Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch, Santa Teresa CP, San Jose. Thursday, January 28, 2016

The weather forecast for record highs for the date didn't materialize and it was actually a bit on the cool side --- but nothing our group of hardened Paintsite artists couldn't handle.  Most of us stayed in the immediate vicinity of the old ranch house and barns (the historic part of the park) and found plenty to paint without even leaving the parking lot.  The great thing about old places like this is that when we go back the next time, and we certainly will, the buildings will look even more weathered and the rusty stuff even rustier.

For additional information about this interesting and scenic old ranch, right across the street from a residential section, see:
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/Activities/Cultural-Venues/Pages/Bernal-Gulnac-Joice-Ranch.aspx

 Upcoming Paintsites: 

• We will have two Paintsites on Thursday, February 4th -- one in the North County and one in the South County.   Pick which is most convenient in order to avoid projected Super Bowl traffic:
• Thursday, February 4, 2016:  North County Paintout:   Los Altos Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, Los Altos
• Thursday, February 4, 2016:  South County Paintout:   Belgatos Park, Los Gatos
• Thursday, February 11, 2016:  McClellan Ranch Preserve, Cupertino 
• Thursday, February 18, 2016:  Palace of Fine Arts and CWA Exhibition, San Francisco

For details, see the SCVWS website or the January and February Newsletters.

Remember, if the weather looks 'iffy', check your e-mail or the SCVWS website Home Page for cancellation notices.    Also, since we often visit sites where mobile service may be absent and the coordinators unreachable or GPS inaccurate -- if attending an unfamiliar location, best check the instructions sent by Paintsites before heading out.
Finally, since you're reading this, you're obviously just wandering around on the Web --- to see more plein air art by SCVWS members, periodically check out the "Members Blogs" as Sylvia, Anna, Mary P. and Dick routinely update their blogs with their latest work.

The Ranch House ...  isn't as large or as ornate as some in the area but it does have an old date palm in front --- it seems all old ranches in the Santa Clara Valley have at least one palm tree in the front yard.   And it seems like the larger and more prosperous ranches had one on either side of the entry.   Perhaps the Bernals, the Gulnacs and the Joices weren't as well to do as they only had one palm.  Or at least there's only one now --- but it's a nice one...

Anna, left, and Elizabeth.    Altho' Anna and Elizabeth are long-time workshop and plein air painting companions, this was Elizabeth's first SCVWS Paintsite.

Elizabeth's almost finished painting of the Ranch House.

Dick and Salinda were able to set up right next to the parking lot for a good view of the west elevation of the Ranch House.

Dick's painting.

Salinda's painting.

  Working on the opposite side of the house were:

Joe

Joe's first painting of the day

Jenny's first painting of the Ranch House.

Jenny (left) and Sylvia - our long-time Paintsites Co-coordinators.

Jenny's painting of the back of the Ranch House.

Brad set up a little farther from the Ranch House so he could include the still dormant oak in front of the building.

The Old Barn.   This building underwent structural and cosmetic renovation several years ago but the exterior thankfully once again looks old and weathered.  (Has anyone ever done or even seen a painting of a new barn?  I think not - which is why this is such a popular subject.)

Helen

Helen's preliminary sketch of the barn with Dan in the foreground.

Helen's finished painting of the barn and Dan.

Dan, his work wrapped up for the day, heading home.

Jane isn't nodding off for a nap here - she's focused on her drawing of the Old Barn ....

... which resulted in this fine painting of the Old Barn in the background and a corner of a newer barn to the left.   That's Dan working on his painting in the foreground.

Kaaren

Kaaren's sketch of the Old and newer (left) barns.

John E.

John's sketchbook

John's painting of the Old Barn.

Rich set up a little closer to the Old Barn for his painting.

Rich's painting of the Old Barn

Joe's second painting - this one of the Old Barn from in front of the new barn opposite from where Rich painted.

Mary set up on the opposite side of the barn at some distance from it in order to get this perspective of the east elevation and the hills beyond .... 

Mary's painting of the back side of the Old Barn.

Buildings -- but not a Barn or an old Ranch House:    Artists, when they look hard enough, can find interesting patterns and textures everywhere --- witness these paintings:
 

John T.'s pen & wash painting of some of the outbuildings behind the Ranch House.

Iris set up in the parking lot but looked in the opposite direction from the 19th Century Ranch House towards a late 20th Century "ranch" house on the edge of suburbia which abuts Santa Teresa CP.

Iris' painting of an adjacent modern home.

Old Farm Equipment:  Locally, where there are old ranches and farms, there's always a wealth of rusty equipment --- if we knew what these implements were they probably wouldn't be half as fascinating. 

Leslie didn't have far to go from the parking lot to find some interesting old wheels and part of a wagon that's certainly seen better days.

Leslie's painting.

Marilyn got up close to the Old Barn --- but she didn't paint it, instead she painted ... 

... this wonderful composition of parts of a rusty plow

Landscapes.   While most of us focused on subjects associated with the old ranch, several of us took advantage of the lovely landscapes just a short distance from the ranch proper.
 

Kaaren's first painting wasn't too far from the ranch, but it was quite a steep climb to this vantage point.

Lisha also went further afield, to the edge of the historical ranch section of  the park, to find her perfect spot.

