Art for Heaven's Sake 2010

Every year there is a wonderful art show and sale, at the Redlands United Church of Christ. It is one of the premier art shows in the Inland Empire, and I have been honored to be a part of the show for the last 6 years. This year, we had a few rain showers on the last day, but not enough to keep the public away, and the most rain came when the show was over, and we had packed up our gear. As usual, it is difficult for me to sit all day and not paint, if painting is possible, so, I painted the view to my right. At the end of the row, were a few tents with table and chair for folks to sit and eat after eating the great Mexican food that was for sale at the show. I have enjoyed trying to paint scenes with people in it that are constantly on the move. I enjoy the challenge of capturing the gestures of the people in action. I hope you enjoy this one, "Art for Heaven's Sake, 2010" plein air pastel 11x14.

Painting Catalina Island - the final day

"Buena vista morning" 6x12 plein air pastel.

"Buena vista morning view" 9x12 plein air pastel.

Me, Louise and Terry on our way to another painting location.

On the last day, we all woke up to another beautiful day, and were tired, but sad to have the wonderful thee days coming to and end. As usual, there was a few clouds/fog, but as usual, we knew it would be burning off soon. On this day we headed up to Buena vista point, to paint the vistas and I wanted to paint the beautiful eucalyptus trees that are up there. We got a taxi to take us up there, and all started to look for a painting location. My first painting was, looking past one of the large eucalyptus trees, down at "lovers point" and the bay around it. The fog hung around for most of the painting, but all of a sudden the whole are was bathed in sunlight. After finishing the first painting, I walked over into the eucalyptus grove and was drawn to the light shinning on parts of the big mature trees in the grove. I decided to focus only on the lower portions of the three trees. The light was shinning through and casting light beams throughout the grove. We then needed to call the taxi and head on down for a great late lunch, and head for the boat back to Long Beach. All good things must come to an end, but I will be back, I love painting on this beautiful little island.

Day two, painting Avalon

On our second day of painting, we were joined by our friend and fellow PAAR member, Ghislaine Gargano and her friend Robin. They came for the day to join in on the fun of painting this beautiful Island. Above are (L-R) Me, Ghislain and Terry, in the background is the Avalon harbor. Such a beautiful view and again, a gorgeous day.

" Avalon Bell tower" 7x12 plein air pastel. This was the first painting of the morning, and the light was shinning brightly on the front of this colorful old bell tower overlooking the the town of Avalon.

"Via Casino beach vista" 9x12 plein air pastel.

"Sailboat afternoon reflections" 6x12 plein air pastel.

"Lonely seagull" 6x8 plein air pastel.

In the morning we decided to get a taxi and ride up to the overlook by the bell tower to paint the vistas from that viewpoint. We had never been up here, and it was fun to see the town and views of the casino from a whole different angle. As noted above, we had been joined by our friend Ghislaine and her friend Robin, so it was a fun morning of new experiences and vistas. I decided to first paint the colorful bell Tower, as it is such a classic fixture in this town. I also painted a view from up there of the Casino, but I do not like that painting as well, so have not posted it.

In the afternoon, we went down to town, had a great Mexican lunch with margaritas, and then headed out to the beach areas to paint the people sunbathing. I attempted to paint both the archway to the casino and the beach area, as it is a classic view in this town. While I was painting, I noted that fellow painter Joan Coffey had sat down on by the beach to also sketch the people and I could not resist putting her in my painting. Can you find Joan in the painting of my Via casino beach? If so, let me know!!!

We ended the day by painting reflections in the water from the boats. I also could not resist, painting the seagull that landed on the rock in front of me. Another day at the office!! I do love my job.

Painting Catalina Island 2010

"Descanso Beach afternoon" 5x7 plein air pastel. This is my little gem I painted on my first day, but I do think it is my best of the the trip!

View from Descanso beach.

My painting buddies, (L-R) Louise Smith, Terry d Chacon & Joan Coffey, on our way to Descanso Beach.

"Evening sparkle" 6x8 plein air pastel. I painted these two little paintings on the beach in Avalon, while listening to the Karaoke signers in the bar across the sidewalk.

"Evening sparkle II" 6x8 plein air pastel.

Painting in Avalon has become a yearly tradition with a few of my painting buddies, Terry d Chacon, Joan Coffey & Louise Smith. This is my second year to go, and their 4th. It is so much fun, we paint from sun up to sundown, and in the nighttime. We arrived in Avalon a little after 11 am, and after checking into our hotel, we stopped for something to eat while our room was being prepared. So after settling into our "room with a view" we got our gear together and started down to Desconso Beach to paint the evening light. The beach was full of people and interesting fun music was playing from the bar area. It was a perfect afternoon, with the setting sun on the side of the casino in the distance. I painted a first painting, (not included here), then, I turned around and decided to paint a quick and small 5x7 view of the casino. The light on the building was amazing, and the refection's of the building in the water was magical. I do think this little gem became my favorite of the following 11 paintings I completed during the 3 days were were there. I will post the other paintings in the days to come, so check out the blog, for more Catalina Island adventures in Plein air painting.