The Artist Guild of the Santa Ynez Valley had a show in Los Olivos this last Saturday. I was one of 3 artists who were going to paint plein air in the park next door during the event. There isn't much to paint there so I decided to paint a scene where I could put in some wildflowers that I recently saw up in the Figueroa moutains the week before.
Spring brings the California poppies and Lupine. The Figuroa mountains are a close drive and I went up there the previous Monday and Wednesday taking photos for reference material and also scoping out some painting locations for future plein air work. As you can see the poppies and lupine were out in force in spots right along the road.
I started my painting during the show and pretty much finished it. When I brought it home I put in the poppies and lupine. People come up to talk and I needed to work out show so I couldn't finish it there. Anyway, shows are a fun time to visit with fellow artsts and relax a little from the painting chores in the studio. Here is my finished painting. The lupine and poppies were on my mind since seeing them so it was oln yfitting to add them in this scene. Mine are toned down a bit since I like subtle color work anyway. I'm happy with it.
4 comments:
Love the introduction of the flowers to your usual array of beautifully rendered land and foliage. Are we seeing more tree trunk than usual? Great work Ron.
Hi Mick,
A guy who knows are very well, sales it and appraises it, suggested I show more trunks. The early California landscape painters painted these eucalyptus trees with long slender turnks with foliage just at the top of the tree.
I'm trying to do that myself but keep goin back to my old way of painting them very bushy looking because they grow like that near the farms which use them as a windbreak. Old habits are hard to break sometimes, hahaha.
The poppies and lupine were great to see up there in the mountains. You see them in paintings all the time so seeing them growing wild in the hills is always pretty breathtaking.
Thanks Mick.
nice piece, Ron...really like the depth you've nailed on this one!!!
Hi Larry,
Thanks for checking it out Larry. Was fun to paint out there with some of the other members of my artist guild. I have never been able to do that so it was really fun getting together for the day.
Ron
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