Bonita Museum and Culture Center hosted a Plein Air Paintout today to open its cross-border exhibition, Beyond the Border. Bonita is a small city between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, and is in a perfect location for a dual show. The show runs all June.
I painted in an old grove of eucalyptus with a thick carpet of fallen leaves and bark. It was a cold and gray morning initially, and the interplay of the near-white tree trunks against the hills and sky was striking.
On a summer evening, the dishes can wait!
We painted another interesting still life from the Tuesday night Zoom group with great shapes and design. Can you see the reflection of the artist who set up the still life and took the photo?
The Tuesday night Zoom group had a challenging set-up this evening, full of lovely darks and interesting shapes. I was happy to get out my paints and join the fun.
A few weeks ago, when the San Diego Watercolor Society’s monthly paintout group met at the Trevi Hills Winery, I completed a Plein air piece which I blogged about on April 14.
I also started a second piece that day at Trevi Hills, finally finishing it yesterday. I began with a discarded painting that I had prepared by reactivating the paint and then giving it a good coat of gesso. It had lovely yellow-green areas with strong brush marks curved around the paper. I used the marks and color to guide the placement of the vineyards and fields. It was an interesting process, and I plan to do more of this soon.
Yesterday, the Thursday painters met at Tecolote Shores along Mission Bay. The morning was overcast with lots of rich, muted grays. From the moment I walked down to the water, I had my eye on the trees across the bay, they were the most substantial feature in all the fog. Later, towards noon, we got a bit of light on the trees, and I was glad to add that to this little painting.
The Thursday painters met at the Maritime Museum along the San Diego Harbor, where I tried yet again to paint the historic ships. I did not have much luck with that, but I do like this gestural sketch of someone rowing ashore from a yacht.
Deliberate Sketching 