Epperson Gallery

The Epperson Gallery is hosting a show by 5 watercolorists, including me. I had a quick preview of the show and it looks pretty exciting. It opens June 5th, with a reception from 5:00-7:00. It will be up through July 11th.

Sonoma Plein Air 2010-Day 4

Day 4 was a glorious sunny day. I lucked out and the gates of the Bartholomew Park winery were open at 9:30 instead of 11. The winery was still in shadow at that hour, so I did a small painting of a eucalyptus and vineyard that was adjacent, a quintessential Sonoma scene. At 11 the winery was in sun, so I did a reprise of a view I did last year, since I loved the composition. After another wonderful lunch by Teri Hicks at the Anderson Ranch, I went up the hill on their ranch and saw this funny sculpture. So I did a quick one and called it a painting week.

Thursday night I drove home to Oakland so I could get a quick start on framing Friday morning. Went to the gala banquet Friday night, and manned my booth all day Saturday. Came home exhausted and had painting dreams all week.

I'd like to thank my hosts, Jim and Gail Stroupe for their great hospitality. If you're interested, please check out the blogs of Robin Purcell, Bill Cone, and Terry Miura for their own unique perpectives on their experiences of Sonoma Plein Air 2010.

Sonoma Plein Air 2010-Day 3

The third day was again weather plagued. I did get the Vadasz Winery Barn done before the deluge though (see first post for painting). I went from there over to the funky Marina off the Lakeville Highway at the suggestion of another painter. There was this funny pile of various boats in disrepair that caught my eye. The rain made it another Honda Fit special. I started to think of pleine voiture instead of Plein Air. On my way back, I saw this open field filled with sheep. Although this one started in the car, I was able to finish it outside when the rain let up. I then headed back to town, made a wrong turn and saw these incongruous Chinese lion guardian statues at the entrance to an estate. I later learned that it is the family home of the Sebastianis. This painting started outside, but I was back in the car after I finished the line work.

Sonoma Plein Air 2010-Day 2

The morning was beautiful, so I got a very early start and headed to the Plaza. Last year I did a painting and knew that the Sebastiani Theatre and Plaza fountain were back lit at this hour. So I did a reprise of the Sonoma Plaza view of last year. The sun was still out so I went around the fountain and did a close up view, emphasizing the mistiness of the day. After a great lunch provided by Teri Wicks at the Quarryhill Botanical Gardens, I went up the Sonoma Highway a couple of miles and did the Pagani Barn. Last year I did it too but it was a disaster (in the rain). I tried a different angle this time and thought it was much more successful. That evening we did a Paint Out, doing a painting in 1 1/2 hours. I did a different view of the fountain, but don't have a scan of it. A total of four paintings in one day!

Sonoma Plein Air 2010-Day 1

I got an early start, driving up to Sonoma for check in at 9:00 AM. Because of the challenging weather forecast I wanted to get going early. Nonethless, the rain had already begun. I headed over to the Lakeville Highway, knowing a couple of locations that might work. The first and second paintings, the Lakeville Tanks, were done in my Honda Fit. The county sheriff came by wondering what I was doing. I'm 6'-1, so painting in the Fit was a bit cramped. I did a quick third one, the Bartholomew Park Fountain, sitting under a balcony at the winery.

Sonoma Plein Air 2010

Last week I spent a week painting at the 2010 Sonoma Plein Air event. This was my second year. 37 painters are selected each year to participate. Sales go to support art programs in the Sonoma schools.

Like last year the weather was challenging. Rain, wind, fog, and haze affected all of the work. Thursday was the only sunny day.

I did fourteen paintings, in spite of the weather. Sales were good on Saturday, so no complaints there. It was quite exhausting, but in a good way.

Following posts are day-by-day, with comments and observations.

Craftsman Home

The Craftsman Home in Berkeley has agreed to carry many of the "tonalist" watercolors that I have produced over the past year. These are all imagined landscapes with some strong California influence. Coincidentally, the color scheme is the same that the Craftsman Home uses when designing the interiors of the homes of many of their clients. These three sold in the first week!