A gentle intro to psychedelia

One of the (many) joys of being in central California was the knowledge that most days I could get out to paint.  The weather on the coast can often start off foggy (and surprising cool) but most days the sun chased the mist away, exposing a rugged coastine, trees that we dont see the like of in the UK,  close encounters with wildlife and pleasant temperatures.  I think October is a good time to visit, and this October was particularly hot for the first week.  Wind, as is often the case, was the biggest foe.
 
I had made prior contact with some local artists and was able to join in with two different groups of plein air artists.  This saved me hours of driving round looking for suitable locations, and I got to some places that I would never have found on my own.  Thank you for your welcome and advice.

My first outing was to Cambria, a charming coastal town some 20 miles north of Morro Bay where my brother lives.  I met up with the Wednesday Irregulars at the gallery of Art Van Rhyn, a charmingly laid back guitar strumming artist of some considerable vintage. 
From there we went just up the road to Leffingwell Landing.  The day started misty but soon revealed a sparkling view of Moonstone Beach, framed by ancient  Monterey Cypresses contorted and disfigured by their efforts to survive in this savagely saline environment.

My palette was singularly british (probably due to the early mist) but as the morning progressed I stuck with it, avoiding the temptation to burst into the delightful Californian psychedelia evident in many local artists' work.

I did adjust my selection of pigments the next time around. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at my photo later just how close the drawing was to the photo.  That is Art painting to the left of the tree.  I would have liked to include him in the painting but it didn't do much for the composition!

Moonstone Beach from Leffingwell Landing
Oil on canvas
9x11"

Reading and smiling

I get a twice weekly letter from Robert Genn (not personal - just a free subscription), mostly makes me smile, usually interesting, occasionally I don't bother with it, but I always love his paintings, and I love the thought of his Bugaboo helipainting trips... One day maybe....
Here is a clip that made me smile in a knowing kind of way:

"There's a great story in David Bayles and Ted Orland's Art and Fear. Here it is:

"The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the quantity of the work they produced, all those on the right solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: On the final day of class he would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work in the "quantity" group: fifty pounds of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B" and so on. Those being graded on "quality," however, needed to produce only one pot--albeit a perfect one--to get an "A". Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of the highest quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems that while the "quantity" group was busy turning out piles of work--and learning from their mistakes--the "quality" group had sat theorizing about perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.""

I am back from my California trip and I will post some more paintings as soon as I have unpacked.

Find more of Robert Genns gems at
http://clicks.robertgenn.com/two-artists.php

Don't know how he finds time to paint!


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