California Dreaming

I have been very busy lately, but not busy painting :(
But on the positive note I am leaving for a vacation down to San Francisco and Northern California this weekend. I'll be attending Bill Cone's pastel workshop "Pastels and Natural Light" in Sierra Nevada. Very excited about this, Bill is one of my favourite artist and to be able to learn from him will be a special treat :) As some of you might know he is a Production Designer at Pixar Animation Studios, and also has 15 years of experience painting outdoors.

On a more local note, I discovered a very cool place to paint, some 30 min walk from my house. It is secluded conservation area with a winding, shallow creek, clear water and rocky banks. I really liked this formation of rocks, peeking at times from out of the green/blue water, very still and quiet.

Scotsdale farm

 Yesterday was a great day. My wife and I went to Scotsdale Farm, a heritage site that often gets used for shooting movies and tv shows. It was great to be out of the city soaking up the sun and feasting my

This was the first painting I did, it was still morning around 10:30 and the sun was already high up. 

This ended being just a quick study. I ended up struggling with the shape of the mid-ground tree and I had a hard time organizing the BG, but I did like the atmospherics of the scene.

Painted in beautiful Ashbridges Bay, my favourite new spot in Toronto. Has everything, isolated trees, pines, big rocks, marina and sky line in distant background.

Trees Trees Trees

Here are the last week's efforts. I stayed close to home, and painted trees at Taylor Creek park. I need a break, there is too much green! I have been trying to keep my painting simple, trying to simplify the forms and letting the surface show trough and unify the colour scheme.

What I have realized is that my drawing skill needs major sharpening. Being able to quickly put down the right shape in the right place with minimum effort is a must. That means every stroke needs to be considered before committing it to paper. Not an easy thing to come by.