Linda Mar Beach

This is an oil painting I worked on en plain air during a very windy morning at Linda Mar Beach.  It plays with perspective and distorts space to invite the viewer to experience a broader expanse of the beach on a typical windy Spring day drawing their attention to the churned up waves. The warm hues on the hillside indicate Spring is still with us while the blue and turquoise ocean remind us of the cool Pacific Ocean. The clouds in the distance are a forewarning to the approaching afternoon fog.

Moored Offshore

 Here is a tiny 4 x 4 oil painting of a sailboat moored offshore somewhere off the Northern California coast.

Half Moon Bay Harbor 2

 This another small oil painting in my series of Half Moon Bay harbor. Darker values than the previous HMB painting suggest the light effects in the early evening.

Half Moon Bay Harbor

 Here is a small oil painting of Half Moon Bay harbor where I first applied paint with a palette knife to cover the board. Then I used a soft brush and knife to create the effects of motion.

Sunset and Surfer

 

I’ve been meaning to paint this scene based on a photo I took a couple years ago. Well, I finally got around to it and here it is. I made liberal use of the palette knife to apply the color which gave the waves some additional texture and a more dramatic effect in the clouds.

Pacifica beach

A quick watercolor sketch of one of the beautiful beaches in Pacifica.  I always struggle with capturing the surf along the shore.  I tried a dry brush technique with the whites of the surf and used glazing for the sand.

 I finally tidied up the library so I could use the room as a studio to do some painting.  Here is an 8x10 seascape oil painting not far from our house. I limited my palette to essentially two colors using three paints - french ultramarine blue, burnt umber, and flake white.  I focused on values to capture the light reflecting off the ocean and the mist blanketing the hills and cliffs.

Ocean serenity

 Today I was inspired to sketch a beach near our home that we frequently visit. I hope to do more art and painting in the year ahead.

Sunrise on Lake Cuomo

 Last year I finally delivered on a promise to paint a harbor scene for my mom. It took me a couple of years to get inspired and with the pandemic I found some time to do this painting based on a photo I took at Lake Cuomo, Italy. I also included a few photos such as a color study to illustrate a bit about my processs.

 

All hands on deck

I found this interesting watercolor on http://www.californiawatercolor.com/ and decided to give it a go myself.

A day at the beach

I loved the light and shadows in a watercolor painting I found on the Internet (I need to start remembering the original artists of these compositions).  Here is my rendition of this scene on hot press watercolor paper.