Redwood Preserve, Los Altos, October 20th, 2011

On October 20th, we were treated to a pleinair demonstration by Kay Duffy.  For more information and photos of this, see the SCVSW website, Paintsites page.  Here are some of the paintings we produced having been instructed and inspired!

Redwoods, Anna Jacke

Fall Redwoods, Mary Paquet

"Fall Redwood" is a 10" x 14" watercolor. I had just the loveliest time and learned a lot from Kay Duffy's demo. She reminded me of "how to start" a landscape. The mix of her demo and our painting was perfect -- she would stop occasionally to let things dry on that misty morning and tell us to paint. The potluck at Karen Druker's home was delicious and it's always nice to chat with fellow artists and SCVWS  members I might not know. By now the sun was out and the view of the Bay and East Foothills was beautiful from the deck. The critique after lunch was perfect, with Karen moving things along and Kay giving helpful comments. Thanks to Sylvia, Jenny, Karen, and Kay for planning a perfect day. 

Neighborhood house peeping through the redwoods at the Redwood Preserve, Jenny Tero

I've come to think that Jenny & Sylvia can control the weather as we always seem to have perfect conditions for the Thursday paint-outs  --- so I was surprised that it was quite cool and foggy for the Kay Duffy demo in the Los Altos Redwood Preserve.   But on further reflection, I wonder if they didn't dial up the fog so we could see how Kay deftly handles wildly changing light, color, and shadow conditions.  I learned a lot from watching and talking to Kay in the Preserve and even more in the post-luncheon critique at Karen Druker's.    Thanks to all who made the day happen. 
Brad Santos