Yesterday started with another bright and beautiful, Southern California, morning. A little chilly (34 degrees) at dawn but nothing compared to temperatures some other parts of the country are experiencing in Mid-January. Got to paint in a new locale (for me) up in the Carlsbad area of San Diego’s North County. The Leo Carrillo Ranch is a 27 acre historical park that preserves the early California adobe architecture and landscaping. It has very nice walking trails and colorful botanical gardens, as well as preserved and restored buildings from the long working history of the Rancho. It was last privately owned by Hollywood actor, Leo Carrillo, who was friends with many of the A-list stars of Hollywood’s golden era. For example, Clark Gable was a friend who often vacationed with Leo at the Ranch. Here is the brand logo and motto of the Rancho: 
…and here is what part of one of the trails looks like… 
…and a little farther down the trail… 
…and these guys are roaming all over the place, I must have seen thirty or forty of them… 
…I found a view that made a nice composition for the canvas (in this case a 12 X 12 cradled gessobord panel)… 
…so I set up my easel and painted it, which came out like this… 
I received many complements on this one by passers by and fellow artists at the park. For now, I’m calling it “Hacienda Carrillo,” but if you can come up with a more compelling name, let me know and I’ll consider it. Here is a link to this one at my online gallery:
https://ronaldleeoliver.com/blog/product/hacienda-carillo/
All in all, a great day for painting outdoors.
