Miniature Mendocino

Click on the Title to see image within blog/ I've been developing a new habit of creating small value studies or sketches before I do large paintings. I liked this composition so much that I decided to add color and post it today. It's super small, only 5 inches high and 3/5 wide, but the dominance of the dark watertower and the cluster of buildings placed just below make it pretty strong even so. I look forward to creating the large painting one day soon, but in the meantime here is a sneak peek. 

Check out a class I've added just after my Mendocino Art Center workshop and consider coming on over to the coast for one or both!

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Celadon Horizon

 

Click on title to view image within my online blog/ Last weekend I had the privilege of teaching a 2 day class at the Mendocino Art Center. On the 2nd day, we went outside to the cypress grove and peered out between the massive trees to this quiet but majestic scene. A storm was coming on and the colors were very muted as the mist and clouds were winning a battle over the sun. The cathedral of trees provided shelter and we enjoyed bantering back and forth about what colors to choose and how to best describe the white water and swirling foam. 'Painting by Committee' is what I sometimes call it when a group is watching me and adding their 2 cents and it's really fun and helpful. I must say that the darkest area within the foreground cliff looks quite black in this photo but has a deep blueish purple color in real life and is much more inviting. Ok, over and out for now but thanks for tuning in.

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Colorful Corner

Click on the title to view image within the online blog/ I had a great weekend teaching a 2 day oil painting with a palette knife class at the Mendocino Art Center and enjoyed practicing ahead of time. This is one of the sweetest subjects about town, the corner of Little Lake and Kasten Streets as the roofs are staggered and all are set off by the fabulous white fence and overflowing foliage. Come on over and pinch my cheeks for me to prove that this is for real. 

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Branches Aflame

 

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Off to Greece today but was able to sit calmly on my deck yesterday and paint this view of my neighbors trees. I wake up some mornings and it almost looks like the trees are on fire because the sunlit branches are so red and golden. The sliver of blue as a backdrop adds to the composition by complementing the warm tones and makes me downright happy. I'll be back in a couple of weeks with more to share, so stay tuned!

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Juicy Light and Color

 

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It's been a busy few weeks with the Mendocino Open Paint Out and preparations for my painting trip to Greece. Besides that, it's been downright sad learning about people that we know that have lost their houses in the various California fires. I just found out that one of my fellow MOPO featured artists Dale Laitinen from Mountain Ranch lost everything.

The coast is beautiful after a bit of rain that helped the fire effort a bit, so I went outside on my deck in between packing and fretting and painted a little something to share. I hope to share about my trip with 11 other people including 8 painters within these next couple of weeks, but you might have to refer to my Facebook page as posting to the blog doesn't work very well via my iPad. Please know that I cherish each person that tunes into my goings on and it gives me great encouragement to hear from you as you're able to shout out.

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Musical Light

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Even though I chose to leave the Mendocino Music Festival tent out of my painting, I was still blessed to hear the music wafting about the bluffs last evening. Besides that, this scene is musical in and of itself with all the colors, curves, textures and history. Just love living here.

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Blue Door Inn

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More fun came during last weekend's class at the art center with Michael Reardon. I worked on this tiny watercolor of Mendocino's Blue Door Inn from a photo I'd taken and tried to treat the mass of trees as one large shape against the shaded white house. Even though Mendocino is so familiar to me, there is always a surprise waiting for me at different times of day and different times of the year. The late sun has to be my favorite lighting condition and I hope you like this example of that as well.

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Our dear friend of 40 years, Mort

Today's portrait of Mort 7.5x8 pencil and colored pencil

After a great weekend away with both our moms, we had overnight guests that have been friends forever, Mort and Mary. I asked Mort to sit for our portrait group since he'd celebrated his 80th birthday last month and I thought it would be a neat time to create a small personal work of art. He suffered through the 2 hours and managed to finish smiling, something I tried to capture a bit better than in person.

Blissful Bluffs

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I had a most delightful weekend taking the class I mentioned earlier and here is another watercolor. The teacher had me make a sketch from my photo (the weather was terribly cold so I stayed indoors) and then put my photo away. I worked from my black and white sketch and did my best to come up with colors that were true to life and interesting. In reality the background bluff was darkest but I wanted to push it back, so here you can see all 3 images. Working under another person's tutelage is a bit like working with your non dominant hand as I mentioned the other day, but still a great experience. Hope to see his influence finding its way into my subsequent work!

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Keeping Watch

 

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I'm taking a watercolor class this weekend from a painter named Michael Reardon here at the Mendocino Art Center. I really like his clearly defined shapes and values plus his masterful and colorful grays. It was terribly cold and foggy today but I forced myself to join the group and paint the tree behind the center. It was challenging because not much comes naturally when you're trying to remember the things that the teacher told everyone to do. Kind of like painting with your less dominant hand or something, as a way to describe the experience. Anyhow, here is my effort and it's fun to tell you that I still love the process of learning, stretching and growing.

