Laguna Canyon Afternoon

When I have found an area rich with subject matter it seems natural for me to work a series of paintings.  For about a year I have been interested in sycamore trees.  They each seem to have their own personality.  I love the way they twist and turn.  I find the color of the bark and the contrast of the changing leaf colors amazing.  Although we don't really have seasons in Southern California the sycamore trees are on their own program.  I am looking for old, untouched trees in settings as untouched by man as possible.  The thing I like about this painting is the cast shadow from the trees.  It is something I have been working on.  For me the shadow pulls the painting together.  This painting is from the Laguna Wilderness Area.  It is done on Wallis paper with a water color underpainting.  As with all posts, if you click the image it will enlarge

Village Art Center 3/10-9/10

Laguna Canyon Sycamore

Hello, I have been away for quite a while.  After a year and a half of painting and not working I had to go back to what I know.  I am back to managing big box retailing.  The biggest obstacle is the lack of time I can devote to some of the things I love.  After a nine month layoff from blogging I am back.  I did not stop painting but it did slow way down.  I am now at a point where I can get more focused on my painting.   Because my time is limited I am going to work harder with the time I have.  The rules have changed but my goals remain the same.  I am going to have to achieve them by doing some things differently.  This painting comes from a field trip I took last October to the Laguna Wilderness Area.  One of my goals is to spend more time painting from life.  The only draw back is the amount of time it takes to paint outside.  I live in Orange County California.  It is an amazing area with many beautiful places to paint.  It is almost impossible to find landscapes not touched by "progress".  One of the main themes of my work is trying to capture landscapes that have not been ruined by the development of Southern California.  I do not have the luxury of visiting the same spot day after day to capture the images in my landscapes.  When I am driving I am always looking for that spot off the beaten path-the road less taken as it were.  The other way I find places to paint is by using google maps.  I find a general area that I want to explore and then I move over the map until I find an area that looks good.  I then plan my field trip for a day off.  I usually start early to get the right shadows and I am off with my digital camera.  I compose the picture in the view finder and snap hundreds of pictures a visit.  I do not stop in one area or another but keep walking and letting my instinct guide the camera.  I go until I run out of time.  I come back download the photos and work with photo shop to generate the same saturation, hue, and contrast that I remember from my trip.  Laguna Canyon Wilderness is a pastel painting on Kelly Wallis sanded paper.  This painting is done with a variety of soft pastels over a underpainting of water color.  The size of the painting is approximately 23"HX35"W.  It is going to be displayed at the gallery I show at Village Art Center.  A Night in Fullerton Village Art Center 11/9-2/10 Village Center Art Walk 11/10-3/11