Catching a Breath

 

Yes, I'm still here — and still painting! I'm catching my blogging-breath; taking a break from posting painting photos while I clean up my studio and get ready for a couple of shows. It's going to be a busy few months. Painting, shows, Thanksgiving, birthdays, Christmas, and then a wedding! (I still need to get a dress for that....)

I've also had fun watching the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational this week, both virtually and in person. I've watched some of the shared photos on FaceBook, and spent a wonderful morning yesterday hiking around the Aliso Creek Inn and Golf Course watching about 40 great plein air painters at work. There were so many people there, even the overflow parking was full. Everyone kept exclaiming "I didn't even know this was here!" What a beautiful place. I took a lot of photos, since it's not often you get to wander around a golf course in a canyon. It was really fun watching some of the artists (whom I've admired from afar) working out their paintings. The hardest part was having to leave one artist at an interesting place in their painting so I could see more of them. Candy store.

These guys didn't even blink at the artists

Definitely want to do that again; I hope the Aliso Creek Inn continues their sponsorship. Happy October!

Winter Afternoon at Demetria

Winter Afternoon at Demetria, 6"x6", oil on panel
©2013 Cindy Greene

We spent a wonderful afternoon last January at Demetria Estate in the Santa Rita Hills. The wine was delicious, we were with good friends and the views around the winery are beautiful. It was warm ("all you need is a light jacket"), and we sat on the beautiful patio along with a lot of other happy people. I can see why it's a favorite (although expensive) event venue. At the time, I was in the middle of a "30-in-30 challenge" but didn't have my oils with me. So I pulled out my sketchbook and watercolors and painted a quick study on the patio.

As we were leaving, the light was hitting the olive trees and hills at a sharp angle, and it was really a beautiful sight. Cameras and iPhones were whipped out — how do you capture such a moment? 

I painted this from an iPhone photo and my memory of the light and colors. I think I'm going to see if I can plan a plein air session next time we are in the area.

September's Last Hurrah! — Little Corona Cove II

Little Corona Cove II, 12"x16", oil on canvas panel
©2013 Cindy Greene

I didn't really just slither off at the end of September without meeting my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. I painted 28 paintings in September, a few of which were either scraped off, or will go to the "maybe I can do something with this someday" pile.

I finished this painting on September 30, but wasn't able to photograph it for a couple of days. This is a very large painting for me — 12x16" — which I painted from a plein air study done at Little Corona Beach in Corona Del Mar, California. 

I'm relieved the 30-in-30 challenge is over — I loved the painting, but the stress of getting a painting done, photographed and posted has been more than I bargained for. Other artists have had the same reaction, I know. I hit up against that "only so many hours in the day" thing again.

So I'm going to clean up my studio (yes, please!) and perhaps my laptop as well, and make some plans for what I want to paint in October. I'll be posting less often of course, but plan to paint frequently. September was really great — thank you all for following me!