Hiking

After all the plein air sessions and convention preparations, I decided to take a well deserved break and get some fresh air. Friends and I visited the Marin Headlands and hiked to Pirate's Cove to discovered a beautiful and peaceful view. It was a perfect day! I took a couple stones as a souvenir from our hike and later painted on them. Here's a close up of a flat rock from the cove and painted with gouache. It's not sealed, so any liquid could easily wash this away. So I'll have to research on some type of sealant to add....probably with a matte finish. The picture above is a combo of the view we saw that day and the miniature rock painting. These might pop up on the etsy store closer to the holidays.

Ape-Con 2009 - Plein Air with a Twist

Update: All 5 have been scooped up! More miniature paintings will be available on my Etsy store soon.

First 5 customers will receive a FREE 2" x 3"
original miniature painting!

I had a chance to exhibit at this year's Alternative Press Expo (APE-Con) in San Francisco and shared a table with Kevin Woods (Flash Animator), Olivia Bonifacio (Graphic Designer) and Daria (custom jewelry maker). It was all our first time selling and we had no problem filling up our booth with goodies.

So what in the world is "Plein Air with a Twist"?! I decided to take 3 of my previous plein air paintings and added a twist of bizarre story telling. Here's what's included in the combo pack:

• 11" x 17" poster of a curious robot playing
  with cranes in an abandoned shipyard.
  Packaged in a clear bag with backing
  board (Frame not included).

• Art Booklet featuring 6 different paintings.

• 2" x 3" sticker (mini version of poster)

• 1" button - bottle cap design reflecting the logo of the front cover of the art booklet.

• Postcard with the front cover design of the art booklet.

Purchase can be made at my new Etsy store, thanks!

Shipping: Each package is shipped to you in a stiff envelope.

1st Annual Sacramento Capitol Plein Air Festival - painting 2

I was driving around the California State Capitol area to scout my next location to paint for another day and noticed the pink and purple skies! So I decided to park near the State Capitol fountain and see how much I could capture the Tower Bridge off in the distance.

This painting started of a lot lighter in areas of the trees. But with the sun practically setting I kept going darker and darker....and everything eventually became a silhouette.

Both paintings will be on display and available for purchase at the Capitol Art Center, 1200 South St. (corner of S and 12th St.) in downtown Sacramento.

1st Annual Sacramento Capitol Plein Air Festival - painting 1

My first painting took place on K Street in front the Crest Theater, which has gone by several names in the past and has been refurbished to what we see today. The good news is the auditorium has been kept untouched and still has that 1940's feel.

I don't draw enough urban landscapes so this was quite a challenge. Trying to capture three main landmarks in one sitting seemed far fetched. But I managed to add the Crest Theater Marquee, the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament Church (top left) and what seems to be a building along the Esquire Plaza (right side).

I was offered by different passerby's free food and a soda during my whole time painting! I've got nothing but love for folks in Sacramento...Thank you.

Sacramento Capitol Plein Air Festival - Quick Draw Results

This was a 3 hours competition that took place between 1:00pm-4:00pm. The Quick Draw event started at the intersection of 10th and J Streets and artists could paint within a five block radius in any direction.

I checked into the Gallery and immediately got a handful of watercolor paper stamped and initialed by the coordinator. My choice of location was the City Plaza Park. After strolling around the park a couple times, I spotted 4 other artists and decided to set up quickly behind the Steven's Monument. With the time constraint I decided to paint on 2" x 3" pieces of watercolor paper.

After spending an hour and a half on the first painting, I had to add change to my parking meter. That gave me about 45 minutes to crank out one more miniature painting.


My next subject was the clock tower facing the opposite side of the park. I wish I had an extra 30 minutes to create some better shadows and contrast, but I needed to get my pieces displayed by 4:30pm for judging. Being the odd ball size of the bunch, I don't think my paintings translated too well against the larger sized canvases.

The theme of the quick draw paintings was "Treasures of the Town" and were displayed for one night during the Gala at the Capitol Art Center and can now be seen at the Sterling Hotel (1300 H Street) in downtown Sacramento until November 21st.

Proceeds will benefit the "LifeSteps Life Skills Training and Educational Programs, Inc", a homeless prevention program serving over 10,000 individuals at 18 sites throughout the county of Sacramento.

Sacramento Press Interview

Last week I had the privilege to be interviewed by Anthony Bento of the Sacramento Press about my plein air experience during Friday's "Quick Draw" competition.

Click photo for article

Back to Back Events

Apologies for the M.I.A., just wrapped up a week long plein air event in Sacramento and directly went to the Alternative Press Expo (Ape-Con) in San Francisco.

Be sure to stop by table #247, I'm sharing a table with Kevin Woods (flash animator), Olivia Bonifacio (Graphic Designer) and Daria (custom jewelry maker).

My postcards, buttons, stickers, art booklet and 11" x 17"posters were ready for pick-up at the printers Friday evening....talk about cutting it close! All items will also be available for purchase after the convention :)

Thanks to everyone that stopped by the table on Saturday, Photos will be posted shortly!

Streets of San Francisco

I've tried watercolors sketches on smaller sized paper, but I wanted to see how gouache would do.
It held up pretty well...some paint seeped through my masking tape, but other than that, it's ready to frame. One of my friends already made an offer on this one, but if there's more interest I may produce more.