Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving cause we sure did! Lots of food and a relaxing day ending up with Trooper, our rescue dog, down at the bay for a walk... and Trooper to trying to chase the ducks. "No Troops!! No duck for Thanksgiving!!"

Finally finished up my color experiment that started with a strange violet color (a left over tube of paint someone gave me... mystery violet) and orange. Probably not the best of ideas but you know me, I love playing in color! After some time figuring out where I went wrong - and that took longer than I would have guessed - and what needed to be tweeked, here it is for your entertainment.

"Crunch Under Foot", 9 by 12 inches, oil on canvas.

Started this one down at one of my local favorite places, Mission Trail Park. The big sycamore trees have given up almost all of their leaves and the grasses have turned fall colors too. So except for the random snap of green it's all crunching under foot, thus the title.

I really do need to get back to that large desert badlands painting I started drawing on the canvas a while back but my inclination is to paint some more. Hmmm... what to do: have fun drawing or have fun painting?!

Here's wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving! It's my favorite holiday because it's the "everyone" holiday! Plus it makes a whole day out of giving thanks, and that's got to be good.

May you have a wonderful day with family or friend or wherever you find yourself spending the day.

I never met a tubed color I didn't like.

However, this landscape painter has been working on the theory of "less is more" when it comes to tubes of paint. Let me explain. When you travel out to paint, and I do like to do that, it makes all the sense in the world to trim down what you take with. So a limited palette of 7 to 9 tubes of paint seems about right. You don't usually have a lot of time on location before the light changes so you paint smaller paintings. Logical, no?

Back in the studio, well you are free to do what you please:) There's this theory of landscape painting that says that you should use the same or similar paints back in the studio so as to preserve continuity within your paintings go from plein air painted on location to studio paintings. Also logical.

But then there's this problem I have about loving the tubes of paint. It's not just loving the color but also the fun and challenge of coming up with ways to use each of them and their various admixtures with other colors... and let me tell you, the combinations are limitless.

Recently, a painter friend emailed a YouTube video from one of our favorite artists, Karin Jurick. In it Karin explores her color palette as she squeezes out the paints, one by one. It's a riot to watch! Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAIs1S_zAMI

It got me thinking about how much fun it might be to paint with all those colors. So I drug out a bunch of tubes I don't usually paint with. I did a small painting just to see if it was as much fun as I thought... and it was! Here's the painting I worked on, below. After that I went to the garage and found a tool box of paint tubes given to me by someone who no longer worked in oil. I opened it to find the most unusual colors so I got another canvas and did the under painting in a violet and orange I never touch! Cool!! Am I having fun;) I'll post this second painting as soon as it's dry enough to photograph. It's nice to shake things up every once in a while. Meanwhile here is the first color experiment... and it looks very normal, if I do say so.

"Pines of San Jacinto". 9 by 12 inches, oil on canvas.

Just got back from seeing the William Wendt exhibition at the Laguna Beach Art Museum, and my eyeballs will be along shortly! He painted around the Laguna Beach area and built a studio and home there in 1912. The exhibition lets you track his development from Impressionist to California Impressionist. Quite a rollicking journey!

I love so much about the man's work it's hard to know where to start the long list: the colors, the brushwork, the boldness! All wonderful and a real treat to see. I'll go back if I can, probably dragging a couple of painter friends.

Here's a link to the exhibition at the Laguna Beach Art Museum:
http://www.lagunaartmuseum.org/index.php?id=2

Oh, gosh! The light is so perfect right now!!! All golden and then crimson at sunset. What more could a landscape painter wish for, I really don't know?!

