With Paint Box & Camera, creating a painting on site
The few paintings in this gallery represent the many paintings I've painted outside - 'en plein aire.' While collecting images for my new website I also came across digital images of the locations where I was when they were painted. Years ago in the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, I visited an exhibit of her paintings hung next to a photo of the outdoor scene where she painted. It was fun and instructive for me; now I hope you enjoy this small exhibit and perhaps learn something new about how art can be created.
Padua Terrace Light15 x 11, watercolor
The light had shifted, as every plein air painter soon discovers, as it did between the time I painted and the time I took the photo. Here you can easily observe that I chose to leave out things as I reached for an artistic rendering of the scene before me.
View of Pasadena from the Foothills12 x 12, oil on canvas.
I was standing on the path, closer to the trees on the right. Notice the distinctive pine at the end of the path in the photo--and painting--and the skyline of the city in the distance which I could see from where I stood. This was the reason I stopped to paint at this spot.
Majestic Oak, Eaton Canyon 14 x 11, watercolor, see Works for Sale
As you can tell from the painting, the focus of my interest was the beautiful California oak. The yucca was an added gift. The mountains in the background are covered with both at the right time of the year.
The Community Shop, Claremont6 x 12, oil on canvas
A photo taken at the corner of Bonita & Harvard Avenue in the Village of Claremont. Putting that warm, bold, red pigment close to the bottom of the canvas, helps create the depth in this painting. And matched nicely with the little red car in the photo. Makes me smile.
Wilderness Trail, foothills of Claremont, CA9 x 12, oil on canvas
Here you can see how I set up my easel near the beginning of the Wilderness Trail. I love to find a shade tree to stand under while painting, but I do have a small umbrella I can attach to my easel.
The Basement Window, Pitzer North, Pilgrim Place, Claremont, CA 16 x 12, oil on canvas
I had walked past this basement window several times a week for a few years ... and had never noticed it at all, until on this day, at a particular moment during the daytime sunlight, my eye caught a beautiful purple shadow cast onto the window curtain ... and suddenly I noted the window frame had once been a reddish color. Time to paint!
Morning Shadows on Elena's Basalt Wall, Mile 202Journal Sketch, pen & ink, 9 x 4"We camped beside this well-known landmark along the river. It is a beautiful sight and I gloried in a wonderful night's rest beneath it ... and made this sketch quickly before breakfast."
If you have not looked at the Travel Journal as yet, and are interested in plein air painting, you may want to check out my my artwork from a 3 week trip, running the rapids in a wooden river dory, thru the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Here you can see the beautiful, long wall along the river made of basalt--along with a drawing I made just before we left our camp that morning.
The Mountain Cabin9 x 12, oil on canvasa thank you gift for good friends
Friends generously shared this cabin with me from time to time. It was in this cozy place that I wrote much of what became my novel, "The Compromise." I'm eternally grateful for their support.
The Pilgrim Place Castle20 x 16, oil on canvas
On Plymouth Road on the Pilgrim Place campus there stands a relic to a former era, when Mr. Warner--a very wealthy man--built this for his winter home and later it was gifted to Pilgrim Place. Through the years it has served many different uses, including guest rooms.
The Alden Road Cottage10 x 8, oil on canvas
A neighbor of mine at Pilgrim Place keeps a beautiful garden around this sweet cottage. When the hollyhocks first bloomed, I couldn't resist setting up my outdoor easel.
Forest Cathedral, Mt. San Antonio Creek in Morning Light8 x 10, oil on canvas, in the collection of the family
Grandmother, Photo by PhoebeOn one of her visits, I took my granddaughter up to see Mt. San Antonio creek in our nearby mountains. It was such a lovely spot I went back one day with my easel and made this painting, I stood my easel on the far side of these trees, in the trickling creek, looking downhill into the morning light.
Over the Hill Trail, Eaton Canyon, SoCal12 x 12, oil on canvas
My photo of the place where I set up my easel to make this painting. For a few years I painted out with the Mid-Valley Art Association. We went to a location, said 'hello' and spread out to paint for 2 hours. Then we returned to a gathering place and critiqued each others paintings. It was a terrific experience.
Rocky Mountain National Park Beauty6 x 12, oil on canvas
This beautiful small lake was not too far above the higher elevation campground where I was camping. Several of us went there together to paint one morning at this spot, where I took this photo. Each of our paintings were unique ... and each told the story well of this beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains. You can see more of my plein air paintings of this National Park--and Wyoming--in one of the Travel Journal's galleries.