It was a hot, clear day out in Sonoma. After a long morning run in the vineyards, I set up in the shade of an oak tree to paint. My mom was very excited about a small Rhododendron that was blooming. It had been years, and this particular bush had never produced any flowers. Perhaps it has something to do with all the rain we received after years of drought.
The heavy rain thinned out to a drizzle so I hiked up behind my mom’s to check the water level at the lake. As I walked towards the dam I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was full, It reminded me of a Steinbeck quote, “And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”
The view down the valley to the south was rain soaked and lovely. I watched the clouds crawl down the mountains. Then after a time the rain picked up and it sent me running back to the house with another painting in hand.
I had a hour to paint between rummaging through storage and the rare no kids dinner reservation with Zeldie. The Pride of Madeira at my moms was pushing out its spikes so I set up in front of it not wanting to waste any time looking for something new.
On the hill behinds mom’s looking east. It was a burn day and smoke from the neighbors left a thin veil over the valley
Looking south across lake Elizabeth towards the spillway. The cows were about and their calves came over to watch me paint. This was all fun and good but I was a little nervous when the bull strolled up and lingered just behind me.
I was on the north side on the ranch this morning and I set up in the fog. It cleared as I was laying in the underpainting but I struggled to match the new lighting. Mistakes were made. It took an extra pass to paint back in the missing saturation and contrast. I used too much titanium.
Quick lunch painting, looking south just below the trailhead of the Harry Allen Trail.
The light yesterday afternoon were pretty fantastic. I had some time before driving back down to Marin so I swung by the winery to paint the view looking south. It started raining on me about an hour in and I had to wrap up earlier than I would have liked.
This morning I drove out to the creek behind my uncle Jim’s house and painted the view looking west. It’s still very smokey in the valley which adds a lot of depth to the landscape but it was painfully hot so I didn’t have much fun today. We are in the middle of a heat wave and I being a fool, forgot both my hat and water. By ten thirty I had had enough. 1.5hr
In was very hot and smoky in Alexander Valley this afternoon and the thick atmosphere really made the landscape pop. So much depth! I drove up above the winery and painted the view looking south until the heat overwhelmed me and I retreated back to mom’s house. I think is was 98°F by the time got back to my desk. I finished the painting looking out the window with a glass of ice water in hand and the AC to protect me. 2.5hrs
