Bodega Bay Area

The coast of California is beautifully colored when the sun shines on the water, sand and bluffs, and with my Color System, painting it is "easy-peasy". I parked the motorcycle at Schoolhouse Beach above Bodega Bay and painted this 7 x 5 oil while sitting on the edge overlooking the sea. The fog is still there, off in the distance, but the sun pokes through at this very special spot.

The northern coast of California is truly a very special area, and continues to call me for future trips to visit it. Many friends live up this way, and I will make time to spend with them when I return.

 Now it is a special day for me, my 65th birthday, and I'm spending it in Morro Bay, and in Ojai, where I went to high school. Please let me know if you're still interested in receiving these blog posts, as I continue on my artistic journey. Let me know what you'd like to know--about painting, trips, visits, the life of an artist... whatever! I love it all...

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aug 21 - sparky sneaks da keibard enne camper

mom left for a few monutes so i am typn this to you to tell my stori. i cant hit the shift key and type so it wil be in these little letters. i no better but when you be small and a dog that is da way it goes.

we four --mom, me, onslo and the old dog--went for long walks over the dunes 'n' i found so much to smell 'n' see. even on the rope things i cud get my nose in places. beach places smel gud.

mom made da leaky face again when we were at that bell tower thing.

then the next day it was drive and drive more--i hate that part--i hides in mom's elbo alla da way. now we be on the beach in a place she calls ocean-o, but i no see any beach, jsut sand. lots other dawgs too, an lotsa horses, too. bark

be4 we left --bet you dint no i cud do numbers like dat, mom spent time taking us down to nother beach, where dere was water. i played wit onslo an' mom painted da sunny ocean and all be4 we left.

here is da pichur out da back windo of da camp thing wit da bell tower where she made leaky face. it be on da left side, see it, ya.

morrow we be home an' i like dat. uhoh here she come bak. bye

sparky da wonder dawg

Aug 19 - The Workshop in Sebastopol

How I LOVE to paint mist and fog! Here's the demonstration acrylic painting for the Sebastopol workshop as a 12 x 16 example of fog adn mist on the California coast. I was over just north of Bodega Bay the day before and took some nice images while walking the dogs on the beach.

Because of the Color System, I used only the Cool Box colors to get these lovely grays and painted this while talking to the fourteen students in the workshop. I'm pleased with it, because getting the "feel" of a place is really high on my list of good paintings. Having sunk my shoes in the gravelly sand of this beach, I know that I caught the essence of the day. It pleases me....

Here's the source material (resized) from which I worked to make this painting in about 30 minutes... You can see how I changed and enhanced the colors in it by comparing. After I photographed the painting, I made some minor changes in the details, as well.

One more day of workshop, then a mini-vacation back on this beach before heading south to horses, husband and home. More paintings to come!

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Aug 18 - Bodega Bay and Nicholas Green

When I come to Bodega Bay, I manage to end up here on this stretch of open space beside Highway 1 where the community center is located, and I always walk down to the bell tower constructed in memory of Nicholas Green. This young boy was killed by a highway robber in Italy while traveling with his family. He was seven. His death was not in vain, for his folks donated his organs to seven Italians, and thus saved their lives in a gesture of forgiveness, acceptance and connectedness rarely seen nowadays. The bells on the tower are from towns all throughout Italy and offer thanks and a reminder to us to be kind to others when we can. I couldn't paint that memorial (not yet), so I did this small 8 x6 sketch of the road to the space where the bells sculpture stands. There's one of those August-blooming Pink Ladies on the left side....

Acrylic, done plein air beside my camper in Bodega Bay. And I'm reminded to be kinder to folks I meet...

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.

Aug 17 - In Ukiah, Sebastopol and Bodega

What a wonderful trip so far! I'm sitting in a Starbucks coffee shop wifi-ing to you with the evening sun heading down, and relaxing after the first day of the Sebastopol workshop. Two more days of "Color Boot Camp" and there are 14 people together with "yellin' by Elin". And I'm just slam-dunked by the amazing paintings coming out with the Color System, even on this first day.

Two days ago, I painted for the art group in Ukiah, which is about an hour and a half north of here. Great group in a lovely museum setting, and although they were pressured by preparations for the museum's annual fundraiser event, we were able to get out in plenty of time. This is a 16 x 12 acrylic of the coast to the west of them, done to convey the fog breaking up and the sun coming through. It still needs a bit of tweaking for details, but I'm pleased with the composition. If it seems similar to an earlier moonlight painting, you're right! The Color System allows you to change the time of day on source material to match what YOU want. I'm pleased with it at this stage.

In the coming days, I'll be posting the Sebastopol and Bodega Bay plein air work and the workshops demonstration pieces for you.

You can see my entire blog HERE.
My workshop schedule for 2009 is HERE.
Color System information can be found HERE.
If you need to email me directly, please click here.