Shimmering Serenity of Sonoma's Vineyards

While wainting for the rain to subside, I painted this from a photo. The colors are tweaked, but laying down the paint was fun.

Sheep in Motion

These darned sheep wouldn't stand still while I was painting them. 

Hopkins Ranch in Springtime

Another painting of the Hopkins Ranch off Eastside Road. I have painted these vineyards several times during the past few years. I like the water tower at the end of the road and the barn. Painting vineyard mustard has always been one of my favorite subjects because of its bright cadmium yellow.

Foggy River Farm and Humboldt County Ranch

The paintings above were done from photographs.

The top painting, Foggy River Farm, was a commission, a wedding present from a relative of the bride. The couple worked at the farm last summer and fell in love.

The lower painting is from a photo I took while in Humboldt County a couple of weeks ago. I love the Thalo Blue hills which complement the Terra Rosa barn roof. The cows are another favorite element in this painting.

Aztec Dahlia Farm Along Adobe Road

Two plein air paintings done a week apart with Sandra Speidel's painting group. Although both days were sunny, the difference in color is notable. In the muted landscape, my paints were mixed with various piles of paint to harmonize the entire painting.

Pedroncelli

Another day with Monday Morning Painters, where we painted at Pedroncelli Winery and Vineyards in Geyserville, with most of us capturing the oft painted white house and its sunporch, along with the vineyards and Sonoma hills. The morning started out cool, but the Indian Summer kicked in by 11:00am, with the hot sun forcing out of the field those painters who didn't track where the sun was going to bear down. I was one of those painters. So in finishing the painting at home, I didn't really finish it at all.

Freestone's Fading Icons

Yesterday, I attended a workshop with my favorite artist and instructor, Judy Butler. After watching her demonstration, I painted these barns and silo in Freestone. My painting is very loose, as I was hoping it would become; sometimes the hand and eye do work together during the creative process. One surprising outcome of my day's efforts was the high-key result, which I like.