Laguna Beach Afternoon

On Wed. 7/15, my artists friend Terry Chacon and I went to Laguna Beach again for another day of painting and to see the Festival of Arts. The heat has been much to hot to paint here in the Inland Empire so the beach is the place to paint in the summertime. We got there in the morning and found that there were other artists with the same idea, but we found a spot and set up to paint. I did not like my morning painting, so waited for another opportunity in the afternoon. After a nice lunch at the Art A Fair restaurant, and looking at the artists displays, we went back to the beach about 4 pm for a afternoon painting. We found another sport with great breeze coming up from the cliffs below and a lovely vista of a small peninsula that was back lit. Both Terry and I were pleased with our afternoon paintings. This is my pastel, an 11x14 on pastelbord.

Crystal Cove Morning

On Wed. morning my friend Terry Chacon and I went to paint at Crystal Cove. The Inland Valley was heating up quite a bit, and we thought that it would be nice and cool at the beach. Well, when we got there we found the sun shinning bright, we had prepared for fog, but never the less, it was a lot cooler than home in Redlands. We got busy painting a vista of this old and very quaint beach. Soon the whole area was full of umbrellas and happy children running about. I painted this 11x14 view of the main house at Crystal Cove which is now a little gallery/museum devoted to many of the famous painters of years gone by. We had a nice lunch at the Beachcomber Restaurant there on the beach and headed home before the traffic got to bad. This painting can be seen at the Redlands Art Association Gallery, at 215 East State Street, Redlands, CA

Paint-A-Long with Albert Handell - Final day

The final day, we needed to complete a painting (the adobe in the field behind the hotel), check out of the hotel and drive to Santa Fe and tour Albert's studio. After breakfast we all got out there and painted until about 10 am, and time to pack up. My painting of the adobe is an 11x14 painting on a pastel board. I have also posted a few photos of Ablert Handell and some of the painting locations. The first photo is Albert in his studio in Santa Fe with Laura Cason, one the the mentorship painters, with Mickey Theobald in the background. The other two photos are from two of the painting sites. A great week, with new painter friends, and a wonderful mentor, Albert Handell.

Paint-A -Long with Albert Handell - Day 5

The morning of day five found us again in the gorge where we started the paint a long week, however this time, I choose to paint the vista of the Rio Grand and the walls that surround the gorge. I was painting on the river banks where bus load upon bus load of river rafters were launching their pontoons, not as peaceful and the whole area really was. But never the less, it was a good morning, and I painted this 12x12 painting. The remainder of this day was spent in the hotel studio room with Albert who did a final critique of all our weeks works, including looking at some of our paintings we had completed in the year prior. It turned out that is was the perfect day for this critique, as the skies opened up and rained quite heavily for most of the afternoon. this week was quickly coming to an end.

Paint-Along with Albert Handell - Day 4

Day 4 found us painting along a dirt road in Taos, actually a side road on the way to day One location. There were rocks and a view of the gorge in the distance, however I looked the other direction towards the field looking at a farm in the distance. What really atracted me, was the wild grasses in the field along with some wild flowers. The clouds soon became more of a focus than the field, and of course that was fine also. The next small painting with an adobe on the hillside was done in about 5 minutes while I was waiting for my friend to come by to pick me up for lunch. During lunch the sky again opened up and rained during our critique session, so we stuck close to the hotel, and painted the clouds. I painted two small 8x10 studies of the clouds, the rain shortly started in earnest, and I had to stop. Four paintings were completed this day, so that was good.

Paint-A-Long with Albert Handelll - Day 3

Tuesday morning found us at the studio and gardens of Walt Gonske, it was another beautiful morning with big puffy clouds and blue sky. Walt's gardens were beautiful, and was hard to decide what to do, but I settled on the entrance, which was so typical for the adobe style homes and gardens. Walt, later gave us a tour of his studio, which was very inspiring. The afternoon found us driving up the mountain towards the Taos ski basin, and along the road runs a beautiful creak/river. My first time with painting running water. I first watched the master paint his masterpiece, and later, painted in another location up the creek. A fun experience.

Day two - Albert Handell Paint-A-Long

As I mentioned yesterday, I painted in Toas with Albert Handell last week. This is day two of the paint-a-long. On this day we went to an old farm by the side of the road, with numerous old building to choose from. I painted two paintings, the first was a 12x12 image of two buildings on the side of the hill with a little cabin in the foreground. I later painted three more small buildings from the side. The weather started to look like rain, so I packed it up and went back to the hotel. Sure enough the heavens opened up with thunder and lightning, what a gorgeous sight. That afternoon after the critique it looked like more rain, so I painted the vista from my room patio. I attempted to depict the rain as it approached.

