Summer Above Los Olivos

"Summer Above Los Olivos"

8" X 10" oil on panel
I finished this one just now while enjoying the Pacific storm that rolled in yesterday starting as light drizzle but was pouring all night and this morning. Hopefully Lake Cachuma will fill to it's top with this good chunk of rain we're getting. This hillside is just north of the tiny town of Los Olivos, CA. I drive up there a lot in summer to check out the colors and see what nature has created for artists to have fun with....nature never lets us down.
I had to run down to take Linda Christmas shopping down in Goleta yesterday and was only too happy to find out they now have a Hawaiin BBQ restaraunt there. Yummy! Guess where I'll be stopping on my way down to Pasadena in the future???

Christmas is almost here so in case I don't post anything before then I want to wish everyone who reads this blog a very Happy Christmas and a much better New Years than last year, hahaha.

Along Old Friends

"Along Old Friends"

5" X 7" Oil on Panel
Another alla prima painting that I did after returning from a meeting at the Wildling Museum where we discussed plans for next Novembers Artist Studio Tour. I was preparing a canvas for a larger painting and while waiting for the gesso to dry decided to paint another small work. I painted this one to try out different sky colors and played with the distant treeline colors too. I really like this combination of colors and might just use this for the larger painting I was about to begin.
After painting in the grass I wiped out the trail using a brush and turpentine. Normally I get it really clean but this time I left it sort of stained looking with some thicker areas of "stain" and it gave the trail this sort of grungy smeared look but the colors it left were very cool....I almost didn't want to paint in the trail colors over it. I might have spent more time trying to keep that look but this is a small one that really will be used as a ref for the larger piece...I can mess with it there since there will be more room anyway.