Painting at the Back Bay

Come On Up, 10x8", oil on panel, ©2014 Cindy Greene

 In the middle of Newport Beach, California, right under the airport flight path, is an oasis for both humans and fauna of many sorts. The Newport Back Bay is a famous birding site, and is also enjoyed by bicyclists, kayakers, SUP-ers and families with small children, as well as artists. I've painted there many times, and always enjoy watching the change of seasons as well as the wildlife. In March, I took a plein air painting class from Kim VanDerHoek, and we painted in two different locations at the Back Bay. It was a fun group, and Kim always has a challenge for me.

The painting above, "Come On Up," was painted from the visitor's center. It's a lovely spot (once you get used to the jets overhead). I've painted the marsh and bluffs from that spot many times, so I had a great time painting the steps to the center's patio.

 Below is a path off the road in the Lower Back Bay. The marsh is beyond the shrubs, and you can see part of Newport Beach in the background.

Lower Bay Path, 8x10", oil on panel, ©2014 Cindy Greene

September 30 in 30 — Plein Air at the Back Bay

Plein Air at the Back Bay, 5x7", oil on linen canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene

I had so much fun this summer painting with my two plein air buddies. Jeanne always wears her red shorts for painting trips (you know, you get a bit of paint on something and presto! it's your uniform) so of course I've been wanting to paint her in them. It was challenging to get the rocks and grasses in without letting them dwarf her. This area is a beautiful deck that overlooks the upper Newport Back Bay, and it's a favorite spot for painters.

Grey Day at the TIdepool

Grey Day at the Tidepool, oil on canvas panel, 6x8", available here,
©2013 Cindy Greene

Yesterday was another wonderful day in Laguna Beach. Our painting group decided to go to the beach below the Montage Resort, also known as Treasure Island. Because of limited parking time, we were finished by 11:00 am, and the sun never came out.

But if you know me, you know that's just fine. While I love painting sunlight and shadow, the sea has so many colors and nuances when the marine layer is over us.

I have another painting that needs a few tweaks, and will post that tomorrow.

40 Strokes and Counting

Little Corona; Creek Morning, 5"x7", oil on linen panel, auction here

 

"To know what to leave out and what to put in; just where and just how, ah,

THAT is to have been educated in the knowledge of simplicity."

Frank Lloyd Wright

What an amazing place this world of ours is, no? I've been painting this summer with a small group of friends. We chat, paint for several hours, sometimes have lunch after, and generally enjoy beautiful scenery and the joy (and agony) of painting en plein air. Last week's trip to Little Corona Beach was so fun that we went again this week. Lots of things happened.

1. I had an idea to start our morning with a warm-up exercise, painting a simple scene on a small panel in 40 minutes. But the kicker was — only 40 strokes were allowed. Now painting an apple in 20 strokes is manageable, but how do you paint a landscape scene in 40 strokes? I picked a scene and studied it, mixed paint, got out a couple of large brushes and set the timer on my phone for 20 minutes to have a half-time warning. This was hard. I counted out my strokes, making sure to get lots of paint on my brush for each stroke, stopping to mix more paint (duh), squinting to try to capture the value the first time, since I wouldn't likely have a stroke left to correct it later.
   
   At about 25 minutes in, I had used up 35 strokes. I studied the scene again, trying to decide what was most important to capture. At 39 strokes and about 30 minutes, I was basically finished.
   
   And you know what? This is my favorite painting of the day. Definitely a productive exercise, and one I plan to do again.
   
   (When I got home, the painting had smudged in my wet panel box (!) and it took about five strokes to fix it. Disclosure and all that.)
   

   

   40 strokes view
   

2. While I was painting, a young couple came up and asked if they could leave their things by me while they went for a swim. We chatted for a minute, and they told me they were visiting the U.S. from Germany, and had three weeks to tour the Southwest. They were on their way to the Grand Canyon, then to Bryce and Zion National Parks, then would make their way back to California, hopefully seeing Yosemite before they returned home. They were so fun, absolutely charming, and I hope they have a wonderful trip. I handed them my sunscreen to at least keep their shoulders from blistering — I guess the sun isn't quite so bright in Germany and they didn't realize how quickly they would burn.
   
