a perfect day to be outside. This is at the Howe Avenue River Access, just past the boat ramp. My daughter was with me and asked about how I decide how to simplify all of the details. I told her it was a good question, because that is the part that is the most challenging...to simplify it down to a manageable scene for painting. I did tell her that I generalize the background, and then add in a few details toward the foreground.

This boat was not there while I was painting but after I was finished, it showed up. Maybe I should paint it in...what do you think?

Sailboat on Lake Natoma

What better way to spend a Saturday morning than sitting out by the smooth glassy water of Lake Natoma painting?  We'll let me tell you:  sleeping in and then enjoying a nice cup of coffee with my wife! So I got to the aquatic center on Lake Natoma around 10:30, just in time to see about 30 kids heading down to the dock. The water was smooth, but not for long. I decided to toss out the idea of plein air painting and take a picture before the kid started rowing.  Then I went home and painted in my studio from the picture.

A bridge at Hagan Park

So while I was plein air painting the pond at Hagan Park, I decided to take some pictures to see if I could be further inspired later on. The idea of taking a picture and then going home and painting inside, like most painters do, has always been a struggle for me. Why? I don't know, but there is something about painting a scene that is right in front of you that always seems to inspire me...especially in this beautiful Sacramento weather we are having! So this was painted entirely inside. The biggest advantage that I found to painting inside from a photograph is that I don't having a rushed feeling, leaving more time to let things dry. This has always been a problem for me...having the patience to let one area dry before going to the next.

I really worked on leaving negative spaces on this piece...no masking fluid used (I still have to get some of that so I can figure it out). The bridge kind of reminds me of  Monet's Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies.

Plein air painting at the pond in Hagan Park, Rancho Cordova

I was out at Hagan Park this week, looking for some insiration to paint, with my new stool and easle that I had gotten for my birthday. Whenever I am here I always think about the large pond but never made the time to sit down and paint it, until now! The pond is always smooth and reflective, so I challenged myself with treating the reflction a little different than I  usually do when I am out painting the river. I quite like the texture that it created in the painting! The idea of painting vertically instead of having the painting pad on my lap was tricky to get use to.  It is suppose to help the paint flow better, but I guess it takes some getting use to.

It's kind of intimidating looking at the photograph right next to my painting, but I think I did a pretty good representation of the scene.

Bridge over the American River

Today was such a beautiful day in Sacramento, I just had to get outside.  I've been cooped up inside because of rain or just being to cold to go out. (Ha, ha! I know I'm talking low 50's here. I'm just spoiled with California weather)  I have just been trying to get over this creative block that prevents me from even getting started.  But the good part of this is that I'm actually caught up on my blogging and I actually did this TODAY! (Not last month or a couple of weeks ago like I normally start) 

 It has been a while since I was out painting along the American River, but I am drawn to this peaceful strip of land amidst the hustle and bustle of Sacramento.  The Watt Avenue Bridge is one of those spots that the two converge.  I particularly liked the pattern of light and dark created by the support beams, and especially the triangles of afternoon light formed by the sun peeking under the bridge.

I've been working on different techniques such as mixing the color directly on the paper and using a dry brush. I like the way the dry brush strokes on the bottom left created the appearance of the sun shimmering off the rapids in the water.  I'm still working on being patient enough to let areas of the painting dry before laying down the next layer. Sometimes the resulting "bleed" creates a nice effect, like the trunk of the tree on the left. Other times its not so good (under the middle of the bridge).  I also feel there are some perspective issues on the bridge...next time I will need to bring a ruler or straight edge to keep my lines and perspective straight!

Fishing at William B Pond

I went to William B Pond for the regular “1^st Sunday” meet-up of plein aire painters at 3:00 in the afternoon. There are tons on places to find inspiration here so it turns out I didn’t see any other artists, but sometimes that just takes the pressure off.  I found a spot on the hill above the fishing dock where a man was fishing with his young son (about 3 or 4 years old).  Now fishing is all a relative term because he was spending more time chasing after his son: keeping him from running off, keeping him from climbing the rail, keeping him out of his tackle box.  I kept thinking how he could expect a child sit for hours watching him fish?

I figured this man deserved a spot in my painting. Other than my self portrait, this was my first attempt at putting people into a painting. OK, well I cheated a little bit by sticking him in a chair and you only see his head, but it’s a start, right?

I  found the most challenging part of this was the railing on the dock. Do I paint the rail first and paint the background over it, between it? Or do I paint the rail in last over everything else? After experimenting a little, I figured out that painting it last was probably the best solution in this case. But being outside, it just wasn't drying and it got a little muddy.

By this point the dad had packed up, and the boy, barely being missed by a bike as he ran across the bike trail, was being yelled at as they headed out to the parking lot.

Sunset at William B Pond

Back in October, my favorite time of year here in Sacramento, I went for a evening stroll with my wife down by William B Pond to catch a gorgeous sunset. An added benefit of this particular evening was there was also going to be a harvest moon, the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox. This was called a harvest moon because it never gets completely dark between sunset and moonrise allowing farmers to continue harvesting late into the night (as well as letting us hike back to our car!).

