Plein Air at Pete's Harbor

I can't believe I haven't posted since May! A couple of weeks ago I went up to Pete's Harbor in Redwood City with the Paintsites group. While there were loads of boats to paint, I elected to move away from them and focus on the nearby marsh land. As usual with working en plein air, the condidtions kept changing. First it was cool and a bit overcast with lots of clouds on the horizon...so no shadows. Then the sun came out and the wind kicked up and blew away all the clouds. At least I didn't get caught short the way several of my companions did when the sailboat they had selected to paint hauled anchor and motored away!

 This is the first piece I did. It's on a 6"x12" Arches cold-pressed block. The colossal bloom in the sky is in a perfect location to indicate the low-hanging clouds over the distant hills.

 The second painting was more experimental; I washed on wet-in-wet color, sort of considering the striations in the landscape. Then I went in with a black Micron Pigma pen for some line work. The effect is a little too subtle to be picked up well by my scanner, but it looks very effective in person. I used a 10"x14" Arches cold-pressed block.

The last one is again on the 6"x12" block (which is intended for sea and landscapes and is perfect for them!) I used a block Tombo pen. It's watersoluble and I went in and hit the drawing with clear water. The pigment separates as it dries and looks as though other colors have been added, but they weren't. It was fun to try a new technique and I had a great day with the group.