Had a nice Mother’s Day with mom but I was late out the door again and didn’t have much time to paint. The sun had already set so I ran up behind the house, set up as fast as I could and painted the dam. The wind was really blowing tonight, my panel was nearly ripped from the easel. Another 40min color study.
Found my motivation way too late. After dragging my heals I finally made it out the door only to realize my light was gone. I quickly set up in the gravel driveway and slopped some paint onto a panel just to have a go at it. Had about 40mins to paint before I couldn’t see anymore. Cleaning up in the dark is a pain.
Spent the morning reading good reviews for The Bad Batch, which was nice, then walked behind the house and painted the eucalyptus grove as it caught the last of the morning light. The grass really started to bleach out, it’s nearly all golden now. the green is hanging on in places but its days are numbered. I think I need to add a cadmium yellow light to my pallet.
Post dinner color study of my brothers garden. 1.5hr
I painted the garden behind the pool house while the twins went for a swim with their cousins. 2hr color study.
Quick post sunset half hour color study. Looking west towards Healdsburg from Alexander Valley.
On the hill above my brothers place on a bright afternoon. It was mid day and way way too bright. My eyes were straining and everything got bleached out. I need to start adding my umbrella to the painting kit to balance out the colors.
Well I guess summer is here. I nearly melted in the heat of the sun while painting this and the fire department drove up the hill to put out a small burn pile that got out of hand. Mad respect to Geyserville fire, they are amazing.
The neighbor’s security detail thought I was an intruder so they called me in and I got a visit from my uncle while trying to paint this quick twilight study. It was nice to catch up, I haven’t seen him since the fires last year. Its a little annoying to be reported for painting on your own property but it’s also nice to know the neighbors are looking out for you. In their defense I do look like a creepy hobo when I’m painting. That said it was distracting, I only had about forty minutes of light to paint and the security snafu shaved off some of my working time. Que cerra cerra.
Alexander Valley got some long overdue rain today. After the shower I climbed up the hill to paint the dramatic clouds and admire the pooled shadows as they drifted over the vineyards.
