Forbes Mill, Los Gatos, November 17, 2011

A rather dull, cool day and a rather plain, graystone building in Los Gatos, but our paintings were all so different and lively.

Sue Newberry,  Forbes Mill



Brad Santos, A view of the back of Forbes Mill

 On first glance, the Forbes Mill Museum isn't a very impressive building --- next to noisy Hwy 17, squat and grey, Jenny called it "boring" and Sylvia commented that it looked like a jail.     But with prolonged study it grew on me as the various types, sizes, colors, and shapes of stone and the masonry styles or patterns emerged from the boring, squatty greyness.   Afternoon forecast showers never came but the constantly changing (in addition to the expected moving) light made everything even more interesting.   Working on the relatively "sunny" sides, Laurie and Mary found all sorts of subtle colors and textures in the stone.   A bonus was that in the Museum Gift Shop, 2006 Los Gatos Historic Home Tour note cards that Jenny had drawn were on sale --- a set of which I'm now the proud owner.

Laurie Barna,  The back of Forbes Mill

Caroline Garbarino - Forbes Mill Afternoon

Jenny Tero, The front of Forbes Mill

Sylvia Waddell, Charcoal and Watercolor sketch

Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, Short Hike & Sketch, November 10, 2011

This was a paintsite that we added in at the last minute.  We have painted here before, but this time we made it a hike and sketch, as most of the views require a short hike and some serious climbs.  The views were magnificent, with patches of autumn colors in the distant trees. Some interesting rock formations and lots of twisted oak trees. 

Caroline Gabarino, Guadalupe Oak Grove

Mary Paquet, Guadalupe Oak Grove Park

Sylvia Waddell, San Jose Skyline from Guadalupe Oak Grove

Jenny Tero, view to the East Bay hills from Guadalupe Oak Grove



Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, November 3rd, 2011

Oak Hill Memorial Park is California's oldest secular cemetery and a number of San Jose's first residents are buried there. Our painting day started out sunny and then a storm came in so there were a few clouds to paint.

Laurie Barna

Jesus of Mt Hamilton - Caroline Garbarino

The morning in the cemetery made a deep impression on me. Images from the day keep returning unbidden. I was especially moved to be so close to the pioneers whose names have been with me since early childhood.  Although I am a Buddhist, the scene I painted held the most power for me. Caroline Garbarino

Anna Jacke

Oak Hill Memorial Park's Chapel of Roses.  With the changing light and rain coming while I finished up, my sky became a issue as did the shadows I had put in at the beginning... the challenges of Plein Air painting! Anna Jacke

Apostle's Fountain - Brad Santos

Our paint-out at Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose's oldest and largest cemetery, definitely offered a different emotional tone than other recent paint sites. I wondered if that would translate into a different look to my paintings --- would I be able to capture that emotion? It seems like I should have but I confess that I couldn't see any difference. I suspect the 'emotion' was lost when I focused too much on simply reproducing the Apostle's Fountain on my paper. Brad Santos

San Jose Skyline as viewed from Oak Hill Cemetery - Dick Zunkel

View from Sunrise Hill - Sylvia Waddell

A distant redwood casting its shadow over the gravestones caught my eye. The Mountains were still trapped in the haze at this point. This is a postcard sized sketch. Sylvia Waddell

Japanese Temple,     Jenny Tero