Lisha's painting of the trail heading into the less developed parkland toward the historic Santa Teresa Spring.

Show and Share 'Critique':   I was too busy eating lunch to take any photos of our lunch break but, don't worry, we did have one before our Critique.   It had started sprinkling so we leaned our paintings up against the walls and doors of the restrooms.  Probably we should have checked to make sure no one was trapped  inside before we did that.   Next time we will.

'Critiquing'

Cooley Picnic Area, Stevens Creek County Park, Cupertino. Thursday, January 21, 2016

Since there seems little hope in the near future for local reservoir paintsites we thought we'd go for the next best thing - a creek which feeds into one of the major reservoirs.    And although we've painted at various spots in Stevens Creek CP before, this small day-use area was a new site for us.   We'd hoped for a roaring creek - which we almost got - but the creek was still low (unfortunately just high enough to cover the larger rocks in the creek bed) and the water fairly heavily silted.   But the sound of the water was wonderful - when you look at our paintings, listen for the sound of the creek.   In addition to the creek itself, there are some fine old trees on the bank, on gravel bars mid-stream, and in and around the parking lot.   Some of us did trees; some did the rippling, riffling, and rushing creek, and some were bold enough to do both in one painting, 

(Green grasses and brilliant green mosses were everywhere in the park and were particularly vibrant when full sun light fell on them --- this promises to be a Green, Green Spring for Paintsites.   Let's hope.)

For additional information about this park, check out:
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/StevensCreek.aspx
Note: there is a parking fee for the Cooley Picnic Area but no Pay Station there.   The Pay Stations are located in the parking areas below the spillway and just above the dam at the launch area.

 Upcoming Paintsites: 

• Thursday, January 28, 2016:   Bernal-Gulnac-Joice Ranch, Santa Teresa County Park, San Jose
• Because of the predicted traffic crush during Super Bowl Week, we will have two Paintsites on Thursday, February 4th -- one in the North County and one in the South County. Pick which is most convenient:
• Thursday, February 4, 2016:  North County Paintout:   Los Altos Redwood Grove Nature Preserve, Los Altos
• Thursday, February 4, 2016:  South County Paintout:   Belgatos Park, Los Gatos
• Thursday, February 11, 2016:  McClellan Ranch Preserve, Cupertino 
• Thursday, February 18, 2016:  Palace of Fine Arts and CWA Exhibition, San Francisco

For details, see the SCVWS website or the January and February Newsletters.    Remember, if the weather looks 'iffy', which it's predicted it will be thru May, check your e-mail or the SCVWS website Home Page for cancellation notices.    Also, since we often visit sites where mobile service may be weak or absent (hence the coordinators unreachable) and mobile apps inaccurate -- if attending an unfamiliar location, best check the instructions sent by Paintsites before heading out.
Finally, since you're reading this, you're obviously just wandering around on the Web --- to see more plein air art by SCVWS members, periodically check out the "Members Blogs" as Sylvia, Anna, Mary P. and Dick routinely update their blogs with their latest work.

Trees:   Focusing on trees were ...

Dick

Dick's painting of the creek bank and split rail fence bordering the parking lot.

Sylvia

Sylvia's painting of one of the big specimen trees by the parking lot.

Liz

Liz's finished painting of the Sycamore trees.

I finally finished the Sycamore trees. A real challenge for me trying to interpret the background hillside covered with winter bushes. The thing that I enjoyed the most was trying to convey the shadows on the trees.   Liz

Brad couldn't figure out how to make the same sycamores white so he made it anything and everything but white.

Jenny

Jenny's painting of big oaks in the parking area.

Caroline

Caroline's preliminary sketch of what's left of a big sycamore.  (The most sizable trunk of which was probably cut down as it overhung the parking area.)

Caroline's finished painting.

The Creek:

Jane

Jane's first painting of the creek and the bridge leading into the Cooley Picnic area.

Jane's second painting of some white water.   (Remember, listen carefully for the sound of running water when you look at this painting.)

Nora's interesting composition of a calmer, wider spot in the creek.   (When a stream widens, it normally smooths out.)   Think of this painting as a 'palate cleanser' before heading down to the next rapids with ...

Lisha (seated), Leslie and Salinda.    Leslie is offering a critique of Lisha's painting and it must have been a favorable one because Lisha seems pleased ...

as well she should be --- Leslie was correct! (as if there could be any doubt) about Lisha's painting of a stretch of particularly turbulent white water.

Trees and the Creek:    What follows is what happens when artists gets greedy and attempt to put everything into a painting --- really fine paintings!

Rich

Rich's painting of a blasted old tree (left) fighting to hold on for dear life on a small gravel bar mid-stream.

Leslie's searched for, and found, her perfect spot downstream from where most of us painted to come up with this interesting composition.

I was happy to find this classic S shape in the stream and be able to sit in the sun to paint it.  A nearby frog provided extra cheer!   Leslie

Sylvia's second painting of trees lining the bank above the creek.

Jenny's second painting of a bend in the creek and a bend in an old tree.

Tom was looking for rocks in the creek to paint and found these.

Lunch & Critique:  We had handwarmers, we had finger-less gloves, what we needed was some sun!  And not just for our personal comfort - our paintings took forever to dry.

Our show-and-share 'Critique'.