3. One of my painting buddies sold her painting right off her easel to a tourist from Las Vegas. What happens in Corona del Mar stays in Corona del Mar, right? How fun!
   
4. I forgot my camera. Oh well.
   
5. I decided to try painting something really new and not one of the usual beach scenes. Behind me was where the creek came down a canyon and flowed into the ocean. I really liked the view, so painted it. I'm not sure if I'm completely satisfied with this as a painting, but am very glad I did it. Actually, I think I like it a lot.

 

Heading for the Pacific, 8"x10", oil on linen panel

So no seal releases or weddings this week, but a glorious morning at a beautiful place. So thankful.

Joy at the Beach

Looking North, 10"x8", oil on canvas panel,
©2013 Cindy Greene

Each time I go out to paint plein air, I try to set a goal for myself. Something new to try, or a part of my painting that I feel needs attention. Last week I wanted to work on putting down intentional brush strokes and leaving them. The temptation to "noodle" the paint is great, especially when in an unfamiliar environment and you are trying to "get it right."

Above is the first painting I did that morning. The marine layer was pretty thick, but the blue sky was working hard to show itself high in the sky. I liked the white and grey clouds looking north toward Newport Beach, so chose to paint this with a vertical orientation to emphasize the sky. It was very subtle, but I'm pretty happy with the brushwork, as well as the colors of the rocks as the sun was trying to peek through.

The second painting of the day was posted yesterday, Little Corona Cove, and I think it's my favorite of the day. I am happy with the brushwork as well as the composition and colors. That doesn't happen often. I will probably use this study for a larger painting.

Little Corona Cove, 5"x7", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene

This small wave study was fun. I had some time and some paint left on my palette. The beach was full of families and kids by that time, so I just looked straight out ahead of me and painted what was there.

Soft Waves, Small Rock 5x7", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene

It's great to have painting buddies, especially when they are as fun and encouraging as mine. Jeanne, Debbie and I claimed our spot early in the middle of the beach, while Diane stayed up by the cliff.

Jeanne and Debbie lost in their painting

Diane's first day painting at the beach, and she did great!

Debbie's impromptu painting of the wedding at the tidepools

I mentioned before that a small wedding took place that morning by the tidepools. While it was fun to watch and share that fun, what happened after was even better. Debbie, who paints weddings regularly, grabbed a small panel and started sketching the wedding party before the rest of us knew what she was doing. She managed to get 80% of the painting finished before the wedding party packed up, and walked over to meet them and present them with the painting as a gift. (They weren't sure what she was selling at first!) They were stunned of course, and delighted. Debbie took their address, and promised to send them the painting when it was finished and dry. They had flown in from Colorado to be married at the beach, and really didn't need the burden of a wet painting in their luggage. We chatted briefly with the group, and they took off to celebrate. Meanwhile, we went back to our paintings and had such a lovely warm feeling of joy the rest of the day. Debbie's kindness was not really random, but such a part of her personality and love of giving to others. The rest of our little group received a gift that day as well as the bride and groom.

Sycamore Hill Path

Sycamore Hill Path, 10x8", oil on canvas panel,
©2013 Cindy Greene

Last Thursday I painted at Sycamore Hill in Irvine Regional Park with Kim VanDerHoek's plein air class. We have a standing joke that Kim picks the most challenging weather and location combinations that she can find in our idyllic area of Southern California. How bad can it be in May in SoCal? 

Well, the prediction was for 93F, and I noticed the wind symbol on the weather app on my phone. While driving over the hill to the park, I was having to dodge palm fronds and eucalyptus branches in the street. When I found the meeting location, I spent about five minutes picking a parking spot away from the large trees — leaves and branches were everywhere. It was really windy.

