Sunday, August 12, 2018

New Almaden, San Jose, Thursday, August 9, 2018



The New Almaden Historic District is located along Almaden Road between Casa Grande and Almaden Quicksilver County Park.  It contains many historic houses and buildings linked to the quicksilver (mercury) mining history dating back to the 1840s.  Many of the people who managed or worked for the mines lived in New Almaden and their houses still remain.

The temperature was quite warm for our paintsite, but we were kept comfortable by lots of shade trees growing along Alamitos Creek and the pleasant sound of the water running in the creek.  The skies were quite hazy but the airnow.gov website rated the air quality as "Moderate", that is, acceptable for all but people who are unusually sensitive, so we went ahead with the paintsite, but we left earlier than usual.

For additional information about New Almaden and Almaden Quicksilver Park, see:
http://www.newalmaden.org/AQSPark/newalmmus.html
http://www.newalmaden.org/index.html
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/pages/almadenpark.aspx

Upcoming paintsites: See the SCVWS website or the August and September newsletters for details.

  • Aug 16, 2018:  Quail Hollow Ranch CP, Felton
  • Saturday Aug 18, 2018: New Almaden Historic District, Casa Grande Museum
  • Aug 23, 2018:  San Jose History Park, San Jose
  • Aug 30, 2018:  Quarry Lakes Recreation Area, Fremont
  • Sep 6, 2018:  Agnews Historic Park, Santa Clara
  • Sep 13, 2018: Palo Alto Baylands
  • Sep 20, 2018: Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Pescadero
  • Sept 27, 2018: Ainsley House, Campbell
Shows & Exhibits by Paintsites Regulars:
  • John Ediger's award-winning painting, "The Old Adobe", is included in the current California Watercolor Association's "The Color of Summer" Exhibit at St. Mary's College of Art in Moraga.  The show runs thru August 26, 2018. (Official website:  https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/california-watercolor-association )
  • Watercolors by Jane Saltman, Nancy Troup, and Tanvi Buch are featured in the Los Altos History Museum's "Paint the Town ll: Echoes of the Past " show which runs from July 5 to October 7, 2018.  Tanvi's painting of "Voyageur du Temps" received the Honorable Mention award.  Check the following website for plein air related lectures and events during August.   The Museum is located at 51 S. San Antonio Rd, Los Altos.  Hours are Thu - Sun: noon - 4 PM.   Admission is free. (Official website:  https://www.losaltoshistory.org/2018/06/los-altos-history-museums-exhibit-paint-the-town-features-artwork-of-historic-landmarks/ )
  • Annie Haines and John Ediger each have two paintings in the California Watercolor Association's "Explore Color / Discover Color" exhibit at Dominican University, 50 Acacia Ave, San Rafael.   The show opens August 5, 2018, and runs thru January 31, 2019.    The Reception and Awards Presentation is Saturday, August 18, 2018 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM.  (Official website: http://www.californiawatercolor.org/index.php )
  • Rich Bloechl's watercolors are currently exhibited in the Campbell Library, 77 Harrison Ave, in downtown Campbell.  The artwork will be "up" in August during normal library hours. (Mon - Tue: 1:00 PM - 9:00 PM;  Wed: 10:00 AM - 9:00 PM; Thu - Sat: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM; Sun: closed.)
Artists and their artwork:

Lisha painting Saint Anthony's Church

Lisha's painting of Saint Anthony's Church

Toni painting St. Anthony's Church

Toni captured the beauty of the windows in St. Anthony's Church

Indira captured part of St. Anthony's Church
and its wooded setting

Constance's painting of the entrance to St. Anthony's Church

Liz painting St. Anthony's Church
Liz's painting of St, Anthony's


Benay looking towards Almaden Quicksilver County Park

Benay did not have a camera so she had to work fast to
 capture this likeness of the horse drinking at the County Park

Cindy and John

Cindy's painting of trees along Alamitos Creek

This was the first time Leslie has painted with us, but she has clearly done
lots of plein air painting.  She found a shady place on the bank of  Alamitos Creek.

Leslie used saved whites to excellent advantage in her painting
of Alamitos Creek.

This is also the first time experienced plein air painter Mary Ann has
painted with us. She also has a shady place along Alamitos creek.

Matt captured the action of the water in his painting of Alamitos Creek.

Annie's painting of Casa Grande
Iris

Iris painted the steps to one of the many historic homes
in New Almaden

Mary's unfinished painting of detail of one of the many
historic homes in New Almaden

Mary's finished painting of detail of one of the many
historic homes in New Almaden

Brad's painting of "mercury recovery" equipment

Marilyn's painting of detail at La Foret Restaurant.  This restaurant was first
the Hacienda Hotel which was built in 1848 as a boarding house for miners.

Brad brought his display easel so we could admire all of our paintings at once

When many of the artists were admiring the paintings, Marilyn asked them to pose for a group photo.




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