I have had so much techie work lately, and personal business, that painting has been pushed off the map. I am determined to schedule it back in. What gets me excited is to finish a number of plein air paintings and studio paintings that are already started. In looking at the group, they are all about "where I live". Many are of the oak and savannah ecosystem of Temecula and the Santa Rosa Plateau. Others are of eucalyptus groves in Temecula and Fallbrook. A little further out are beach and marina scenes of the coast, and mountain scenes in Idyllwild and Julian. They are all about the southern California I live in. I go up to the Valley to visit my niece and nephew, to Orange County and Laguna environs to check in on my mom, to San Diego and the beaches for paint-outs with the SDAI and CAC. All of it together encompasses a huge variety. But all of it is Southern California and all of it is where I live. I see a coherent thread. I'm going to focus on all of this and produce good work. That is my immediate goal.
First up is a plein air sketch I painted last spring in Meadowview. There is a great sense of light in the sketch. I've done a comp to analyze the design.
There are two large masses of trees. The design challenge is to make one mass dominant and to give the painting balance without creating symmetry, which can be boring. The two masses of trees are different types of eucalyptus.
1. The mass to the right is darker in local value of the two and is a cool, blue-green hue. It is further away than the mass to the left.
2. The mass to the left is lighter in local value and is a warm, yellow-green hue.
3. The grass is a bright, spring green that is the lightest green value in the picture, but cooler than the trees.
Juggling all of this and creating a sense of distance will be the challenge.