My main goal was to find a sheltered spot that had something "paintable." I knew an umbrella would never work in the wind, so I also looked for shade for my easel.

I'm pretty happy with the result. I picked out most of the bugs and bits of dirt and leaves that blew in, and managed to get the painting home safely. My challenges for this painting (other than dealing with the weather) were to paint larger (8x10), and to do a landscape without a sky. Done!

And April Flew By....

Instead of finishing daily paintings the last couple of months, I've been working on studies and spending time on some slightly larger paintings. One of my goals is to do some large studio paintings from some of the plein air studies that I do. I love working small and finishing a painting in one sitting, but I need to move on! 

So I'm going slightly larger in my plein air work - yes, an 8x10 feels large when you're outside with the weather and light changing every 10 minutes. (It's almost twice the real estate of a 6x8!) I've gone up to 11x14 for a couple of studio paintings and I'm aiming at some larger pieces this month.

Above is a collage of a few landscape studies I did in April. A few were in class, and a couple were painted from demos in Elizabeth Tolley's book.

Blown Away

Blown Away, 5"x7", oil on canvas panel, ©2013 Cindy Greene
available here

As I mentioned in my long posts about our Cambria trip, I painted a few small paintings at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. This is the first one I did, from the Bluff Trail looking north to Moonstone Beach. The clouds were blowing in and out, and I was trying to capture the essence of the scene very quickly, especially the hills in the background. 

This was definitely the most challenging plein air experience I've had, what with the 35mph winds and icy fingers. There were a few friendly dogs and walkers, but they weren't a problem. I think there are a few grains of sand embedded into the paint — but that just adds to the authenticity, don't you think?

Sensory Overload, Part 2

Up the Hill

I decided to split the post about our Cambria trip when I realized that my sensory overload didn't end when we got home. Looking through the photos still overwhelms me. 

Part 1 if you missed it.

I burrowed into some bushes on the back side trail, and painted the grasses and some trees on the hill. There were many tempting views, but the least windy spot won.

White-Crowned Sparrows sang to us; they look like they are wearing bicycle helmets

After I finished the second study, I decided to whip out a third (since I still had some feeling in my fingers and paint on my palette). I painted fast and furious, but it was pretty much a disaster. "Wipers" aren't for public consumption, so it's not getting blogged. I quickly packed up, and we headed for some lunch. Winds were about 35 mph by that time!

While loading the car, I couldn't resist snapping more flowers in front of the house next to the preserve.

A friend had recommended that we try Robin's for lunch. What a nice surprise! Very eclectic, international and creative menu. We had the Salmon Bisque, a black bean and rice burrito, and a delicious bun-less hamburger for me. Oh and since we had worked so hard all morning, we shared a hot fudge sundae with McConnell's coffee ice cream. With a flower.

small photo to downplay the size of that sundae

We then took off to drive up Santa Rosa Creek Road to find more future painting locations. It was so beautiful, but it is a working road with very few turn-outs and a lot of trucks flying up and down the road. We did stop a few times to take some photos.

On one of our stops, I ran down the side of the road to get a better shot of a field, and stepped in a hole and twisted my ankle. I was able to get back to the car, but that ended the active part of the day. We drove around a bit more, but then headed back to the hotel where I spent most of the rest of the day with an ice pack. We did get to Linn's for dinner, which is always a treat.

Poppies deserving a sacrificed ankle?

We headed home the next day, but took a carefully-planned route to make the most of our trip (and to miss the evening LA traffic). First we drove north to see the elephant seals at Piedros Blancas Rookery (check out the livecam here if you can). Here's the lighthouse and the rocks, but no seals. Great colors in the ocean.

 And of course, the elephant seals. One of the volunteers explained that they are fasting right now on the beach, waiting to finish molting. Then most of them go out to sea to feed — the largest males get up to 5000 pounds while feeding off Alaska. They will be back next winter for mating and birthing season. They estimate about 4800 pups were born this last winter just at the central California beaches.

