Before I finished yesterday’s painting, I took some time to take pictures of the painting itself, and out the window. We don’t get a lot of fog out here, so the pea souper we got was fascinating to watch as it lifted. From thick and dense, it slowly dissipated – I was cold from the damp, but the view was great.
Early morning, fog, and the street lights were still on.
Big Sur along the California coast is an incredibly beautiful bit of the state – at once wildly beautiful, in many ways easily accessible along Hwy 1, but delicate, too, as it is easily destroyed by heavy rains creating mudslides. Parts of it are rugged with mountains rising up and coming down into the Pacific Ocean. Hwy 1 skirts along, and it is always best to be the passenger so you can enjoy the wonderful views.
From where I live, you drive north, past Santa Barbara and then veer off on the 101 in an area marked on the map as Las Cruces. You could continue up the 101 up to San Luis Obispo, cutting west toward Morro Bay and then along the coast. Before you get deep into Big Sur, the mountains are toward the east, and there is a coastal plain. Slowly the landscape changes as the flatter areas disappear and the mountains move ever closer.
The entire drive is a delight. Coastal fog may drift in and out, and no matter where you look, the beauty is breathtaking. I have tried to catch this in the distance and along the horizon. The Canson XL paper is nice to paint on, and I used Gamblin Galkyd gel to speed up the drying time, but it sat in the garage this past week so I could ignore it and look at life away from the studio. Getting some time away from a painting is always a good thing as eyes are fresh upon the return. I was pleased with what I saw, and so scanned it, and present it to you for your viewing.
Painted on 11×14 Canson XL Acrylic / Oil Paper, about 10×10.
Living along the coast, fog is a part of the landscape. Coastal fog in particular is fascinating in California as in many areas the plant life depends on it for water. The beauty of fog is its ability to soften a landscape and create a mysterious effect. Inland, we don’t have much fog where I live, but in coastal areas, just a block can move you from gloomy and depressing by the beach to sunny and shiny and cheery inland. As a result, I prefer to live inland a bit so I don’t get socked in by fog.
There were two goals here. First, experiment with using only linseed oil as a vehicle to smoosh around paint, creating in the process soft gradations. The second was to experiment with using the Canson XL Oil / Acrylic paper. This paper has gotten some of the best reviews, in part because of its linen finish texture. I agree, the paper and the texture are very nice to work on! The rather grainy effect of white on the still water is done by dragging a wide brush across the underlying blue paint with dryish paint. It makes me think of fog resting above the water, but you can choose what it means to you if you are so inclined!
Because I am using linseed oil, the oil paint takes forever and ever to dry; after scanning this, I had to clean off the glass plate on the Epson V600 even after its drying for 2 weeks. So, it is back in the garage to continue drying.
Oil paint, 9×12 Canson XL Oil-Acrylic paper, linseed oil only.
Along the California coast, fog forms and covers the land, usually in the mornings and later in the day. It is a very standard – and annoying! – part of summers here – “May Grey” and “June Gloom” and “Goodbye July” are the standard snarks about the lack of sun! Here, another view of the farm, misty fog coming in as the afternoon moves into evening.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 