Storm Clouds Over Fremont Canyon

Here is a view of Fremont Canyon, about a mile east I think from Irvine Park, and one of the areas newly opened to the public. The morning we went to paint it was sunny, but within the first hour dark storm clouds moved in and it began to sprinkle a bit. I had to stop painting the sunny scene I began with, and ended up with this view of the sun breaking through the clouds to illuminate the far end of this little valley. What a wonderful experience to see this land, largely unspoiled. One can't help imagining how it must have been and looked for so many years and realize that the rest of our Orange County must have been as pristine and beautiful as this.

Baker Staging Area - Santiago Canyon

In May, our group will be having a show and sale in partnership with the Orange County Parks and with the Tustin School District. All the paintings for the show will be of the parks in our area, and some newly opened wilderness areas. I've spent the last couple of weeks out painting and working on the next few paintings. This one is of an area adjacent to Black Star Canyon, for you locals. It was early morning.

Maple Leaf #2

Here is another Maple Leaf that I pressed first to see if I liked it that way too, this time on a contrasting color background. Painting these dried leaves is such a lesson in paying attention...forgetting that it's a leaf I'm painting and just rendering every miniscule hill and valley, every nuance of color and hoping in the end that it will still look like a leaf.

Maple Leaf

Here is another monochromatic study of a leaf, this time of a red maple leaf...

Sycamore Leaf (not hanging)

So the consensus is unanimous, NO TAPE. Thanks to all of you who were able to respond. I think I have to agree, although somehow I still like the idea of the tape, so, I don't know, maybe some other project will lend itself more to showing those mundane little details which I find so attractive. Here is the revised version next to the original.

Hanging Leaf

Here is the first of a small series of 3. I'm not sure about the tape. What do you all think?  Send me an email. Should I leave the tape in or take it out?

Sycamore Leaf on a Table

Well, I'm back. Did you all think I'd fallen off the face of the earth? Nothing so dramatic, in fact nothing at all but the usual holiday joys and duties mixed in with all the other stuff one seems to have to do at the end of the year. A blizzard in fact of things to do. So, the flurries having subsided, and the sun having returned I am finally returning to my painting a day, or as a fellow painter has named her blog, a painting today. Too bad that is taken, I love that title. I left off in late November, while it is still Autumn/Winter here in Southern California  without having painted any "Autumn" leaves, which a couple of you had requested...so I will begin posting a few small paintings of leaves that I've been collecting since November. Here is the first.