 A quick stop in Cayucos for more Smoked Pork Tacos (I only get these once or twice a year!), and then we went to Atascadero to visit Central Coast Trains. I went in the store for a few minutes, but then sat in the car with my foot up and enjoyed the clouds.

We drove down to the Santa Ynez Valley and made a quick stop at our favorite winery, Koehler. The Lady Banks roses were in full bloom. More overload.

Last stop of the day was to meet our "youngest" daughter for dinner in Santa Barbara. We always go to the Fishouse, mostly because of the location and they have a parking lot where we always find a spot (not so easy in Santa Barbara). The food is also pretty good. ;-) It was a great finale to the trip, and we did manage to miss most of the traffic driving back through Los Angeles. 

(The ankle is still pretty swollen and sore, but improving. It will be ready for another painting trip in a week or so!)

Sensory Overload, Part 1

 

Wildflowers at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve

 Although there is painting in this post, there's also travel. Hope no one minds.

My husband and I took a quick trip up the coast — we needed to get away, and a Travelzoo deal popped up at just the right time. We love the California Central Coast, and try to visit a couple times each year. I realized that except for a trip in January with some friends, we've always "gone north" in the fall. Our anniversary is in November, and we like to travel as off-season as possible. (One of us really doesn't like traffic or crowds. Well, maybe both of us.) 

April is pretty spectacular in California this year. We hit the peak of the wild mustard season, as well as a lot of wildflowers and just general spring green beauty. I was snapping photos out the car window like crazy. When we realized how gorgeous every hill was, we decided to take a couple of detours to enjoy the ride. 

We worked our way up to Cayucos, and had Smoked Pork Tacos at Ruddell's. So delicious. Here's what Ruddell's looks like in case anyone has forgotten. Aside from the tacos, I think the red trash can with aqua liner is my favorite thing, and it's still there.

Ruddell's, 6x6", oil on board

We got to Cambria early afternoon, and went to Fiscalini Ranch Preserve to scout out painting sites for the next day. It was really windy, but we enjoyed a walk on the Bluff Trail before checking in at the Cambria Pines Lodge. There were many wildflowers blooming along the bluff; so pretty.

Monday was an adventure. We were at Fiscalini early, and the wind was blowing. Predictions were for 20-30 mph, so I decided to just paint a couple of quick studies. I found a slightly-sheltered spot on the Bluff Trail and did a study of the view toward Moonstone Beach.

the light and clouds had changed a lot by the time I finished.

Yes, it was freezing. There were walkers of course, bundled up and asking me if was going to blow away. I would have, but I was hunkered down behind a bush, on my low stool. I quickly packed up and headed for the back trail, thinking to get out of the wind. I found a spot tucked into the bushes and set up my gear again.

Multi-tasking, with a blackbird watching from a bush behind me

This is getting long, so I'll finish the story tomorrow!

Go to Part 2...

Building an Artist

Slowly Clearing, 10x8", oil on canvas panel,
©2013 Cindy Greene

Do any of you read Stapleton Kearns' blog? Well, if you're interested in art, you should. He doesn't post often, maybe once or twice monthly, but it's always interesting. 

In March, Mr. Kearns wrote a post called "Negotiating a Painting Commission." He rarely accepts commissions these days, but talks about when he accepted any request that "walked in the door." He describes a couple of unsavory commissions, and his advice to those considering accepting commissions. But the most interesting part to me was his last sentence, which jumped out at me. "Look at your work as building an artist." 

All good artists and art teachers will tell you that it takes time to learn to make good art, and it is hard. There are different phrases used to describe this process, which we all share when a fellow artist-in-process is having a tough time. Carol Marine says, "Paint 500 paintings before the real ones." A few artists have talked about the need to paint "miles and miles of canvas." Kim VanDerHoek says "Painting is hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it." Last night my friend Jeanne and I were talking about how to get through the frustrating times, of which there are plenty. (She and I both seem to cry a bit, and then buck up and move on.) I think it was Carol who also talked about if you started taking piano lessons, would your family expect you to come home and play a sonata after your fifth lesson? No. But when we pick up a paintbrush and some paints, we expect to be good, fast. At least good enough that your mother would want to hang your painting in her living room!

