Painted today from 7am to 9:30pm–and okay, yes, there was a 2-hour nap in-between, I’m not a machine! I finished 4 paintings, so at this rate, I should have a good selection from which to select my 3 for the judge and exhibition, and 3 backups.

I started the morning at Laguna Lake Park, which happened to be recommended by the SLO Art Center currator, Amy Grimm. I checked out the spot last year, but didn’t find much of interest. This morning (7AM) the light was great, so I thought I’d do a “warm up” painting. I like to do several small studies the first day to get back into the swing of things.

Here’s my setup:

The finished painting (these pics are all from my cheap digital camera…I get better images at home from my digital scanner, but with this disclaimer aside!).

Near Laguna Lake – Oil on Linen – 9×12″

I then headed out to Montaña de Oro State Park, a rugged cliffs/beach setting. When I paint turbulent water, I like to use a lot of paint as I can create the texture and colors of ocean water most effectively. I remember Ken Auster saying, in a workshop, “the ocean is all edges.”

Montaña de Oro – Oil on Linen – 9×12″

After my mid-day siesta (how Spanish!), I headed to one of my favorite late-afternoon spots, Sweet Springs, in nearby Los Osos.

I don’t think this is quite finished–not sure. The sun was shifting quickly, so I didn’t have time to finish it. I’ll set it aside and decide later. What do you think? I can always go back the same time later this week when the light is in the same place to finish it.

Sweet Springs Marsh – Oil on Linen – 12×16″

My the time I finished cleaning up from this painting, it was dark enough for a nocturne, so I headed out to Morro Bay, as I wanted to paint reflections of boats and/or the power plant there. I found a great spot, Tidelands Park. I had a well-lit boat slip that provided a great view of the power plant reflected in the bay. Painting this was a bitch, though. The light overhead was yellow, which really altered my pallette. I had to rely on the location of each pigment to know which was which, because everything looked more yellow than normal. This is a hotel-room-photo (bad light!), but I think I was able to adjust it enough in iPhoto to get it close to what it looks like. If I have time tomorrow I’ll re-photograph in the shade outside (a much better place to photograph art).

This is one I can see myself re-painting larger during the week. I brought lots of 16×20″ linen boards and frames, so need to get a couple larger works done.

Morro Bay Nocturne – Oil on Linen – 9×12″