Morning Woods

So, I am working BIG. this is the progress on a painting I have waited for about six months to work out. It’s only the first of what will likely be more paintings inspired from the Redwoods. “Morning Woods” is 48″ tall by 38″ wide painting featuring the Giant Sequoia. The big trunk on the left is still a bit too dominate and I love how the green is beginning to get floated in at the top. The green moss-y-ness at the at the foot of the trunk helps pull it all together with the green of the background. The many colors in the trunk also give the entire painting a broad range of interesting color that works well with the limited greens and other cools that inhabit the painting.

Gaviota Sundown

The Gaviota Hot Springs was my destination. I have wanted to paint there for a long time. It was a beautiful day so I decided to go on a drive. I got to Gaviota Hot Springs at midday. It was a bit of a hike up a steep muddy trail and I was winded by the time I got to the springs. (Note to self; get some exercise dude!) There were two gray-headed gentleman sitting in the pool when I arrived there who had already been there for a couple hours. After a short chat I joined them. The temp was not hot at all, in fact it was luke warm. Around 80 degrees. Bubbling up from volcanic activity was the distinct odor of sulfur. The minerals are said to heal. So, I stayed in and talked about Costa Rica, art, snakes and vanilla beans for about half an hour and noticed that the sun was about gone from the canyon. I wanted to get a painting in before I went home, so I hopped out and dried off. When I got dressed again, I headed back down the mountain. When I got to the trail-head by the parking lot, I looked back up the hill and this magnificent tree was waving goodbye to me and the sun as it went down.

I got in the car and headed south on Highway 101. While watching the sun go down, I knew it would soon be completely gone. I was compelled to do something about it before ASAP. I stopped the car and ran out to the top of the cliffs above Gaviota State Beach to capture the last of the sun before going behind the horizon. So, there I was painting… and the quick 20-minute study you see here was sold right off the easel from a guy that saw me painting from below. He approached me and wanted it so… SOLD! I guess timing is everything, right!? Anthony is here from Salt Lake City and visiting some friends along the coast. He told me that this painting would be a reminder of his dad whose final resting place is just about where the sun is setting there… near Prince Island in San Miguel island’s Cuyler Harbor.

I was happy to have sold this to someone so spontaneously, but the bummer was since it was dark when I finished it, I had no photo. Luckily, he was heading from Santa Barbara to Orange County so I had a chance to take the shot when he stopped by my studio this morning.

I will definitively be going back there soon to do another painting. The tree on the top-right of the picture has a HUGE collection of some large long-necked birds roosting there for the night. Cormorants perhaps? I want to do another painting with the tree as subject… soon

Keeping an eye out

(repost from ConejoArts.org)

A couple of years ago, I read the story about the violin virtuoso Joshua Bell. He donned street clothes and a baseball cap and played his 3.5 million dollar Stradivarius for a while in a busy Washington DC Metro terminal. It was an experiment to see how many people would take notice in the midst of their bustling day. After an hour, this man who regularly gets $1000 a minute for his playing, received about $35 in tips in his violin case. While thousands passed by on their way to their busy day, a few people stopped to watch for a couple moments, and only one person recognized him.

The point of this story is that “context matters.” So does awareness. It can take a lot of work to receive wonder and awe into our lives. We are too often “on task” to take notice to some of the most beautiful moments before us.

As the new year begins another annual cycle, consider keeping an eye out for a few simple pleasures in life. Watch for the rare coastal bloom of the coreopsis plants in February that appear to be dead most of the year. Visit a local gallery or museum and gaze a few paintings. If you see a street musician, pause and listen with your inner being. There is a never ending stream of beauty that encounters you each and every day.

Keep your eyes and heart open.

Peace,
Rich Brimer
ACCV President

Music, theatre and art help connect us to one other. Visit our website for upcoming events and let’s make some great connections this year. http://ConejoArts.org

To read the full Washington Post story about Joshua Bell, go to LINK

Pt Mugu Lagoon

Although I have lived in Southern California for nearly 50 years, I still find it odd that we can have an 85 degree day in mid-December. While friends in other parts of America are shoveling snow and stoking their pot-bellied stoves, I was out painting at the Pt Mugu Lagoon. I woke up that morning thinking to myself “What a great day to hit the beach.” So, with that, I loaded up my painting gear and a towel into the VW bus, and went off to the coast. I was planning to use my annual State Park pass to get into the parking lot at El Matador State Beach, but I only made it 8 miles from my home to Pt Mugu Lagoon, next to the Seabees shooting range. I parked the bus, lit a cigar and while listening to Robert Plant belt out a live version on “Whole Lotta Love” I gazed at the scene. Plovers poked into the muddy ground looking for lunch. The sun danced off of the wet shoreline of the lagoon below and the distant sea behind. I never made it past this scene to El Matador, and soon was setting up the my EasyL to capture this scene. Here is what I saw…

Mugu Lagoon "10 x 12" oil on Birch Board

Green Ravine

Green Ravine 24" x 24" oil on Canvas

In ongoing inspiration from my Channel Islands excursion in September, I have another Rocks & Water painting to show. This is called “Green Ravine” which is based from the view from our boat onto Santa Cruz Island. There are never ending options in the vistas of these islands. Now I see why David Gallup has had a hard time pairing down his museum collection to just 70 paintings from his Channel Islands collection. He has a couple hundred!

What I tried to accomplish in this painting was the movement of water. There are these surges against the rocks and in past paintings I have simply painted horizontal waterlines, as if I were at a lake. This is the OCEAN. Thanks to some work I saw of Stephen Mirich and his spectacular seascapes, I realized that movement is so important in capturing the reality of the sea. So, expect to see some more shoreline paintings in the near future as I work this out.

Extreme Plein Air

Art Boat ©2010 Stephen Mirich

The photo above gives an impression of the boat deck that was host to 20 artists and a crew. Our boat The Conception is actually outfitted for 20 or more scuba divers, so having a bunch of artists on board was quite a shift for captain and crew. They helped us with some minor easel repair, getting kayaks prepared to launch, and when we could go to shore, they shuttled us back and forth on the zodiac. Mostly we painted on the deck of the boat. One time in Pelican Bay, I launched a kayak with my easel on my lap to do the painting “Kayak View”.

Kayak Painter ©2010 Marian Fortunati

It was a bit of a challenge to do paint from the kayak, but I was up for it. With no umbrella, the painting is pretty dark. This happens with direct sunlight because your eyes see it lit with such bright light. This is why it is a good idea to paint under an umbrella, or some sort of shade, allowing the natural light of the sun to be diffused. I am thinking of doing a studio piece from this one… but brightening it up a bit.

Kayak View - 8" x 10" oil on board

That evening after the sun was down, we could see the glow of the moon beginning to shift the color of the horizon. I quickly got out my paint box and a new panel to finally capture a moon rise. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness as I was looking across the calm water, I could see the lights of Santa Barbara and Carpenteria beginning to show. The sky was turning a dull orange/red and I could finally tell where the moon was going to pop up at. To my surprise, the moon was amber and gently lit the sky. Here is the painting.

Moon Over Carpentaria, 10"x12" oil on Birch board - $550