2 days after wrapping up the painting for "Paint Sausalito," I started working on the Sonoma Plein Air adventures.
I started off a bit slow. I didn't have a lot of time to actually get ready for this event, due to getting started on the upcoming Gualala even the day before, and of course working for the Sausalito event all week before. So inevitably some things were forgotten. In this case it was my oil painting easel! I thought it was in my car when I left my studio to go paint, but at least I had my gouache box. It worked out ok but not optimal for sure.
"Scarred But Still Standing" 8x10 inches. Oil on linen mounted to board.
On day two, I went back out to Fort Baker again to try a similar view as my "Paint Sausalito" piece, but in oils and a different vantage point.
"Nestling At The Foot Of The Bridge" 12x16 inches. Oil on linen mounted to board.
I was never able to finish this one, so a final form of it from the studio may surface in the future.
Ok this next painting has quite the story to go with it:
I tried my best to plan out the day and the whole week. I just think things go better for a plein air event when you're able to do so.
I planned to go to Sausalito to paint the GGB then head back to Sonoma to do the Quick draw (scheduled from 4:30-6:30). As I was leaving Sausalito at 3:30(takes an hour to get to Sonoma from there), I was doing the mental checklist in my head of all the things I needed for the evening.
"Paint - check. Panel - check. Framing supplies to plop it into the frame after painting - check. Frame --"
Uh oh.
I realized I didn't have the frame! I hadn't packed it because I took my frames and paintings from Sausalito out of my car after that event ended. So I had to think about my options. Where could I just pick up a ready made frame on a moment's notice??
I remembered that Riley Street in San Rafael sells Ampersand's floater frames. I would need to buy one of those, a cradled panel (because you can't just mount normal panels to them, at least not easily), a sheet of watercolor paper (because I didn't want to paint with gouache on bare wood), acid-free glue, and an Exacto knife to cut the paper.
After I purchased all these supplies, I ran back to my car, and prepped my panel in the back of my car. I used my diy-drawer as a table to put my newly bought supplies together. I hopped back in my car and finished the rest of my drive to Sonoma. It was already 4:30 and I still had an hour-long drive ahead of me.
By the time I got to downtown Sonoma where the quick draw was taking place, it was 5:30 which meant I had an hour to execute an 8x10 painting. I packed everything I needed in a tote bag along with my art supplies and frame. I checked in and set out to find my spot. I had to be decisive in every decision at this point.
I picked this scene because I loved the light and it was a short walk back to our display area where we needed to be at 6:30. I splashed and slashed my gouache onto my panel for the next hour as many onlookers passed by or hung out to watch.
It was about 6:25 when I stopped painting, which meant I had to get this painting framed, varnished, and on display in the park in five minutes. Fortunately I hauled everything there with me including my electric drill, which sped up the process. I went over the deadline by about 5 minutes but there were still enough potential collectors looking at everyone's work that would eventually look at mine.
Fortunately one of those potential collectors became an actual collector and bought it from me!
$100 spent on supplies got to turn into a $300 profit. Pretty happy with how things turned out in the end
8x10 inches. Gouache on watercolor paper mounted to panel. I didn't have time to write down the title, and I have forgotten it since. SOLD
The next day was a bit more chill, but the weather conditions weren't the most favorable. When it's a sunny day, but the wind is the main issue, there is one spot along the Sonoma coast I have to go to: Duncans Cove. This is one of my favorite spots to paint from. Not only is it sheltered by cliffs on three sides, but it has great views both in the distance and the awesome rock formations off the cliffs.
"Coast Wind's Respite" 12x16 inches. Oil on linen mounted to board. SOLD
While everyone else was dealing with the gusts and fog, it felt to me like a typical summer breeze where I was standing.
Right after this painting was completed, I went to Blind Beach to attempt another piece. More on that one when I recap the Gualala plein air event.
I didn't quite feel done with painting that day, so I wrapped up the evening with a quick painting of the Rio theater at sundown:
"Evening At The Rio" 6x8 inches. Oil on linen mounted to board.
Thursday was such a sharp contrast to the wind and fog of the day before. It was warm with almost non-existent wind the whole day, and the fog stayed far far away. It gave me the opportunity to do three paintings out there that day.
"West Coast Shimmer" 14x11 inches. Oil on linen mounted to board. SOLD
This was a spot that I know has great views, but is usually so windy that it's not worth attempting to paint en plein air from. That day was so perfect that I was able to stay in the same spot and paint two different pieces from it.
"Gazing Southward" 6x16 inches. Oil on linen board. SOLD
To finish the day, I went down to Blind Beach which has become a recent favorite location. The waves are great there, and the light is really favorable there too. There is a lot to paint in the small-ish area. I just had the time to do this small painting of the cliff that separates the Goat Rock area from the Kortum Trail area.
"The Mist And Roaring Tide" 6x8 inches. Oil on linen board.
I also ran into Vanessa painting her award-winner for Gualala there too!
My final piece for the Sonoma Plein Air event was this small painting of vineyards at Riverfront Regional Park.
"Ready For Harvest" 5x7 inches. Oil on linen mounted to board.
It was time to finish getting my paintings ready for both the gala event and Saturday outdoor show. I boxed up my gala painting without securing it in the frame... oops! I had to do some emergency securing of the panel to the frame with dubious means, but at least it held up for the show. Congratulations to my friend Anton Pavlenko for taking home a first place award for the second time! He's always at least in the running for the coveted Artist Choice Award every year, so it was a matter of time before he would get another award there.
There were some self-inflicted mistakes that made things more difficult than they should have been for me. I have to attribute it to trying to overlap two events at the same time. It led to me dividing my efforts in a way that made me not able to give 100% effort to either show. I think it shows in both how I look at the paintings created, and the public reception.
Aside from "The Mist And Roaring Tide," every painting that I was really happy with sold, and the ones I was iffy about stayed in my possession. I think the average collector can just see when a painting is well-done and worth owning, even if they can't always tell you why. Over the course of my career, I can usually predict with a good degree of accuracy which paintings will sell, and it's the ones I know I did as good of a job on it as I could. Four of the five paintings I made that I was happy with sold.
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