Paintsites Blog: February 2015

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Maryknoll Seminary (Residence), Los Altos. Thursday, February 19, 2015

Anybody who has ever traveled I-280 has seen the handsome, somewhat exotic and mysterious tower just over a ridge to the west. And they've undoubtedly wondered what the building is. The twenty-eight Paintsites artists who visited do know what it is: a place of serene beauty and warm, welcoming residents -- retired Maryknoll missionaries. And, as interesting and beautiful as the buildings are, the history of the Maryknoll Order is equally so. For additional information about the Maryknoll Order a good place to start is: http://www.maryknollsociety.org/index.php/about-us

For more information about the Maryknoll Seminary (Residence) in Los Altos, see: http://www.eldalamberon.com/maryknoll2.html This is an older article but summarizes the history quite well.

Upcoming Paintsites:

Thursday, March 5, 2015: Wildwood Park, Saratoga
Thursday, March 12, 2015: Sunnyvale Heritage Orchard, Sunnyvale - apricot trees in bloom.
Thursday, March 19, 2015: Kirk-Farrington House, San Jose - hopefully the huge collection of tree peonies will be in full bloom. If you haven't seen them before, they're spectacular.

For complete details, see the SCVWS website or March Newsletter.

(Note: Additional finished paintings from the Winchester Mystery House paintsite have recently been posted --- check that and other past postings every so often for recent additions.)

Not every artist got his or her picture taken. Here's just a few of us ....

Betty

Dick

Doug

Jane

Laurie

Melanie

Susan

Sylvia

Kaaren

You've seen us. Now see what we did ....
(Unfortunately, with so many artists choosing to paint the Chapel and the Campanile, I couldn't remember who did which --- so many are uncaptioned. The ones I think (hope) I remember correctly, I captioned with the artist's name. But they're all good so enjoy them equally.)

Melanie's painting of the Campanile

Bonnie's painting of the Campanile, Chapel and rose border

Liz's completed painting of the Chapel and Campanile

The Chinese Tower (the structure seen from I-280)

Dan's painting of the Chapel and Campanile

Helen's painting of the Chapel and Campanile

Iris' painting of the Chapel and Campanile

Marilyn's finished painting of the Chapel & Campanile

Sylvia's painting of the Campanile

Leslie's painting of the Chapel, Campanile and admin building

In the afternoon I thought I should at least try to draw the building, despite my poor drawing skills. I sketched it in ink on site and added color in my studio. It came out pretty well! Leslie

Dick's painting

"The morning fog lifted just in time for my raw sienna sky base layer to dry so I could paint in patches of blue with clouds. It was a spectacular site with so many subjects!" Dick

Rich's painting of the Chapel and Campanile from the opposite side

John's painting

Melanie's completed painting of the Chinese Tower (the structure seen from I-280)

New member Joe's painting of large fountain with the Chapel in the background. Good work and welcome to Paintsites!

Leslie's painting of a red swing and shrine

Our work done, we found a great place to have lunch and a "critique" ....

Friday, February 6, 2015

Winchester Mystery House San Jose, CA February 5, 2015

So fortunate were 18 plein air artists on the day before a much needed rainstorm approached the Bay Area. Early morning fog lifted to illuminate the most elaborate victorian style home in America in full sunlight. Our watercolor artists took full advantage of the opportunity, some staying until late in the day.

Ann

Rich's plein air sketches

Rich's studio painting from plein air sketches above

I painted this quarter sheet version at home last Friday the 13th! More inline with my interpreted feeling of the setting. Rich

Bobbi

Bobbi's painting

Caroline

Caroline's painting of Demeter

While I was drawing the statue of Demeter, a tourist said "I'll do this the easy way!" and snapped a picture with his cell phone. I said proudly, "I can do in six hours what you can do in 30 seconds!" We both laughed heartily. Caroline