Last Haul of The Day 2

Another little painting inspired by my last visit to California. Of course it has fog and sea vessels. I like working from my sketch books and changing up the medium and color scheme. I will use photos on occasion, but I think its easier to capture the feel of a place if you sketch it. I found myself reaching more for my sketchbook than my actual camera during this most recent visit to the Bay area.

Burger Above

This is one of the views from the Littlefield garage on 6th street. I painted this before those two cars drove through the garage cables and to the ground. I was attracted to the shadows and point of view. I'm sure they weren't.

Last Haul Of The Day 1

I can recall the moment and feel of this little painting. We were sitting on our hotel balcony. The fog was rolling back in and this vessel was heading in to Noyo Harbor. I love this little town of Fort Bragg, California. It has so many spots of awe.

Fog Tease

I call this one "fog tease" because that is what the fog was doing on the morning I painted the plein air study that inspired this painting. It would recede and then come back even thicker.

Water Tower

I usually paint when I visit my home town. For those of you who grew up in Commerce, this is a familiar image. When you first come into town from highway 50 you see a dorm and this water tower. I don't know much of the history behind it. I was drawn to this scene because of the drama in the sky. A storm was coming through and the contrast in the sky was amazing.

I made this little painting in the spring at the botanical gardens here in Austin. I was working in the center garden as you enter. I used red Canson paper as my surface.

Vacation Gouaches

This a page of sketches is from my most recent trip to Fort Bragg, California. Pam indicated that I spent a lot of time with my sketchbooks this trip. I usually try to focus on individual studies on panel, paper or canvas. I like the energy I was able to capture in these. The line work was done on site and gouache was added later from memory.