I sketched twice this week from the corner of Surfrider Way and North Pacific Street in Oceanside. The steep street gives a good view of the roundabout where beachgoers unload their gear. I used a 15 x 22-inch sheet of paper and liked that I had room for lots of people within the landscape.
The Oceanside Plein Air Festival ended its fifth day with a harbor paint-out. It was still hot when we started, and a few painters took shelter in the shade of a building. I liked the contrast between the bright sky and the backlit building.
We went to Buena Vista Lagoon in Oceanside today to paint. It was hot, so I stood underneath a tree and did a close-up of its leaves while I enjoyed the shade.
The Oceanside Plein Air Festival participants met at Roberts Cottages, a set of distinctive vacation rentals adjacent to the beach that date back to the 1920s. There are about 30 a-frame units, all painted in coral. It was dusk, and I liked the shadow cast by the umbrella.
It was great to spend the day in Oceanside painting with some 100 artists at the city’s second annual Plein Air Festival. The festival lasts eight days, and I hope I learn a lot from seeing the work of the other artists. This was my second painting of three and my favorite so far. We stood on a hill looking down the street to the sea. The tall palms were backlit and formed a corridor inviting us to the sea.
One of my sisters encouraged us to do gentle yoga along the mesa’s edge, and we all agreed it was a wonderful place for yoga. I loved how the setting sun silhouetted the figures with rays and backlighting, and I later did this little sketch to try and catch the moment.
The bent tree is a landmark at our annual reunion on my brother’s land. It is in the midst of the common area, is very long, and rises at a 45-degree angle to a height of five feet or so before turning and growing upright. Because of its unusual shape, it makes a great playground structure for young climbers and provides a terrific support for the teens to stand on in nearly every reunion photo over these 40 years.
When I watch this youngest group of kids playing beneath the bent tree, I remember all the others, some now middle age, who played there each summer. I love the sense of continuity it evokes and am full of gratitude for my brother and sister-in-law, who have been so kind and generous to us over the years, welcoming all of us and giving us a place to camp, spread out, and reconnect.
Deliberate Sketching 