The Carrizo Plain

"Carrizo Plain Bloom"

6" X 8" Oil on panel

Yep, the massive Carrizo Plain squeezed down into a small 6" X 8" panel, hahaha. Well, part of the Carrizo Plain is in this scene. Another 6x8 painting for the Featured Artist show at Gallery Los Olivos. I had this scene setup to paint in a larger, maybe 16"x20", format. Doing this smaller, actually doing all of these at a smaller format, is really teaching me to simplify various parts of the painting. Most people suggest just using larger brushes. Makes more sense to use the same brushes you already have and buy cheaper, smaller panels to work with the same theory. You don't have the room to get too detailed so you mass areas. It not only teaches you that but it also makes you paint faster, hahaha.


I love this scene because it is the desert in bloom...those tiny gold flowers lining the desert floor. The afternoon I was up there taking my reference photos the weather was great, the desert was in bloom (it was Spring) and the late afternoon light was getting better by the second. Hopefully this Spring I will be able to head up there and do some plein air work.
For those of you who live in California the Carrizo Plain is not to be missed in Springtime...don't go in summer unless you enjoy oven temperatures.