Redwoods and More Painting

 While waiting in the parking lot of Hearst Castle, I had time to open the oils and paint this 5 x 7 of the view to the hills south. This image doesn't quite show the colors true to the painting (they are richer and more detailed), but I'm happy with the composition.

The little Guerilla painter thumb box (for 5 x 7 panels) works wonderfully well in "transport" mode, where space is at a premium, as on the motorcycle. I can carry all my plein air gear in a small pack that straps handily right on top of the requisite luggage for road trips. The contents include:
1. The Guerilla Painter box
2. Brushes
3. Tin for mineral spirits
4. Drink bottle full of mineral spirits
5. Paper towels
6. Cotton garden gloves that I use for painting (also keeps the sun at bay!)
7. Roll of wax paper and heavy-duty rubber bands (for packing the semi-wet paintings face-to-face with wax paper in between)
8. Small tin of Vaseline for cleaning brushes (no need for soap!)
9. Pill boxes with two days cut off--I have tubes of white, burnt umber and pthalo blue that are added as needed to the mixing palette, so I only have five pill boxes with cool and five pill boxes with warm colors.
Here's an image of the setup. It works really, REALLY well.

The trip has been over 1200 miles so far, and just AWESOME!!

Oh, here's a link to the video of the Avenue of the Giants from the motorcycle! Turn DOWN your sound, since the wind noise and Harley pipes are loud.
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The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Morro Rock

We sure went through some gorgeous country today on the motorcycles! From the second day along the coast of California to this evening in
Mendocino, we've put over 1,000 miles on our bikes.

On the first evening of the road trip,  as the fog was coming back in, I sat on a log in almost the exact same place when I learned brushwork from Joyce Pike in her workshop. With a more mature mind,  I painted the same scene again, in oils and as a 5 x 7. Tonight I raise my glass to the memory of the fabulous woman who opened the door for me in expressive brushwork: Joyce Pike.

Tomorow the journey continues with more ocean paintings.

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The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

On the Road Again... with Paint Box

Seeing the world from the seat of a motorcycle is totally different than seeing it from a car seat. Today our two motorcycles traveled on one of the most memorable motorcycling roads in California--Highway 36--and it was QUITE the ride! Highway 36 is quite like a woman with mood swings--one moment you're on a beautifully maintained road with jaw-dropping vistas down to rivers and over to mountain ranges, and the next you're dropped into dark and swirling twisties without any road striping. Far better than any roller coaster, this road asks a lot of a motorcycle rider, and even more of the artist within me.

We stopped for a picnic lunch at the state park and  my artist side kicked in as I looked out over the Eel River and planned the layout of the levels of atmosphere from the rocky bars into the water to the distant blue-green redwoods. I sat on a small bridge with the sound of a happy family playing in the water behind me, and pulled this painting off my brushes.

The redwoods are awesome, and here are Joanna and my motorcycles parked at the base of some of the larger ones.

Tomorrow we head south, heading down the Avenue of the Giants and out to the northern coast with its ocean views, for our fourth overnight in Mendocino overlooking the Pacific.

Thank you for joining me on this journey of a lifetime!
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The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Motorcycle Painting Trip!

The bike is packed. The motorcycle trip up through Northern California is planned. Painting all the way, taking Sparky the traveling dog with me (his "dog luggage' kennel is right behind my seat with lots of ventilation), and the road trip commences! For those of you not familiar with motorcycles, this is a Harley Davidson Softail, 2007 model.

 274 miles later, and I'm sitting on a log in Morro Bay, taking out the first of several canvases to do a vista that I did back in the 80's under the aspicious instruction of Joyce Pike. I'm using a 5x7 thumb box and oils for this getaway.

Join me for this journey of a lifetime up the coast highway 1!

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The newest DVD on the Color System is HERE
You can see my entire blog HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.