During the last couple of weeks, I've been working on just learning. I've done a couple of landscape "lessons" out of Elizabeth Tolley's great book "The Oil Painter's Solution Book: Landscapes," and a couple of landscapes from Kim's class (one is above). I've also been doing some tree studies, and have been experimenting with some new paints and painting surfaces. I try to paint outside at least once a week, usually in a new place, which is always a learning experience! It's fun to try some of these new colors and techniques, and Stapleton Kearns reminds me that I am building an artist. I'm thankful for that.

Here are the two landscape studies I did from Elizabeth Tolley's book. I have long admired her work, much of which is painted in my favorite part of the country, the California Central Coast. She uses a lot of transparent colors, and a layering technique that is new to me. Challenging, but fun.

Landscape Study #1, 8x10", oil on canvas panel

Landscape Study #2, 6x8", oil on canvas panel

Remember, it's a process. It's hard, but rewarding. And you may be "building an artist."

Keyhole Rock in Laguna Beach

Keyhole Rock, 8x10", oil on canvas panel, available here

A couple of friends invited me to join them yesterday morning in Laguna Beach, at the Montage Hotel, for a plein air painting session. There is a public park and bluff area in front of the hotel and it is gorgeous. I'm surprised we were the only painters there. We quickly set up and chose our painting views. I knew I had to paint fast and loose, since I had about two hours before I had to leave. 

I had my own "studio"

I've seen several paintings of Keyhole Rock, so it was interesting to start my own. Sometimes I feel the painting has a life of its own, and I'm just there to facilitate things. (Then there are all the other times...)

I completed about 90% of the painting at the beach, and made a few corrections and finishing touches today. 

This is on a Panelli Telati panel from Italy, which is a cotton canvas on a hardboard panel. I really like the very fine canvas texture, and they are light to carry for plein air work. I still love the Ampersand Gessobords, but am enjoying this as a change.

Debbie & Jeanne painting their Keyhole Rock paintings from the upper path

Thanks, Debbie & Jeanne — it was great!

Lunch at Lola's

Lunch at Lola's, 6x6", oil on board,
©2013 Cindy Greene

I thought about naming this painting "Just Another Day at the Office." I am so thankful to be able to spend a gorgeous spring day outside, with paints and wonderful artists to paint with. But this is Lola Gaspar, a trendy restaurant and bar in the beautiful Santora Arts Building in Santa Ana. Judging from the aromas and happy voices coming from the patio, it would be a good place to eat.

I spent about an hour deciding what to paint — there are just so many interesting scenes in Santa Ana's Artists Village. My intuition kept telling me to keep it simple, so I ignored the fountain, the beautiful buildings, the other cafes ... and I was drawn to this faded orange umbrella and the spiky plant below it. (My family knows I can't resist orange - not!)

my start - see, that umbrella really was faded

 

midway and working on the greens and shadows

When I finished, I enjoyed a great lunch at the Gypsy Den (behind me) with Kim VanDerHoek and two other artists. My first urban plein air painting, and a great day.

Plein Air in Laguna Beach, and other frogs

Laguna Morning, 5"x7", oil on panel,
©2013 Cindy Greene

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First off,  I am very happy with this painting. There, I said it.

My husband and I have a saying, "If you have to eat frogs, eat the biggest one first." This has morphed into "Anything I don't want to do, or am procrastinating, or am even nervous about, is a frog. Okay, I'll eat it first." This has been a week of frog-eating. 

Thursday morning was my last scheduled plein air class with Kim VanDerHoek. We were going to Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, and the day was promising. But painting at Heisler Park is a sort of mecca to plein air painters, the ultimate gorgeous seaside spot. What if I really made a mess of it? Therefore, it became a frog.

I'm happy to say that the fog lifted, I had a great time, I'm happy with the painting, and all is well. 

Ribbetttt!!