September 30 in 30 — Late Summer

Late Summer, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene
available here

I am still here, and still painting — I've done a few small paintings that are not really blog material. While I will most likely make my goal of 30 paintings this month, they may not all be shared. Oh well.

We had surprise visits from two of our daughters over the weekend, which was really fun. I am SO thankful that our girls like to spend time with us!

Today's painting is from photo references I took at Bolsa Chica Wetlands on our last visit. I think it's about time to go back.

September 30 in 30 — Incoming Tide

Incoming Tide, 5"x7", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene,
$100, available here

When we were at Bolsa Chica Wetlands the other day, the clouds gradually cleared and the heat started to sink in. This view of the inlet is full of birds, resident and visitor, as well as sealife. I love sitting there and watching. 

I'm thankful I painted a couple of paintings ahead last week. A dear elderly family member is not feeling well, and I've spent quite a bit of time with her. Then yesterday, two of our daughters came for a weekend visit, and it was totally worth putting the paints aside while we enjoyed them. We visited, talked, swam, cooked, watched soccer, knit, shopped, ate and talked a lot more. So much fun, and I am so thankful.

September 30 in 30 — Wetlands Sky

Wetlands Sky, 7"x5", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene
$100, available here

When we arrived at the marsh the other morning, the sky was just amazing. I'm guessing the late summer unstable hot air meeting the marine moisture did some magic. I painted very quickly to try to capture the essence of the sky. This is the main inlet for the wetlands, so the moving water allowed very few reflections.

September 30 in 30 — Wetlands Reflections

Wetlands Reflections, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene
$125, available here

We went to Bolsa Chica Wetlands again yesterday, to enjoy being outdoors before it got too hot. (Yes, heat wave here.) This is a slightly different view of the same area of marsh I painted last week. The clouds were just magnificent.

My husband got some great photos, including a red egret and a pair of white pelicans, neither of which we had seen there before. Fun morning, but by 10:00 it was too hot to stay in the sun, even at the coast.

Summer Clouds

Summer Clouds, 5x7", oil on linen panel,
©2013 Cindy Greene

Tuesdays have been plein air days all summer and today my two painting buddies were not able to go. So I asked my husband if he'd like an outing (he's a photographer), and off we went to one of our favorite local spots, the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. It was a strange morning, weather-wise, very cloudy for late August. But what a beautiful morning it turned out to be. I shared this part of the marsh with a reclusive clapper rail, who had at least one photographer looking for him, as I guess they are fairly rare this time of year.

I'm very pleased with this painting — since the light was changing so rapidly, and the clouds clearing up, I got the color notes for the water in early, as well as the dark marsh areas. The pickleweed was fun, with all the reds and greens.

 

I finished this painting fairly quickly and started another of the incoming tide. You can see a bit of it below, along with Stuart who agreed to pose. Such a fun morning; it left both of us very satisfied. And hungry!