"Old Town", Los Gatos, December 20, 2012

Amidst the hustle & bustle of frantic shoppers -- confident, determined women with many bags; bewildered, hapless men clutching cheese graters (or something equally pathetic) -- swirling around them on a beautiful, clear, sunny Winter's day in festive Los Gatos; the Watercolor Society's plein air painters were an island of serenity.

For more information about "Old Town" in Los Gatos, see: http://www.shopsatoldtowncenter.com/

Dick Zunkel

Yan and I painted in the brief window between 1:00 o'clock and the arrival of a cold sea breeze at 3:00.  There are so many interesting buildings to paint in this district, but we chose the Old Town's California Cafe mostly due to convenience with a bench, etc. I'm still learning to paint with Pelikan pans. Pelikan's colors are a bit strange compared to my usual Holbein pallete. Rock hard Canson 140 paper complicates the process, but the Pelikan-Canson combination is very portable and lends itself to fast changing light and weather.    Dick

Laurie Barna

Because I got there so late, I wanted to get right down to finding a good spot and at least finishing a drawing before the cold and wind turned me into a popsicle.  It felt SO GOOD to just sit and draw after spending the last several months on mixed media/collage artwork.    Laurie

Caroline Garbarino

I'll bet our group was picturesque huddled together in the Old Town plaza! My painting has "lost and found" elements ala M. C. Esher because the lot and streets were so crowded.   Caroline

Marilyn Perry

Because we met in the afternoon, painters left when they got cold or their parking time expired.  I missed our usual gathering and sharing after painting.    Marilyn

Brad Santos

Located next to Old Town, St. Luke's little memorial garden offered a look at Christmas different from that of Old Town's shops.   The very low sun angle made for dramatic shadows and the branches of the dormant Japanese Maple had the most wonderful range of reds, yellows, greens, and greys.   Brad

Sylvia Waddell

I really enjoyed looking in the shop windows and these mannequins just begged to be painted. A young woman looked at my painting in passing, and it turned out she was the shop manager!  Sylvia

Weekend Site Stanford Campus December 15 2012

It was a bitterly cold and damp morning. In spite of the weather, six enthusiastic artists painted on the Stanford Campus. I enjoyed the rich possibilities that the venue offers, in terms of subject matter, and the company and conversations at the lunch table following the morning paint session were wonderful. Rajit

Dick Zunkel

The Stanford campus offers a tremendous selection of view to paint. I chose an arch facing the statuary rather than trying to capture the grand vista of the plaza.  The rendering is in pen and ink with Pelikan watercolor wash on Canson 140 lb. block. Dick

The Newtown shooting was on my mind as I came to Stanford, my school. I was heartbroken and the weather helped me to mull over what had just happened. The usually vibrant everything Stanford looked despondent wherever I turned my head. My choice of colors, treatment and the last sketch of the person I drew goes to show to me now (I didn't realize as I was painting) that what the mind feels, the hand puts on paper. Uma

Uma Kelkar

Technically speaking - The humidity played a huge roll in how the colors mixed. The temperature played a huge roll in how long we meddled with our colors. The speed of drying was slow, but decision making time was largely dependent on if you remembered to bring gloves with you or not. Uma

Uma Kelkar

Technically speaking - The humidity played a huge roll in how the colors mixed. The temperature played a huge roll in how long we meddled with our colors. The speed of drying was slow, but decision making time was largely dependent on if you remembered to bring gloves with you or not. Uma

Brad Santos

I've read about artists suffering for their art. On Saturday at Stanford, we just plain suffered --- from the cold. Plus I suffered because of my art - I bit off more than I could chew on my first painting and was both cold and disgruntled. But after our (thankfully indoor) lunch break, fortified by the lovely chocolate truffles Rajit provided, I gave it another try and was much happier with the results. The rain had driven most everybody out of the quad (except us artists), caused the palms to droop a little more than usual, and the cloisters had a deserted, appropriately monastic feeling.    Hoover Tower, however, still stood proud & strong. Brad

Rajit Chandra

Rajit Chandra

I sketched the figures from Rodin’s Les Bourgeois de Calais and then decided to paint the Quad and returned to the figures later after lunch. Rajit

Sylvia Waddell

I came across some wonderful still models in the quad - a meditation group seated on the ground. However, despite their stillness my rendering of them was rather poor.  I had more luck with a quick sketch of these statues, drawn directly with the brush. Sylvia