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Plein Air Painting

on March 17, 2018

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Plein Air Versus Studio Painting

During this pandemic, I was so grateful when my plein air groups began meeting again. We are, of course, masked and six feet apart. But being with other people outside is so enjoyable, especially after months of relative isolation. So now I'm back to painting outdoors, sometimes twice a week! On one day, we spent a lovely morning in Almaden Village. Each artist chooses their own scene to paint. I was taken by this huge nopal (prickly pear) cactus, and the view down the road by La Forêt restaurant.

Preparing for my first Open Studio!

My favorite place to be is wherever my paint and paper are, whether in my backyard, up in the hills, or here in my studio. But last year I decided to participate in Silicon Valley Open Studios . At the SVOS workshops I learned what to do to prepare. It was a bit overwhelming, but I used to be a teacher, so I know how to break up a task into do-able chunks. I wrote each task on a sticky note, made a page for each month, and put each item on a month. As I finished each one, removed the note. Any tasks unfinished by the end of the month went on to the next month. 1. Photograph and catalog all of my work. Once it's sold, it's gone. Man, I had piles of paintings. I took them all outside in the bright sun, and photographed them with my camera (my real camera, not my phone). Something interesting happened when I started cropping and labeling them. Paintings that I had thought were garbage when I finished them now looked...not so bad....

Painting an Art Box

If you live in a city, you've seen those big metal cabinets near many intersections. Some are cable cabinets, but others are signal control cabinets. In many cities, permission is given to artists to brighten up these boxes with art. I've always wanted to paint one of these boxes, and a few months ago a friend sent me our neighborhood association's Call for Artists. I emailed the group enthusiastically, including the link to my art website and Instagram page. They accepted me! Thus began a weeks-long project that was gratifying and challenging. My utility boxes before Developing a Plan First, I had to design and submit a color sketch to be approved by the neighborhood association and the Art Box coordinator for the city. I visited my box, actually two boxes, and took measurements. Scale pencil sketches on paper I did several pencil sketches of what I wanted on the box. I've done many paintings of birds, insects, and plants, so I chose a few favorites to include. After...

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Plein Air Painting

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