Back to the Basics

I used the brush only to lay down the ground and also to map out the contours of the apple. The rest of it was done exclusively with a palette knife. The idea was to get familiar with the kind of stokes that are possible. It was easier to control than I had thought and I liked the texture of the paint that went on. I'll probably start using the palette knife more often than not! 

Baylands

I had been to the Palo Alto Baylands a couple of times to do some plein air painting and it took me a few attempts to get the value scale right. This time I was mindful of keeping the colors bright, as they tend to look duller indoors. I think I'll try to go easier on the darks the next time around. I hope to make it a part of my weekly routine!

Painting Branko

Branko gave us an assignment to explore and push color and we chose to make him our model for it. It was so much fun that we painted way past midnight, despite having an early flight to catch the next morning! The weekend at Laguna was perfect. We walked to the beach, hiked to the 'top of the world', lazed on the patio gazing at the ocean, happened to spot some whales swimming about but also managed to paint and talk all things et art! Inspired.