Daily Painting

This was with the SCVWS plein air group. This was a huge bustling place, with so much to see, and so much to be inspired by! Too many choices.... I love wheelies. This tractor was a bright orange color, and parked by a drab building. I changed the color of the building to set off the orange of the tractor. I drew the front of the tractor, then the building, then the back of the tractor. Oops! It’s a limousine tractor. The middle is elongated so has extra “machinery” to fill up the space. That's why they say to not lift the pen off the paper. Despite the claim above that there was a lot to be inspired by, I walked around, hunting for material for my second painting. Finally, this struck me - these stalks and shadows. So lovely. The crate boxes anchor the painting, but I think the foliage at the top [in the photo] would have too. I only painted stalks.   

This is a little fresh produce market near our house, vibrant with colors and fruit and vegetables spilling over. It begged to be painted! I planted myself on the median on a busy avenue, and painted this to the sound of traffic on either side of me.

I joined the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society paint-out group last Thursday to paint at the stunning Hayes Mansion in San Jose. Being drawn to the palm tree-framed view of the polygonal shape of sunlight hitting the building, I knew I needed to focus on JUST that [after the Bay Bridge/crane experience]. Here is that painting. Then I wanted to be looser, so focused on broader brush techniques and a quick impression. Finally, I wanted to be very loose so kept the building to a minimum and focused on just the foliage.