Alviso Marina County Park Hike & Sketch, Thursday, October 30, 2014

Our first Hike & Sketch under new management, without Jenny & Sylvia leading the way, turned into more of a meander by an undisciplined rabble than a focused group of artists.    So it's a good thing we're such a flexible and accommodating group --- we adapted and still had a great time and found much to paint.    There were lots of "I didn't see that interesting old building.   Where was that?"     Which means when next we visit there will be lots of new subjects to paint (assuming the old buildings haven't completely collapsed.) 

(Note:   We did act in concert once was when an Amtrak train went by and we all lined up and waved in unison.    No telling what the passengers thought of the motley group standing on the levee.)

For more information about the Alviso Marina County Park, check out:
http://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/AlvisoMarina.aspx

Upcoming Paintsites events:

•  Thursday, November 6, 2014:  Los Altos History Museum, Los Altos
•  Thursday, November 20, 2014:  Clos LaChance Winery, San Martin

For complete details see the Watercolor Society website or the November Newsletter.

(Note: some earlier postings have been updated with finished paintings replacing the incomplete work initially posted.   Check out Ardenwood and the Rengstorff House in particular.)

Painting on the levee ...

Photo courtesy of Melanie

Photo courtesy of Melanie

Our well deserved lunch break after our long trek (maybe all of 3/4 mile!) on the levees and through the town .....

The artists .....

Candy

Cathy

Dick

Helen

Iris

Jenny

John

Leslie

Lisha

Marilyn

Melanie

Sylvia

Mitsi

Brad

And here's some of what we painted.     (Remember we're only allowed about 20 - 30 minutes per sketch/painting before we move on to the next stop.    Some images are quick sketches, some are 20 minute paintings!, and some are work finished later in the studio.)

 First stop - the levee:

Candy's painting of  levee

Cathy's painting of levee #1

Cathy's painting of levee #2

Iris' painting of artist on levee

Lisha's painting of another artist on levee looking west

Melanie's painting of levee looking towards the Park

Sylvia's sketch of the levee looking east (note RR tracks on right)

Brad's sketch of artists on the levee

Off the levee and back in the Park proper ...

The interesting, high-and-dry houseboat 'docked' in a lot next to the Park was a popular subject.    There's an air of mystery about it that draws people in ..... 

Dick's painting of the houseboat

Leslie's take on the same houseboat

Marilyn's drawing of the houseboat

Candy's painting of slough looking south

Mitsi's painting of  Alviso from the Park

The old bar (probably called a saloon in its heyday) adjacent to the RR Crossing was a popular subject.    Many of us made the RR Crossing and tracks very conspicuous (not just because of the interesting perspective but also because few things gets one's attention like a train hurtling by mere yards away from where you're painting ---  you tend to put it in your painting).    ...   

John's painting of the old bar

Helen's painting of old bar and the RR Crossing

Iris' sketch of same

Jenny's painting of the old bar

Leslie captured the scene too

as did Lisha

and as did Sylvia in one of her quick sketches

There were other subjects of interest in town as well ...

Jenny captured the spirit of this old building --- looks like it had spent too much time in the nearby bar

Sylvia captured the same scene

Brad's painting of ever popular Vahl's

Annual Member Show Paintout. Triton Museum, Santa Clara. Saturday, October 18, 2014

The Annual Member Show Paintout was a great success:  A perfect day for plein air painting (if only they could all be as fine); a large group of interested first-timers and experienced plein air artists (including many Paintsites regulars eager to share their enthusiasm for SCVWS Paintsites events); a lavish reception hosted by Watercolor Society president Janice Faulstich and Exhibitions chair Nancy Troup; and especially an informative and entertaining demo by Dick Zunkel giving us a nuts and bolts look at his Ink & Wash technique.

Dick gets the audience warmed up with some general information and comments ....

And then gets down to work ...

 

Wraps everything up and encourages us to go forth and paint .... 

Which we did.    It's amazing just how many interesting subjects on the Museum grounds we found to paint.   Here are just a few of the finished paintings:

The Reception and "Show":

The three who made the day such a success:  Janice (back to camera), Nancy, & Dick

Some of the participating artists