Catching up

8" x10"
Nicasio Church #28

I'm a few days behind with my posts.  I drove out to Nicasio this morning and painted the church before it got too hot (we are having a heat wave for those of you who don't live in Northern California).  I took a workshop from Tim this spring and he did a demo from this exact spot, so I knew the composition was going to work.  While I was painting, a man in a truck stopped and asked if his angry mother-in-law (who coincidently lived across the street) had come out to harass me.  Fortunately, she had not.  Apparently, I was set up on her dog's grave.  Weird place to bury your dog, if you want my opinion;  road side under a telephone pole.  Anyway, she must have been in a good mood today, because she never came out of her house.  I focused on values and think I came pretty close in this painting.  Also, I worked on reflection and this building, in particular, has a clear reflection under the eave.  It was fun to paint.
I took a break and painted another small painting after lunch.  But, it is not worthy of posting here today.  It will be spending some time with the sander later this week.

Hot Dog 

6" x 8"
CityScape #27

 Here's the city scape I did in an hour before Hall's football game on Saturday morning. I think those buildings need to get way darker - they don't really read like they are in shadow.  Anyway, it was a good exercise and totally out of my comfort zone.  I took a workshop from Ken Auster last spring and we did a day of cityscapes.  I think it's total mind bender because there are so many things to think about, and the drawing alone is enough to make you crazy.  I have a lot of opportunity for improvement in this department.
I think I'm going to head up to China Camp tomorrow and paint a pure landscape - no buildings!