Very interesting town with great old buildings and real character. My first time doing an urban scene and got talking to the man who owns Toots (which opened in 1901 and operated as a Speakeasy too – he’s restoring the interior and there are even bullet holes in the stained glass! http://www.tootstavern.com/)
This picture needs a lot more work and I will post the final version when completed.
Crockett
http://www.tootstavern.com/
Two oil sketches here of Lake Anza in Tilden Park in Berkeley. Heavenly place, very still water and gorgeous colours. I cannot wait to go there again.
Lake Anza 1
Lake Anza 3
San Francisco from Oakland Docks
Quite a breezy spot at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park but I’d really like to return and explore a bit more. This is just a sketch of the SF skyline which kept changing all the time as the fog rolled in and out but there are great views in all directions – industrial cranes and containers and lots of sky.
Pretty distracted because it was my son’s 21st birthday and there was a lot of cooking to be done in the afternoon. I just wasn’t with it and for the first time in my life started to enjoy watching all the bird life around me. There was a heron, lots of ducks and Canada geese and all kinds of tweeting, warbling, noisy birds everywhere. I was painting with the lovely East Bay Plein Air group at Miller Knox Park again. This time I chose a different group of trees but fussily dug away at the scene, with my mind on cream and meringues and sea food and all felt like really hard work. The second image is of a really quick sketch on an old bit of canvas paper I found in my bag and was difficult to use because it absorbed the paint so readily (but much more fun than sketch number 1).
Miller Knox III
Miller Knox hillside
Beautiful weather and lots of wonderful groups of trees. Sketch no. 1 is of a group I noticed last time I was here. They stand as a long ‘organized’ clump opposite the pond before the bay and cast interesting shadows. Sketch No. 2 is looking towards the 2nd car park and was a much quicker piece (about 25 minutes). Some inquisitive children were lovely to talk to and I encouraged them all to keep sketching and doing their art. Two in particular were really keen. Hope they manage to keep going before the education system squashes it out of them. This is a great location and has so much variety – looking forward to next time. Both are in the ‘tiny’ series and only 6″ x 8″.
Miller Knox Park, Richmond, CA.
Miller Knox Park, Richmond, CA.
Another two small oil sketches from a session with the East Bay Plein Air Group and a real challenge, up close and personal with huge numbers of flowers and butterflies. A flight, a rabble, a flutter or a swarm are the collective nouns apparently, though it seemed more like a visitation of butterflies today somehow.
Annie's Annuals, Richmond, CA.
Succulent with butterflies
Sunday 30th August 2009
Small oil sketches from a session yesterday painting with the North Bay Plein Air Group in this lovely park near Point Richmond, in the east bay. Lots of space, activity on the water and wind. Painting No.1 began when the light was murky and overcast. Painting No. 2 happened later on in the day, when the clouds had burnt off, the wind had dropped and the temperature rose considerably.
View from Miller Knox Park, Richmond CA.
Looking towards San Francisco from Miller Knox Park, Point Richmond, CA.
8/17/09
Benicia – View from waterfront over to the fishing pier. Incredibly windy day, with the East Bay Plein Air Group and me holding on to easel, paints, canvas, picnic table.
Benicia 8/17/2009
San Francisco, 2009
Small oil sketch of San Francisco at twilight
Couple of recent oil sketches. Left one is of Sibley Park in East Bay and right is a view of Mount Diablo from the Huckleberry Trail, both in August 2009 but different days (and temperatures).
