Chapparal Road – Daily Painting
Chapparal Road – 2.5 in x 3.5 in – ACEO – oil on gessoed matboard
This miniature oil painting was inspired by our recent trip up to Idyllwild. Along the way we passed through an area of chaparral, at the edge of the pine forest. Within a few hundred feet this sagebrush and scrub began to give way to tall pines such as those I painted earlier in Idylllwild Slope.
One thing that I’ve discovered by painting oils this small (the size of a sports trading card) is that it prevents me from getting too fussy with tiny details. I suppose it would be the equivalent of painting with large brushes on a 9 x 12 canvas. It’s all a matter of scale. Painting this small forces me to make decisions about broad shapes and values, and not to paint every leaf on the tree. (Well, some of them, but not all.) It would make a swell over the sofa painting if you had a very small sofa!
Here it is approximately actual size. Fortunately I am very nearsighted, which makes it easier to paint closeup than far away.
A Young Hare – Daily Painting
Young Hare – 4″ x 4″ watercolor on Arches paper
Click to bid
I had a lot of fun with this one – painting layer upon layer of very transparent glazes to build up the suggestion of fur.
Many years ago, my husband and I read Watership Down at the same time, passing the book back and forth as we’d read chapters in our spare time. I can imagine that this might be Fiver or one of the other watchful young rabbits.
Here’s a closeup of the head:
Idyllwild Slope – Daily Painting
Idyllwild Slope – 9 x 12 – oil on canvasboard
This past weekend we had the opportunity to go to the Palm Springs International Film Festival for a work-related project, and we stayed for the weekend, enjoying the desert as well as the nearby mountain village of Idyllwild. They had a little snowfall a few weeks ago which left about six inches on the ground. I really hoped to see drifts of snow, but I’m happy with any snow that I can get – it’s been very warm in So. Cal, and there’s been little rainfall. All that may change soon as I hear we’re in an El Nino year. But for the moment we’re long on wind and sand and short on snow.
I haven’t painted rocks or snow recently, so this gave me an opportunity to try something out of the usual. I had a pretty good time gauging the color of snow in sun vs. in shade, as well as experimenting with the shapes and colors of the rocky outcropping.
The Water Long Gone – Daily Painting
The Water Long Gone – 8 x 10 – oil on canvas panel. SOLD
As December draws to a close, the dry season comes to an end, rough rocky creeks like this will soon be replaced by swiftly moving streams. Flash floods will occur throughout the mountains and deserts, restoring the native plants. This location is near Ojai, a little creek that passes under a bridge. I hope to return there in a few months after the waters start to flow.
Santa Barbara Glow – Daily Painting
“Santa Barbara Glow” – acrylic on 140# watercolor paper
7.5 x 11 inches
I wasn’t sure I’d have time to do an oil painting today, and to photograph it, color correct it and get it sent to eBay. So it occurred to me that maybe I should try this scene in acrylic instead. I did, and I’m pleased with the outcome, and I think I’ll be adding this medium as a nice crossover between the quick-drying benefits of watercolor and the opacity and painterly qualities of oil.
Most of all I loved the ability to paint over and correct some areas without muddying, which happens in both oils and watercolor, for different reasons. You can do that in pastel, of course, but at a certain point the paper loses it’s tooth and you can’t layer any more. Why didn’t I think of doing this sooner?
Coat of Many Colors – Daily Painting
“Coat of Many Colors” – 7.5″ x 11″ watercolor on paper – Available
Out in the meadow that borders the northern part of the arroyo, there stood a willowy creature, pondering what she would wear. Shall it be the gold today? The yellow? The pale chartreuse? I’m done with the dark green … it’s SO last week. Perhaps the rust?
As storm winds rose, her garment slowly came undone, and I knew before long all her glory would lay at her feet.
Into the Morning – Daily Painting
“Into the Morning” 8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
This last week I’ve been waking up dreaming of painting. Years ago, when I produced some shows on dreams for ABC’s 20/20, we learned from experts that ‘day residue’ forms a large part of the content of our dreams. So it’s not surprising that because I spend so much time thinking about painting, as well as painting, that it would slip into my night life as well. A few days ago, I dreamed about visiting a landscape not far from us that I hadn’t been to in maybe 10 years. So, that very morning, my husband and I walked up the trail and I took some reference photos to remember what the light was doing that time of day. No doubt I will return there again soon, to paint on location, now that I know what the place offers. (And I’ll hope no mountain lions will come calling!)
This painting is based on the photo and notes I made yesterday morning. I’ve been experimenting mixing different hues and learning the colors most common in our local hills.
Windy Grove – Daily Painting
Windy Grove – 9 in x 12 in – Oil on canvasboard
In spite of yesterday’s strong winds we found some paintable bits of rural agricultural life very close to Los Angeles.
This painting depicts a stand of protective eucalyptuses bordering a citrus grove. Eucs are commonly planted as windbreaks, to protect delicate oranges or lemons from damaging storms. The mighty eucs were working extra hard on Sunday – groaning and swaying in high winds that drove brush fires in Moorpark, in the Simi Valley.
I’m enjoying painting bits of rural life that are still left in California, in the spirit of the scene painters of the thirties. And I’m really looking forward to painting more of these graceful gum trees.
Based on reading I’ve been doing (Kevin McPherson) and suggestions from Laura Wambsgans and others, I painted this with only three colors and white: ultramarine blue, cadmium red deep, cadmium yellow pale and titanium white.
Now … back to the easel …
Citrus Valley – Daily Painting
“Citrus Valley” – 9 x 12 sketchbook study
Between holidays and business, this week’s paintings may consist of quickie sketches in my sketchbooks. This study, painted in my Raffine book, represents a part of the landscape we visited last Sunday during some high windstorms. The area is near Ojai – inland from Ventura and west of the Interstate 5. Most of the area is agricultural with rolling hills covered with avocado and citrus groves, and many eucalptus windbreaks.
Small watercolor sketches like these (9 x 12) give me some ideas of what I might want to do (or not do) when I translate it into an oil painting.
Daily Painting – Winter Sun
“Winter Sun” – oil on hardboard – 10 in x 8 in
I seldom paint snow because, well, we don’t have a lot of it in Southern California unless you go in search of it in the mountains. And that only lasts a short while unless it’s a particularly snowy year. But I’m hoping that there’ll be some this year so that I can try some plein air painting. It will be oil – I don’t think I could manage too well with watercolor out in low temperatures, although I did that once at Mammoth Mountain and it turned out OK.
At any rate, this is a practice painting in which I started to get some feel for the textures of a winter landscape. I used a wet canvas reference photo to work from. Unless I come up with something I like better (and soon) it will be my Christmas card for this year …
