Central California Sketch ~ Potomac Artworks

12.06.2008

Central California Sketch

We're sadly on our way home by this time. It was exactly one week ago, the day after Thanksgiving.

This piece was created right where Northern California meets Southern California, so I suppose that makes it Central California.

We were cruising this cloudy day back toward LAX, but I squeezed in a painting of the beautiful view from the rest stop at Westley, which is near San Jose on "the" 5. I loved the rugged undulations of the mountains which had bumpy gray-blue skies to match.

I'm not sure if this one or the one of Monterey Wharf is my favorite from the week. Which from this collection is your preferred painting?

View from Westley, CA
5x8.5 Art Spectrum ColorFix in taupe

One more painting from up near the Redwoods is due to be posted here, but I have decided to work on it a bit in order to get the key more accurately. And I'm pleased I'll be able to do that with my new Maggie Price set of 30 grays from Terry Ludwig, one of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: am partial to all of them but especially the Redwoods cause the area is calming.; December 10, 2008 at 3:46 AM

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The Charm of en Plein Air

Much of my work is done en plein air, French for "in the open air." People often associate it with the Impressionists, but the move to paint outside preceded them by a number of decades. The trend to appreciate landscapes as a genre at all was new for the time.

Several characteristics contribute to the distinctive beauty of en plein air painting. They are generally smaller in size in order to be able to capture a scene in a single sitting. Because of the time limit and environmental factors such as the sun and shadows moving, they often lack extensive details and might appear slightly fuzzy or unfinished. Lastly, they tend to have a freshness and spontaneity which makes them impossible to compare to traditional and methodological studio work. That said, my own studio work tends toward the same feel as en plein air, which then identifies my overall style: softness with an edge.

My aim when painting en plein air is for alla prima paintings, which roughly translates for me as "what happens outside, stays outside." It adds another level of difficulty to the work.

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12.06.2008