Most days we end up down at Tourmaline Beach watching the sunset. No alcohol allowed on the beach so the wine must stay away (or at least well hidden... wink, wink.) We sit and watch that old fiery ball sink lower and lower getting larger every second as it approaches the horizon. The crowd grows in number as the sun drops and a hush falls over the gathering as we stare into to the day's last light... waiting for that Green Flash of legend! After the last light is gone the crowd becomes a tad boisterous and "woo- hoooh!" or "yeah!" are hear all around. I've spent a sunset or two in Key West and there the crowd applauds. We're too West Coast Cool for that;)

Here's another painting from our recent trip to Idyllwild. A view of the San Jacinto mountains from the Palms to Pines Highway.

"San Jacinto View", 8 by 8 inches, oil on canvas.
To be offered at the San Diego Art Institute fundraiser C-Note Show, Saturday, November 22, 5 to 8pm. $200.
See below for more info on the C-Note Show.

For painters everywhere the request eventually comes to donate a painting or two to a worthy cause. The more astute of the requests understands that love, sweat, and maybe even tears go into our work and that it's to the benefit of all concerned that the artist get compensation. The San Diego Art Institute runs a brilliantly conceived project called the C-Note Show. It refills the coffers of the SDAI as well as provides some compensation to the artist. It's a brilliant scheme because collectors can purchase works for only $100, $200 or $300!

I'll be entering a framed drawing, a framed painting, and at least one 8 inch by 8 inch painting on gallery wrapped canvas done especially for this event. In years past it has been all kinds of fun to arrive in time to see collectors make a mad dash for their favorite works. The show is open to preview November 20 and 21. The C-Note Event where collectors can purchase is 5 to 8 PM on November 22nd. The walls will be replenished as work sells so even late-comers will find art at reasonable prices until Sunday December 7th.

Here's a look at the first 8 by 8 inch painting done just for the C-Note event. It's a scene from our trip last week of the Temecula Valley in morning. Hope I did those fall colors justice! If you are in the area, maybe I'll see you at C-Note? Here's a link to their site and info about the C-Note Show.
The Calendar can be found at: http://www.sandiego-art.org/journal/calendar_nov08.pdf
Here's a link to SDAI... be sure to click at the upper right corner tab to see the rest of the site:
http://www.sandiego-art.org/

"Temecula Valley Fall", 8 inches by 8 inches, oil on stretched canvas.

This landscape painter just got back recently from a driving trip to Idyllwild. I love that drive, especially this time of year through the high desert. I was all ready with a stack of canvas goo-to-go in the back seat. Here's the first one fresh off my easel, started on the drive up and finished in the studio. WOW! That light!

I'm offering this one on eBay at the ridiculously low opening bid of just $125. The economy is awful... maybe this is a depression. Sure feels like it cause the US Postal Service is to lay off 40,000 employees. That said, people need some art in their lives so this painting is up for auction. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=150309286174&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=005

"Fall Near Anza", 9 by 12 inches, oil on stretched canvas.

The election of 2008 is over and you are either thrilled or really cranky. Me, count me thrilled because whether you are Democrat or Republican, it's a wonderful milestone proving once again that anything is possible in these United States of America.

This landscape painter is out and about. Right after the votes were counted and the results posted we took off for one of my favorite places, the small mile high village of Idyllwild. If you have not been there it's a great place for a quick and inexpensive break away. We stayed at the Idyllwild Inn in cabin No. 1. Firewood was supplied for use in the big stone fireplace. I was so tired that I fell sound asleep on the floor next to our dog, Trooper, in front of the fire. Ahhh... I needed that.

Captured lots of scenes in my sketchbook and with the camera. Even started a couple of paintings with enough information in them to afford finishing in the studio in the days to come. The light on the manzanita trees and tall pines was fantastic. The golden glow of fall morning light is a treat for the eyes! I can hardly wait to get to work!!

Meanwhile, here's a painting just finished up and off my easel. It's an 11 by 14 inch oil on canvas of a grouping of sycamore trees in Mission Trails Park near the equestrian area. I blogged earlier about that pesky grouping of cactus smack dab in the middle of the composition... those bad boys had to go!

"Fall Sycamores", 11 by 14, oil on stretched canvas.