Today was the last painting day of the San Luis Obispo Plein Air competition, the “Quick Draw”.  We were given 2 hours to complete a painting, followed by a live auction.

Yesterday I scouted out a couple of compositions and ended up painting the History Museum, one of the many built by the Carnegie Foundation in 1904/5.

I had a great time painting this building.  I was facing North, with the direct morning light hitting the wall at a 90 degree angle from me.  The result was a wonderful warm glow from reflected light on the entrance of the building.  I was also feeling great after last night’s win, so the painting came together really well.  I even finished half an hour early.  The painting was bought by an artist in the show as well, pastelist Dottie Hawthorne.

After a few hours off (and a nice nap!), we had another reception tonight.  Fellow artist blogger William Wray won Artist’s Choice for a great painting of an old Southern Pacific engine train and I sold two more paintings–one more, and it will be a complete sell-out!

The show ends tomorrow, then I’m off to LAX to pick up Mike for a week’s stay in OC and Ventura to visit family.  A week off sounds great about now!

SLO History Museum – Oil on Linen – 11×14″