Backyard Blooms - Plein air Gouache sketch

We have recently moved to a house with a real backyard and I find myself spending more time gardening than painting these days. Two weeks ago while the east coast was buried in snow, the almond tree in our backyard was in full bloom. The flowers don't last long, one strong wind/rain they carpet the ground. Started as a plein air sketch and finished up inside. Here are some pictures of the tree and my sketch :).

And here is a close up. Done on a 8X10 watercolor sketch pad with Gouache paint.

Pigeon Point Light house- Plein Air Painting

Hello.. Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a busy summer. So many unfinished paintings and so little time. Determined to get some plein-air painting done, I packed up my gear and went to Pigeon Point with a small workshop group. It was supposed to be a sunny day with upper 60s. But meteorologists were wrong again. It turned out to be a foggy, windy and a cold day.

There are many interesting views to paint here along the cliffs but we set up closer to the hostel area to escape the wind. It turned out to be a fun painting experience until my canvas panel was swept away by the wind and rolled in the sand. It was quite an ordeal to rescue before it became a sand painting. Wet canvas carrier goes on the wish list now :).

My setup and work in progress below,

And here is my finished painting

Hope you like it. Next up is the pumpkins from Half Moon bay :)

A tree from Vasona Park - Plein Air Painting

Things have been crazy lately but I did manage to squeeze in some time for a Plein Air workshop today with Kristen Olsen at Vasona Park, Los Gatos. It was an interesting expereience for me, trying to let go of my studio painting habits and focus on values, composition. Here is a collage with pics that I took to document my progress.

Here is the finished painting.

It took about 3 hours to get to this stage. I had to make a hard stop to avoid overworking. Looking forward to more painting in the open soon :)

Summer Flame

 

Acrylic painting of Orange Dahlias from Mendocino Botanical Garden. I have been fortunate to visit this garden in all seasons. They have something pretty every season and those summer Dahlia's are such an eye candy. This is from my to be painted clicks two years ago, finally getting around to it.
Hope you like it..

Tetons and the Moulton Barn

Trying to finish up some of the unfinished paintings here. I have always enjoyed looking at the rustic barns in CA. But this is painting of the most photographed barn in the US - Moulton Barn from Grand Teton National Park based on a photo from our road trip there last summer.

I did some sketchings during our stay in the park but not on this location. During our early morning visit we encountered so many bisons around the barn. Some were cute little calfs..

And others were ready to fight..

The whole place was pretty much flooded with bisons, it was an amazing experience.

This particular painting is done impasto style completely with knife and with water soluble oil. Hope you like it.

Three Amigos - Oil Painting

First painting of 2013. Well, that was supposed to be the last painting of 2012 but thanks to a thumb tendonitis it took me this long to finish. It's no secret that I love colors, light and reflections and these marbles seemed to be a perfect subject that covered it all. No knife strokes here, done on a small 8 X 8 canvas with brush and water mixable oil. Hope you like it.

Small Works and Holiday Show

 
Here are some smaller paintings done for a holiday show that is scheduled to open at Art ark gallery in San Jose, CA. Stay tuned for details..

 

Rainy Night - 8 X 8 , Acrylic Painting

 

 

Summer Poppies - 8 X 8 Acrylic Painting

 

 

Tufas of Mono - 8 x 8 Acrylic Painting