Emerald Lake Country Club, Redwood City, Thursday, September 21, 2017

Emerald Lake is a private oasis in the wooded Emerald Hills area above Redwood City.  Although usually only available to Country Club members, SCVWS member Chris invited us to paint there.  The lake was quiet while we were there, but there were so many beach toys, diving boards, colorful beach chairs, etc, that it was easy to imagine all the wonderful sounds one would hear on a summer day when many children were frolicking on the beach and in the water while their parents watched nearby.

We expected the last full day of summer to be a typical warm summer day.  Unexpectedly the Jet Stream made a sharp dive to the South bringing brisk winds and cold temperatures.  We had to bundle up and sometimes get a firm grip on our palette and artwork for a particularly strong breeze.

This paintsite was supposed to be Jenny and John's last paintsite as they prepare to move back to England.  Jenny and Sylvia led the paintsite group for 8 years from 2006 until May 2014, so Jenny has been a very big part of the SCVWS paintsite group.  Unfortunately moving to England is such an enormous task that they were unable to attend the paintsite, but that didn't stop the other artists from having a little party to wish them well.

Jenny wrote to the group, "I am sorry to have missed the last paint site we could have gone to.  I have enjoyed knowing everyone, and co-leading the group was one of the most satisfying and enjoyable things I have done in my life.  I treasure the book that so many contributed to -- a wonderful memory of painting outdoors in California with some super people."

Link to Emerald Lake Country Club

A huge thanks to our hostess Chris for arranging for us

to paint at this charming lake

Chris's first painting

Chris's second painting 

Helen and Leslie are painting from the peninsula.

Helen's first painting shows brightly colored beach chairs

Helen's second painting shows a little building across the lake

Leslie's value sketch 

Leslie's painting shows many of the ways to play at the lake.

Marilyn's painting of the diving platform

Martha

Martha's painting of a house across the lake

Lorraine, Salinda, and Dick have comfortable tables for painting.

Lorraine's painting of a house across the lake

Salinda's painting of the diving platform and a house across the lake

Dick's painting of colorful beach chairs

Caroline is properly bundled up for the cold wind.

Caroline's brilliantly colored painting of the totem pole

Mary

Mary's painting of the artists on the peninsula

Broncha

Broncha captured the entire panorama

Chris and Marilyn are admiring Broncha's painting

and they are liking what they see.

The artists are toasting John and Jenny on this new adventure in their lives,

not with champagne, but with a cookie.