 

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Victorian Diptych

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I just completed a 24x30 inch commission of the Albert Brown house, shown below. It was an historical painting, showing my client's grandmother on her horse in front of the house. I love our stately and grand 'ladies' that line Little Lake Street in quaint Mendocino and often paint them from many different angles. I spotted two tiny panels on my shelf today and decided to paint the house again, along with the Blair House (made famous by the TV show Murder She Wrote) in miniature this time. Hope you like the small and the big of it.

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Albion Street Finale

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Since moving into Mendocino proper some 6 years ago, we have had the supreme fortune of discovering even more nooks and crannies that we had in the previous 22 years. We walk around a lot and it blows my mind that there are more things to discover each time. The variables of season, time of day and weather condition certainly contribute to the phenomenon. Anyhow, there is a wildly colorful house behind the Sandpiper Jewelry store that has flowers blooming in front and in back. I crouched down in the alley behind the house one day and caught a bee line view to the house on the headlands, all framed and flounced by hundreds of colorful blossoms! Now I keep going back to see if there are variations of this theme....................so stay tuned.

Fanciful Fences

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I had a most delightful walk the other day with my husband, attempting to find corners of Mendocino that I hadn't photographed or painted before. Guess what? I found one! The two foreground fences are relatively new, so that's the reason I suppose, plus the flowers just behind the fence are grown up and glorious. The house in the background is actually the Mendocino Market and they serve up the greatest lunches that can be enjoyed on their back porch, so what are your waiting for?

West Cliff Panorama

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What an almost fairy tale life I lead, getting to step out my front door and see the scene within 2 minutes and 30 seconds. This is mid morning light and the town and bluffs are all dressed up in their summer best.

Gazing South

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I have been absent, but not quite absent minded as I've been working feverishly on paintings for my Ojai gallery. I hope to post them on my business Facebook page soon, so keep your eyes peeled within the next few days. Besides that my buddy Leslie is visiting for a week while we are engaged in a cleanse, looking forward to enjoying the delectable delights in France without too much guilt come July! My niece is going on the trip with us, so yesterday we helped prime her pump by gazing south from our deck. All 3 of us painted the view with equally fun results and I'm happy to say hello again at long last.

Victorian Garden

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As I was wandering around my little town one day, I stopped in my tracks to gaze across this lovely house and garden to the subtle background. In the mist you can see the faint outline of the steeple of the Mendocino Presbyterian Church, the iconic silhouette that defines our skyline. Besides that, it's quite fun to take this path to get yourself there don't you think?

Joshua Grindle House

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This house is a much loved and gracious landmark here in Mendocino. Many have enjoyed staying there when it was a thriving bed and breakfast establishment. Years ago, I did another version of  this composition in watercolor and the owners at the time bought it and used it as a cover for their cookbook of morning delicacies. If you're wondering what that strange tall flower is all by itself, it's called a Red Hot Poker around these parts and they actually grow in delightful little clumps. Beneath it are a couple of 'fried egg' flowers or the more common name, Matilija poppies. The fabulous white Victorian houses make the perfect foil for the lavish gardens that adorn them and aren't we all inspired by such glorious images?

Snippet of Sun

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This quintessential Mendocino scene must be my all time favorite. I paint it over and over during different times of year and under different lighting conditions. When we hike up to Mendo Video to snag a fun movie, we pass by this corner and I often carry my camera along 'just in case I'm seized by something'. On one occasion, it was so great to see just a sliver of sunlight behind the houses, radiating against the deep blue sea and calling my name. It's also awesome that no one endeavors to fix the broken down fences around here. Us painters would be up in arms.

My End of Town

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I did this little watercolor during the Mendocino Open Paint Out and love that this amazing scene is just steps from my house. I could pinch myself just about everyday when I have the time to zip out to the headlands and along the many paths leading to one glorious view after another. I did an oil of these vista just after this one, but I always like the immediacy of a watercolor and that you leave the white of the paper wherever there is a white shape in the composition. The term for that is 'negative painting' and it takes a bit of planning. I even painted the dark tree around the flagpole!

Welcome to Mendocino

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I'm in a "Less is More" kinda mode these days, meaning I am trying to tell my story with fewer details, colors and brush strokes. Trying to create larger and more dominant shapes, accompanied by smaller areas of detail and bits of contrast. It is not easy for someone that sees everything, even the fly on the windowsill from 100 feet away. This piece was done during the 'Quick Draw' segment of the Mendocino Open Paint Out and I may have posted it during the event. I rather like the big block of warm color and the narrow stripe of Main Street, all set off by the quiet sky and snippet of ocean. Hope you do too.

Tunnel Reflections

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Realizing just how tired I am after last week because I've only posted twice! My son has been in town, so the pace has been different because of that too. I did this little piece last week when the skies were gray but the temps were warm. I live within spitting distance of this spot but have only painted it twice in 27 years, crazy huh? People walk to the end of that arch and have their photos taken, but I am content to enjoy it from a safe distance..................