Author: -N-

Coastal Hills in Late Summer

Since I had all the pastels out from Tuesday’s class, before I straightened up the mess in the studio, I decided on another study. This time, the oak-covered hills of California. In spring, the hills are brilliantly green, often covered with wildflowers, such as poppies and lupines. As spring gives way to summer, the heat comes, and the grasses dry out. Perfect conditions for all these dreadful wildfires of late . . . Anyway, the coast can be socked in with the summer fog, but inland, the hills are under the brilliant sun. As you look toward the Pacific, you can see the “fog monster” lurking on the other side of the range.

Laundry Day

I have done most of the laundry. It is in the dryer. And I am restless as I really don’t feel like sitting still, but I want to accomplish something. I really want to get out of the house. Laundry is my morning’s ball and chain.

Times like this, when I am restless, are always a good time to do little tasks. So, I put away the tripods I had pulled out. For a birthday present, I got a geared head. With Josh’s help, I moved one head from one tripod to another, until the good old Gitzo 1227 was freed up for the geared head.

It is now time to take the tripod and head out to use, testing it out with and without the L-bracket, but that needs to wait as I want to get to the botanical gardens and local parks for that, and load up a couple of different cameras for that. Waiting for laundry to dry is a shorter time period than loading up camera gear and running away from home.

To pass the time, I posted to my other two blogs – my most recent pastel and a picture of ink on my desk. Exciting stuff.

And thus, I am thinking about what I have been doing and not doing this week, and I really cannot complain. It has been a good week in many ways, with a sense of satisfaction and / or accomplishment. What is there to cry about? I have seen family and friends, been creative, and realized that I really do need to schedule all my different interests! That was a good insight, so I have a calendar printed out for my consideration.

Meanwhile, the dryer has 20 minutes to go.

Poppies in Pastels

This is the second week of an online class in pastels, through the local adult school. I had begun the class last spring, a couple of weeks before the pandemic lock down hit California. I got my money refunded, which was good as I’d only had 2 of 8 classes under my belt. This fall, the same school and same teacher are available as a virtual class, using Zoom.

I am not a big fan of online classes that are live simply because I love the real-world interactions of students and teacher. Being able to wander around a classroom, have a conversation or two, discuss things with a teacher in depth (and close up!) when painting are all big, big advantages to a lap top and a poor monitor, as well as limited video capabilities. Still, learning does happen! I just like real life better than virtual. Nonetheless, critiques are possible as are good suggestions, some of which helped my painting out a lot.

That said, it is fun to paint in pastels. Here, the California Poppy Reserve was the subject matter, particularly wonderful after the beautiful, wet spring and “super bloom” we had. I used 400 grit Uart sanded paper, Rembrandt and Nupastels with a bit of charcoal, and sealed it with a Krylon semi-gloss acrylic finish.

Under the Summer Sky

As summer fades away, the fires are burning along the west coast, and the clarity of the air has gone murky. This is when I dream of being somewhere along a river, with sun, blue skies, flowers and birds. I’m a country girl at heart, stuck in suburbia! (But there are advantages of the ‘burbs, too.)

I used Arches Rough 12×16 140# paper. The texture is not as smooth as what CP or HP provide. There is a lot more “tooth” which is great for dry brush and texture, such as in the foreground grasses and middle ground trees. I used one of my hake brushes for the general grass shapes, and a larger, harder brush for the sky. Before I painted any large area, I used the hake brush with clear water, letting it soak in a bit to help the paint to spread more easily on this rough paper.

In general, I am pleased with this painting. DOF works fairly well. I put in a building, too! For me, the most flawed area is the squared-off top of a tree to the left of the building – maybe I will go in later to correct it, but for now, I’ll let it be, cuz it’s time for a nap!