St. Vincent's Church - San Rafael, Ca - Winter 2012

(12" x 16" Watercolors on Watercolor Board)

Now that the season is officially Winter.... it's very difficult to find a dry location to do any Plein Air Painting. Lucky for me... the rain decided to take a break Sunday and I was able to drive over to St. Vincent's Church in San Rafael, Ca. I should really compile all my paintings from this location... it's become one of my favorites to paint and explore. This time around I spotted a school bus parked in front of some run-downed buildings. Even though the facility looks shut down... they seem to be used for storage. I don't usually do urban style paintings but it sure was a FUN subject to paint!!!

Freestone Barn

(Freestone, CA)

Found a great old white barn to paint. The look of the abandoned barn melting into the ground really caught my attention! Here's my watercolor painting on a 12" x 16" watercolor block.

Wonderful small town with a popular bakery across the street! Parking lot is small but plenty of additional parking along the side of the roads. I met a handful of friendly visitors :D One local resident advised me to come back but try painting at other times of the day. I just may do that! The kids were great!!! They asked their mom if they paint with me? Hahaha.There's definitely more to explore along this small Sonoma County town.... I can't wait to take another drive here....maybe when the weather gets warmer.

Freestone, CA - setup

Here's a snap shot from my  September drive to Freestone, CA .... Drove around town for an hour to find a place to set-up. Usually on a hot day like this (97 degree) I try to find some shade. No luck... so I packed up my materials and set-up in the blazing sun. When doing this, gotta remember to pack enough water to drink! You can get dehydrated quite quickly. I'll upload a photo of my finished painting in the next post :D