"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