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The Watering Hole, Plein Air Outing in Ramona, California

I returned to Ramona Grasslands Reserve this morning. I liked the outing so much last time and there is so much to see and paint there. It was a great, sunny and warm February morning in Southern California–no need for a jacket but cool enough that the insects were inactive. When the painter is comfortable and relaxed and the light is good, good things can happen. I was able to test my new lightweight pochade box and tripod, which worked great and was much easier to hike in than the full french easel with a five gallon bucket. It holds two wet 11 X 14 panels as well, so it is a great improvement. Today’s work is an 11 X 14 oil on gessoed panel. Here it is:

watering_hole_lr

I also made a time-lapse video demo of the making of this painting, which you can watch here:

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Ramona Grasslands Meadow, Winter Plein Air in SoCal

Yesterday morning, early, I made a trip to the Ramona Grasslands Reserve, near Ramona just outside of San Diego. The grasslands are a wide open space with rolling hills, meadows, rock formations and California Live Oaks. It was early and the light was good as the fog had just cleared and the grass was dew-laden. I parked my easel in a quiet and shady spot and painted this scene on a 12 X 12 cradled birch panel.

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September Morning Fog, Point Loma Plein Air

When I first brought this painting home, I wasn’t very happy with it…but it grew on me. After some studio work, I like it very much. It looks great in a nice gold leaf plein air frame. You can see photos of it unfinished, on location at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, California, USA–over in the Uncategorized Posts section of the blog.

September Morning Fog, Point Loma 16 X 20 Plein Air
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Plein Air at Sunset Cliffs

16 X 20 Plein Air Ala Prima

I couldn’t decide where to set up my easel for a plein air outing this morning. At first, I thought I’d stay close to home and try setting up at Lake Jennings Park at sunrise. I was up at 5:00 and the park opened at 6:15. I would have plently of time to set up before the good light hit and left. I wasn’t too sure about Lake Jennings though, I haven’t been there in about 25 years, and decided at the last minute to try the view from Lowes Coronado Resort on the Silver Strand (the long isthmus that connects San Diego’s South Coastal Community, Imperial Beach, with the “Island” of Coronado. As I remembered, there were some great views of the city skyline and Coronado Bay Bridge form the back of the resort. Having packed the easel and supplies in the truck the night before, it was easy just to motor down there before sunrise. When I got there, the fog was too thick and showed no sign of clearing, so I scrubbed the idea and headed back to Coronado Town. Along the way, I stopped in two places, looking for a view that would be a good subject for my plein air outing. Nothing inspired me–maybe I’m just too picky. Anyhow, I carried on and drove over to Point Loma and the Sunset Cliffs area. When I got there it was foggy, but not so foggy that I couldn’t make an attempt at filling a canvas. The good thing is that parking is free and there is plenty of it and there are lots of good places on the sandstone formations above the cliffs and the waves.

The fog was challenging. It was rolling in and clearing in waves, so the scene was alternating between highly visible and partially obscured throughout the whole session. That didn’t bother me though and I kept plugging away. I chose a 16 X 20 canvas on stretcher bars, which is a fairly ambitious size for plein air. All in all, it was a good time, once I found a place that inspired me to paint.

Attached are some shots of the easel and the view. I’ll be posting the finished painting in the next few days.

Reference View for “Sunset Cliffs Fog”
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Torrey Pines Plein Air

Here is a shot of my easel as it stood after completing, “Highway 1, Torrey Pines,” which is available for purchase in the gallery. Following is shot of the completed painting.  This was a fun outing and I had to hike in quite a distance to set up here with a full french easel and a five gallon bucket with supplies.