The great thing about this time of day is that you see all kinds of colors in the sky and they continually change until it is dark.  These colors are all reflected in the calm waters of the pond to enhance the scene even more.  The problem with painting sunsets is the same reason that they are so amazing: the colors constantly change, it doesn't last very long and soon its dark!  Its hard to really get a good sense of the color even in a photograph (at least not with my camera). So, I just put down  a quick horizon and  then focused on the sky and the clouds. I need to work on my gradient coloring, blending the blue at the top of the sky with the reds at the horizon.

Effie Yeaw Nature Area

June 9 - On a beautiful Saturday morning, I decided to go to Effie Yeaw Nature Area for a paint-out where artists were suppose to paint and then display their works for a nominal fee on the patio of the museum.  The museum was planning a fund raiser later that afternoon. I wasn't too sure about displaying my art, but I figured I would go and check out what other artists were doing, take a look around, and do a little painting myself, if I was so inspired.  It had been a while since I had been to Ancil Hoffman Park and Effie Yeaw Nature Area, so I took a stroll around. I was amazed at how much wildlife there was: deer, turkeys, egrets. 

Once I had walked around the nature area, I went to find a nice quiet spot (which is pretty easy since the whole place is quiet!) I set up alongside the path next to a large meadow with my chair (a permanent addition to my plein aire supplies) and my watercolors. My goal in this painting was to focus on not a lot of detail in the background trees, while incorporating as much detail as I could in the tree in the foreground.  I reworked the trunk of the tree several times to get a sense of the texture in the bark. After I was finished, I wished that the oak tree was not so “cut off” but more in the painting.

An additional side note: I had seen so much wildlife in the morning that I thought I should incorporate something into the painting. I decided to put a small deer under the background tree on the left. I did not like the way it was turning out so it quickly became a shadow under the tree instead.

Here's one of the creations of another artist that was at the paint-out.  I really liked the way this watercolor looks.  It actually has the effects that I was working on with the background trees and foreground trees, but I  like the way the bridge turned out!  I took a picture of it on the easel while being displayed for the fundraiser.

William B Pond, again!

March 4, 2012 - I went back to William B Pond, with my family this time, on a lazy Sunday afternoon (the plus side of having a mild winter).  I found a nice quiet spot on the bank by the “Islands” just down river from the bike trail bridge.  I liked the contrast of nature and architecture in this view.

 I really did not spend a lot of time working on reflection on this painting.  One of the hardest parts of watercolor is having patience enough to wait for areas of the painting to dry enough so it doesn’t bleed when I add another layer. When I first started to add reflection, it bled into the water…not the effect I was going for but let’s make all the reflections blurred to match the first one!

I really played with adding an abstract background. I avoided drawing individual trees but put in clumps of color to imply groups of trees. The bridge was a challenge because I couldn’t figure out the color of concrete. In hind sight, I should have just left it a negative space with a few lines to show the shadows because the black is too dark. This will be a spot to return to later to try that!

The geese were all over the place this day and I almost painted one or two right into the foreground. There’s space in that large area of blue at the bottom.  But I had no idea how to draw geese so I did a little “study of a goose” painting.

After I had packed up my painting supplies (which takes about 2 minutes) my family wanted to walk around and see the other areas of the park.  We headed over to the fishing pier by the pond. There on the pier were two other painters doing the same thing I was doing – bringing their paints outside and painting in nature! I couldn’t believe their set up—chairs, easels on tripods, paints and paintbrushes galore. Although I had been working with a minimalist approach when it came to my supplies, I was quite impressed.  One was working with acrylic, which I had never ventured into trying, even back in college. The other artist, who was working in watercolor, was doing a study of the geese! They were quite inspiring on that day.  After talking to them a bit and watching over their shoulder as they painted (I appreciated this because I know having someone watch as I paint is quite nerve-racking), they told me that they were there because of a Meet-Up group called Plein Aire Painters.  I had never even heard of Meet-Up at this time, and up until this point I was just saying I was painting outside. Now I had a name for what I was doing and apparently there was a group of people in Sacramento that was doing the same thing!  So I was anxious to get home and check it out!

Introduction

Ceramic Cookie Jar -College Ceramics Class

 Welcome to my Art Blog.  I've been getting back into my art this year after setting it aside for 20 years. After leaving college, I went out into the real world where I had to get a paying job which left little time for much else!   As an art major, I had all of these resources available to me, whether it was sculpting, ceramics, painting, or figure drawing.  There was also a lot more time to dedicate to my art back then. 

Bronze Horse - College Sculpture Class

Now that I have a family and a full time job, the time and resources seem to not be as easy to come by.  With a new realization, I have found that I need to make time for both! When I first started back out to paint,  I began by being inspired by nature, specifically the American River Parkway right around the corner. All I had was a simple watercolor kit and some brushes to start "Plein aire" painting - which means outside on the spot. One day while seeking some inspiration, I happened across another couple of artist's painting along the river, and they told me about a Meet-Up group called Plein Aire Painters that met regularly and welcomed me to join them. 








This blog is my story of getting back to my passion and my art, working though my perfectionism and fear of failure (or maybe the fear of success?), and the story that goes behind every piece of art that I create.  My goal is to post a new entry several times per month, with the hope of becoming more prolific as I continue my process. Enjoy my creativity!

College Life Figure Drawing Class