Project

I was approached by Maria the owner of the Plexi Gallery about reproducing a couple of paintings that I had painted in the past.  She had a potential buyer who wanted to have versions of the paintings on the right hand side of the post.  She wanted them smaller and to have a similar pallet.

The original paintings measured 24"X 36".  I had never really painted the same exact subject twice before.  I had never been asked to make a smaller version of a painting I had done already.  I have never been asked to change the colors within a painting either.

Coal Canyon 19.5" X 25"

Laguna Niguel 19.5"X 25"

Coal Canyon 24" X 36"

Laguna Niguel 24" X 36"

Surge at Shaws Cove

The surf has been larger than normal for the last couple of weeks. One thing I have been working on in my plein air paintings is trying to depict the water in a more dynamic manner.  In observing water there has to be an intense focus on picking the same moment wave after wave if you want to make an accurate statement.  At the point when a wave is breaking in one location, it is doing a lot of different things in a lot of other places.  I am trying to make a point to observe the water in all the areas of the seascape at the moment in the surge I am trying to paint.  

I wanted to make sure to get the detail of the dark areas in the rocks before the light changed.

The lightest and darkest areas of the painting have been established.

As I was painting, a large wave washed over my set up.  Everything got wet and I scrambled to limit the damage.  My camera, pastels, and backpack all got wet.  My easel again showed it's stability and sturdiness.  

Pastels and water do not mix.  The limited binder which helps create the vibrancy also makes them vulnerable.  The littlest amount of water added to a pastel dissolves them into pigment mud.

My supplies found refuge on some nearby steps.

Surge at Shaws Cove 24"X 24" soft pastel on plywood over acrylic under painting.

A value study of Surge at Shaws Cove

Detail of Surge at Shaws Cove

Moss Point

Moss Point

Woods Cove

Board Making

I have been making boards for a while now and I am wondering about other plein air surfaces.  These boards are easy to make, inexpensive, sturdy, archival, and are suitable for pastel, oil, or acrylic.
I make the boards using acrylic paint, pumice gel, and water.  I do not have a formula for the ratios of paint to pumice gel to water.  I mix up my approach every time I make these boards.  I use a good 2 side 3ply plywood that is sanded and cut down from a 4'X 8' sheet down to various sizes.  I usually work on 2'X3' and 2'X2' boards.  I am going to start mixing up my board sizes so that I do not get stuck in a rut with my compositions.
I choose the color based on the lighting the day I am painting.  The amount of water and pumice gel is determined by how much tooth I think I am going to need for the painting.
I use a plastic paint tray and 3" paint brush used for house painting.  I put the water in the tray and add the acrylic paint and the pumice gel.  I mix to a consistency of pancake batter.  I prepare 3 to 4 boards at a time.  I usually apply 2 to 3 coats of my mixture to the boards.  The boards take about 10 to 15 minutes to dry depending on the temperature.

Nocturn

This was the color of night.  I wanted something that would allow me to go darker than the ground in expressing my composition.  I was hoping to get there early enough to catch the twilight.

I wanted to paint from the Balboa Island side because of the view of the peninsula.  The Balboa Yacht Club and the landing both provide spectacular reflections which is what I was looking for. 

Nocturn

I wanted to capture the painting without using a flash.  The problem was the length of the exposure needed to capture my progress was too long.  I was unable to hold my hand still enough. 

The angle of the lights reflections in the water was critical to the overall composition.  Everything in the water seemed to be angled towards my reference point.  It was very subtle but critical to insure that they were pointed in the right direction.  Before I could add the buildings on the peninsula, I had to get the reflections right.

Nocturn

I had not been to the Balboa Ferry for years.  I was taken by all of the different possibilities for paintings.  It seems like time has not changed this area.  

I had to do some editing to the composition.  I found the rails in the foreground and the back of the ferry distracting, so I eliminated them from my painting.

This is my solution to the distractions of the rails and the other ferry.