Saturday, May 26, 2012

"Foxen Canyon Oaks"
18" X 36" Oil on Canvas
Once again we had storms over the valley this Spring bringing much needed rain and my favorite, cool looking clouds once the storm begins to pass. I headed up to Foxen Canyon Road one afternoon as a storm began to blow out of the valley to get some reference photos. My favorite spot overlooks both the Firestone Winery and the Chamberlin Ranch on either side of the road. I don't paint there much because it is a wind tunnel a lot of times....major wind so I just take reference photos there. This scene has been painted by me in probably 5 or 6 paintings over the years. It is looking south towards the Santa Ynez mountains seperating our valley from Santa Barbara and the big Pacific ocean.