Paint-A-Long Mentoring with Albert Handell

From June 21 to 27,2009 - I spent a fabulous week painting along side the master pastelist, Albert Handell, in Taos, New Mexico. There were 10 other painters also involved in the paint-a-long, and it was a great group from all over the U.S. and it was fun to meet them all. We were out painting by 8:15 each morning and painted in a new location every morning and afternoon, with a break in the middle of the day from lunch and a critique by Albert, then back out to paint the late afternoon light. I must say the weather was mostly cooperative, as we were in the midst of the monsoon season in Taos. This however created great opportunities to paint clouds, which were splendid every afternoon. I have always loved the Taos area of New Mexico, but I love it even more after spending a wonderful week painting the glorious scenes of this area. Taos is at about 8000 feet in elevation, so when we were in the sun, it was quite warm, however the air was only in the high 70's to low 80's. I tried to paint at least three paintings each day, but some days, I was not able to, but all in all, I came away with 14 paintings from the week. Some better than others, but I will post them for your enjoyment. My friend Lilli Miles accompanied me on this road trip, which was made the trip even more delightful.

The first day found us in the bottom of the river gorge area of the Rio Grande that is accessed in many areas of Taos. In the morning we painted at the bottom of the gorge area, near the John Dunn Bridge. My first painting is looking away from the bridge looking into the canyon, and my second (not so successful) I painted the rock walls of the gorge. Then in the afternoon, we went up high on the road into Taos, looking across the top of the gorge area. This is a beautiful sight to see right before you arrive in Taos.

Honorable Mention award at Plein air art festival - "Idyllwild Morning Colors"

This weekend was spent in the lovely crisp air of Idyllwild, CA, doing what I love to do the most, Plein Air painting. Each year the Art Alliance of Idyllwild host a two day Plein Air Festival. I participated last year, and was hooked with the lovely atmosphere of the town and the people. The weather here in the Inland Empire has been "June Gloom" with very little sun, and mostly overcast. Driving up the mountain we soon saw the clouds break through, and the gorgeous sunny day was before us. The weather could not have been more perfect, even with beautiful puffy clouds to add to the gorgeous sky. My friend Joan Coffey carpolled with me, and was fun to spend the day with her. I painted two painting before 2 pm (which was the time we were given for the competition to hand in the painting). The first one was 8x10 of the notorious Lily Rock that is a famous landmark of the area. I decided to paint in the town center this time, and folks gathered around while I painted. The second painting was a 6x12 vertical painting of a view of the town, with all the quaint shops and the colorful flags out front. Because I love to paint trees so much, of course I had to paint one of those beautiful tall pines, and added the puffy clouds peaking through. The next day (6/14) was a artists Reception, awards ceremony and art sale. This was at the Rainbow Inn, a Bed & Breakfast run by Lon Mercer & John Simpson. What a nice event, and to make things better, I won a Honorable Mention award for my painting "Idyllwild morning colors". And more good news, the painting sold, my second painting sold from this fun event. Lon was the chair of the event and I must say, it was a truly memorable event, Thanks so much Lon.

International Association of Pastel Artists - IAPS

Every other year, IAPS sponsors a convention where pastel artists from all over the world can gather to attend lectures, demonstrations, hands-on classes, explore the world of pastel materials in the trade show area, and enjoy the excitement of being part of the world community of pastel artists. This year the convention was at the Albuquerque Hotel in Old Town, Albuquerque, NM, May 28 to 31, 2009. This was my first experience attending the convention, and I must say, it was a memorable experience. I learned allot, and spent to much at the trade show, but all in all, it was something I will always remember. After the convention I was able to spend a day roaming around Old Town, and painted this little painting in a alleyway. I painted the clouds that afternoon from the window of our hotel, as the sky was so beautiful with thunder clouds.

Southern California Artists Association - Second Place Winner

"Dunes and Wildflowers" was the 2nd place winner (Professional Category) of the Juried show "Pastel Plus" at the Southern California Artists Association, in Laguna Beach, CA www.socalartists.org
I was so pleased to be honored with this award. This show will be up until 5/31/09 at 3251 Laguna Canyon Rd., Suite F3, Laguna Beach, CA

Flabob Airport - Riverside

Lucky Lindie

Yesterday my friends Terry, Kathi and I, went to Flabob Airport in Riverside to paint the planes. It was one of those "June gloom" Southerner California mornings, where the the clouds stuck around until about 11:30 or so. We painted anyway, and because of the fog, the planes were grounded and we were able to paint them. I painted this one, as it reminds me of my brothers airplane, Lucky Lindie, thus the title. Anyway I liked this little one, 3x12 plein air pastel.

Art in the Park - Redlands

"Candy's Booth"
"Four Palms and Old Glory"

On Mothers Day weekend, (May 9 & 10) Redlands Art Association hosted the yearly "Art in the Park". There were about 40 plus artists exhibiting their craft, and hoping the public was in a buying mood. The weather was not to hot, and the weekend turned out to be a great event. To make the time fly, I painted these two paintings. The first was "Four Palms and Old Glory" (which was a view towards the post office) and in the afternoon I started, "Candy's Booth". This one was fun, as the colorful booths were a challenge to compose, without getting to busy.

Eucalyptus morning shadows

A great day painting with Michael Obermeyer, who hosted a one day workshop in Riverside on Victoria Avenue, with the Plein Air Artists of Riverside. It was a beautiful day, and the shadows were beautiful on these giant Eucalyptus trees.

Plein air pastel, 12x12.

Southwestern vista

This painting was done in my studio this week, as going out to paint has not been possible. I have always wanted to paint clouds, so I choose to try that at this time. I used a reference photo I had from one of our trips to Colorado and New Mexico. This is a 14x18 pastel on wallis paper. Enjoy