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Experiments in Paint
Painting is one of the most challenging endeavors. With every subject, and every painting there are new challenges and lessons learned. I think of each painting as a new experiment. This journal documents the journey.Archives
Category Archives: Seascape
Coastal Living
Last week Jim Wodark and I went south, to the La Jolla coast to find a place to paint. La Jolla is an affluent seaside community along the Pacific Ocean in San Diego, home of University of California, San Diego, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The sky had high clouds which caused the sun to appear and disappear sporadically.
Coastal Living, Oil on Linen 12 x 16
I saw women in tank-tops, walking along the road bordering the ocean, so I made the decision to wear only one sweatshirt. As it turns out, painting along the cliff edge, in the shade and breeze can be very cold, as I was finishing the painting, I found myself shivering. Afterward, my friend Jim Wodark and I ate at Smashburger. The “San Diego Burger” was delicious, and I am sure that we will return, not just for the beautiful scenery, but also for more Smashburger .
Also posted in painting progression, plein air
Tagged La Jolla, painting process, Plein air
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Shimmering Sea
Even though it is January, here in Southern California, we just experienced a little heat wave. On Friday, I went to Laguna Beach on the north end of Heisler Park and set up to paint. I had worn several layers of clothing, but ended up painting barefoot and shirtless. Despite the warmth, it is still winter, which means that the light still rakes across the landscape at an acute angle and the light can be blinding.
Shimmering Sea 11 x 14, Oil on Linen
What drew me to this scene was that as you looked across the water, the foam on the water caught the light of the sun, yet to adequately capture that, I had to depict every other value as much, much darker. The second problem I faced, was the color of the water. As I looked at the water, I thought it looked violet then green then blue, red, yellow, orange, all at the same time. Clearly the hue was very desaturated, so I chose a color (violet), and increased the saturation (chroma). I thought that it may be an interesting contrast to the yellow glare. Lastly, I exaggerated the “S-shape” of the sea glare to lead the eye through the painting.
Warm Laguna
Painting in the late afternoon light is challenging because the scene in front of you changes so quickly. It also can be rewarding. Sometimes as I scan thumbnails of my paintings, I feel a “sameness” of color palate, a lot of yellows, blues and greens. Painting in the waning afternoon light, changes all that.
Warm Laguna, Oil on Linen 12 x 16
On a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, I set out to the North Laguna Beach trailhead with a commanding view of Laguna Main Beach, set up, and began to paint; knowing that like it or not, the light would be completely gone in 90 minutes. The warm setting sun, caused the sky to be a pale green, the distant hills to become lavender, and the foreground trees to light up in oranges and reds. This painting is “looser” than others I have painted recently, but I guess that is the trade off, when you are racing the sun.
Also posted in impressionism, Laguna Beach, plein air
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Laguna Beach Vista
This morning, I had a sudden change of plans which left me with an unexpected day to paint. At the recent art show I noticed several paintings of Laguna beach with some beautiful eucalyptus trees. My friend, artist Carolyn Hesse-Lowe, an artist from San Diego, told me about a path into the Laguna Wilderness area at the top of one of the residential streets in north Laguna. It was an interesting location, and I could see that there were several ways to paint the scene. In the future, I may try this scene in a more horizontal format.
Laguna Beach Vista 11 x 14
There is another aspect of this painting which I found interesting and enjoyable. I used more paint than usual and applied the paint quickly (see below a detail view of this painting), I also usually tend to paint at a “higher key”, in other words fairly light paintings, and I made sure to not go too light, so that I would have enough of the value scale to make the crashing waves the lightest value in the painting.
Although, both trees were eucalyptuses, i exaggerated the difference in color between them.
Also posted in Laguna Beach, plein air
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Boston Whaler
Sometimes fatigue or desperation work in your favor. Last Tuesday, during the invitational, the marine layer had kept the coast largely in fog. By the afternoon, it appeared as if the sun might be able to break through the haze, so I headed to the public dock areas on the Newport Peninsula. There I saw a Boston Whaler. I liked the bright orange color of the seats that were exposed to the sun. Beside it, floated a grey zodiac with a yellow tarp. The paint on this picture is more loosely applied. I like the effect and plan, in the future, to be a little more liberal with my paint application.
Boston Whaler 12 x 16, oil on linen
Also posted in impressionism, plein air, Sketch
Tagged Boston Whaler, Newport Peninsula
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Batiquitos Lagoon
Along the North San Diego County coast there are a series of wetlands. Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland in Carlsbad. I went with Jim Wodark, and we got there at around 9:30 am, while it was still overcast. The light was silvery and prepared myself to possibly paint some of the vibrant blues and greens that can be seen on overcast days. As we were setting up, however, a little blue sky opened up.
Eucalyptus trees are not native to California, they were introduced by Australians during the gold rush, but the trees are featured prominently in the paintings of the California Impressionists, so they are now closely associated with the state . This grove of trees was interesting, but the shapes were a bit confusing, so before starting, I made a thumbnail sketch to organize the tree shapes. Here is a picture of my thumbnail sketch (about 1 x 1.5 inches), and of the trees.
Latitude: 33.09221569194314
Longitude: -117.29162693023682
More information about the Batiquitos Lagoon can be found at the Batiquitos Lagoon Foundation website
Also posted in composition, impressionism, Landscape, painting progression, plein air, Sketch
Tagged composition, GeoTag, painting process
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Winslow Homer – Watercolors
Watercolor can be an unforgiving medium. When a watercolor is successful the colors are brilliant and beautiful.
Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) is best known for his marine paintings. Over a period of over 30 years, during his vacations, he painted watercolors. He seldom traveled without paper, brushes and watercolors.
Some of my favorite of his watercolors are ones he painted in the tropics, Bermuda (1901), and Key West (1903). These watercolors demonstrate a virtuosity of a late career painter, and the colors are breathtaking. He reflected, “In the future I will live by my watercolors.”(1)
From Top to Bottom:
Fishing Boats, Key West. 1903. 13 5/8 x 20 1/2″ (34.6 x 52.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
Street Corner, Santiago de Cuba. 1885. 14 x 20″ (35.6 x 50.8 cm), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Flower Garden and Bungalow, Bermuda. 1889. 13 5/8 x 20 1/2″ (34.6 x52.1 cm), Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC.
1. Winslow Homer, Watercolors. Edited by Nicolai Cikovsky, Jr., Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc. (1991)
Edgar Payne – Seascapes
Edgar A. Payne (March 1, 1883 – April 8, 1947), is known for paintings of the American West. He traveled extensively, painting in Europe, Mexico, Canada, and across the United States. In 1918, he made Laguna Beach his home and organized the Laguna Beach Art Association (becoming its first president), although he continued his painting trips.
Painting a seascape can be challenging. Everything is in motion and every wave is different from the last. Probably more so than other outdoor painting situations, the artist must interpret shape, design, and color.
Here are some of Edgar Payne’s paintings of the California coast.
From Top to Bottom:
Surf at Laguna 28 x 32 inches
Laguna Coastline 28 x34 inches
Rough Seas
Also posted in Edgar Payne, impressionism, Laguna Beach, plein air
Tagged Biographical sketch
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Golden West College Group Show
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