Laguna
Plein Air Painters Association 2001
click
here to go to LPAPA's website
2001 LPAPA Show 1999
LPAPA show 
I arrived in Laguna extremely tired out -- a combination of our Thailand Trip and long hours in the studio in preparation for Susan and my upcoming show at Mountain Trails, the NWR show, and various other deadlines. It was so wonderful painting every day, all day, on the spot in such a beautiful location with so many inspiring artists. How great it was simply going out with the sunrise and painting till the sun went down without every being interrupted by any of the usual business concerns at home! This year especially was a great reminder of what painting is all about, of the simple joy of being there and painting the beauty around us.
Below are the paintings I did this year during the five days. They are all sketches finished in one session (usually from 2-3 hours). They aren't as elaborate as some of the studio paintings, but they sure were fun to paint! By the end of the week I felt rested and eager to get back to the studio.
"Moss Point" oil 12" by 16"
"Stolen Moment at the Rockpile" oil 12"
by 16"
This was the spot that I was kicked out of the day before. I'm really lucky that
there was a different life guard the next day since I had so much fun with all
these fun shapes and colors. It's amazing how differently something as simple as
rocks, water, and sky can look like from day to day. Depending on the time or
weather conditions the rocks can be lighter than the water (as here) or the
water lighter than the rocks (as in the Moss Point painting) and then infinite
variations in between. John Budicin said that that's why he never gets tired of
painting the same spot over and over since it's so completely different each
time.
Here's a detail of the kids I painted into the painting below. The three of them were fascinated by the painting and would come back over now and then to see the progress. Finally one of them sheepishly asked if I'd paint them in if they stood still. I said sure and told them to stand in the little tidal pool and took a few minutes on each. As you can see, they're really just very basic shapes, but they were so excited to recognize which was which. They were so fun, that I had each put a brush stroke in the foreground which I made into a rock or a reflection in the water. Everyone who came by to look had those particular rocks proudly pointed out to them by each of the kids.
"Hanging out at Heisler Park" oil 12" by 16"
"Long Shadows" oil 16" by 12"
Here's a very quick painting I did of the main beach from atop the slope by the
museum just after finishing the painting of the kids. When I started, the beach
was packed solid, but as the sun dipped toward the horizon, people quickly began
packing up and heading home.
"Victoria Beach" or, as Susan likes to call this painting, "Two Turtles Kissing" oil 9" by 12"
"Moss Point House" oil 12" by 9"
"John Budicin Painting" oil 12" by 16" I did this one of John down on the beach and traded him for the painting he was doing. Don't tell him, but I got the better deal!
"Palms Overlooking Beach" oil 12" by 16
I'm sure everybody and their cousin has painted this spot, but I still couldn't
resist. It's the fist time I painted palm trees and wanted to give it a shot. I
gave this to Mary Linda and Jay Strotkamp as a thank you for letting me stay
with them for the week and to help cover all the cleaning cost they no doubt had
with all those spots of paint on everything!
"Canyon Road" oil 9" by
12"
I really had a blast painting this simple little sketch. This was the spot I
mentioned where so many of us were gathered atop that hill in the canyon under
the large tree. Except for a few telephone poles and a darker, blacktop road,
this scene has changed little in 100 years and I've seen many paintings by just
about every painter that's visited this area. Of course mine is the best, and
please just take my word for it... no need to even look at any of the others (-:
"Painting with Matt" oil 12" by
16"
Usually when Matt and I go out painting together, he looks toward the sun to
paint all that subtle, atmospheric backlit stuff that I just haven't learned to
handle yet, and I paint the fully lit colorful stuff. So after I'd finished my
painting and checked out what Matt was doing, I was surprised to see that we'd
both painted virtually the same scene. Gee, I would have put Matt's painting up
here too, but somehow it slipped my mind to take a photograph of it.
Unfortunately, the same collector bought both mine and Matt's so I hope he hangs
them in different rooms!
"Scott Jennings Painting" oil 12" by
16"
I'd planned to do a lot more detail on Scott, but about five minutes into this
painting he finished and packed up! Seeing that he was going, I quickly put in
some simple shapes for him and then spent the rest of the time painting the
landscape around him. I guess when you decide to paint another painter, it's a
good idea to see how far they are on their painting first! I traded this
painting to Scott for one of his that he said he'd send me later.
Here's a photo Jay Strotkamp took of me painting John Budicin during the Quick Draw. I forgot to take a photo of the painting so you'll have to just look really close.
Well, that's all for this years event, maybe I'll see you in Laguna next year!
2001 LPAPA Show 1999
LPAPA show
