Happy Hollow has become one of our favorite paintsites - especially when we're able to take advantage of the Senior Safari program: We get free parking, free admission, free beer -- no check that, no free beer but there should be, and a "step counter" -- what's not to like? While a few of us chose to work on a single painting, many of us did multiple sketches of a variety of animals -- and there are many from which to choose. Unfortunately, many of the animals weren't particularly cooperative as they stayed in their caves or grottoes and those that stayed in the open were prone to pacing back-and-forth, back-and-forth, which meant capturing their image was a real challenge. But, as you can see, we were up to the challenge ...
For more information about San Jose's Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, see:
http://www.hhpz.org/
Senior Safari days are the third Thursday of the month: August 23rd, September 27th, October 25th. For details, see:
http://www.hhpz.org/index.cfm/id/310/?clearcache=1
August paintsites: See the SCVWS
website or the August Newsletter for details.
- Thursday, Aug 2, 2018: Downtown Los Altos followed by potluck at member’s home
- Thursday, Aug 9, 2018: New Almaden Historic District, San Jose
- Thursday, Aug 16, 2018: Quail Hollow Ranch CP, Felton
- Saturday, Aug 18, 2018: New Almaden Historic District, Casa Grande Museum
- Thursday, Aug 23, 2018: San Jose History Park, San Jose
- Thursday, Aug 30, 2018: Quarry Lakes Recreation Area, Fremont
Shows & Exhibits by Paintsites Regulars:
- Candy Yu's "Pet Paintings" Show continues its run at the VCA
Crocker Animal Hospital, 475 N. Jackson Ave., San Jose through July 31,
2018.
- John Ediger's award-winning painting, "The Old Adobe", is included
in the current California Watercolor Association's "The Color of Summer"
Exhibit at St. Mary's College of Art in Moraga. The show runs thru
August 26, 2018. (Official website: https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/california-watercolor-association )
- Jane Saltman's and Tanvi Buch's watercolors are featured in the Los
Altos History Museum's "Paint the Town ll: Echoes of the Past " show
which runs from July 5 to October 7, 2018. Tanvi's painting of Voyageur du Temps received Honorable Mention. Check the website for some
plein air related lectures and events during July and August. The Los
Altos History Museum is located at 51 S. San Antonio Rd, Los Altos.
Hours are Thursday - Sunday, noon - 4 PM and admission is free.
(Official website: https://www.losaltoshistory.org/2018/06/los-altos-history-museums-exhibit-paint-the-town-features-artwork-of-historic-landmarks/ )
- Annie Haines and John Ediger each had
two paintings accepted in the California Watercolor Association's
"Explore Color / Discover Color" exhibit in the Science Dept. at
Dominican University, 50 Acacia Ave, San Rafael. The show opens August
5, 2018 and runs thru January 31, 2019. The Reception and Awards Presentation is Saturday, August
18, 2018 from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM. (Official website: http://www.californiawatercolor.org/index.php )
- Richard Bloechl will have an exhibit of his watercolors during the
month of August at the Campbell Library, 77 Harrison Ave, in downtown
Campbell. The exhibit is viewable during normal library hours.
Artists in action:
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| SCVWS President Lisa painting the Carousel - an exciting riot of color and motion (or maybe that should be commotion) |
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| Lisa's painting of the Carousel |
Birds, beautiful and otherwise:
The bright colored tropical birds were, not surprisingly, a most popular subject ...
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| Susan B-G set up with some fairly cooperative subjects ... |
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| Susan B-G's painting of the macaw |
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| Susan B-G's macaws sketch |
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| Kristi's painting - she used Prussian Blue to accurately capture the bright blue feathers |
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| Lavonne, left, and Sunny |
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| Sunny's painting of the Red Macaw |
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| Marilyn's unfinished painting of a macaw |
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| Brad's sketch of the macaws |
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| Candy's sketch of a flock (?) of macaws |
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| From left: Annie, Lisha, Iris, and Kristi by the Turkey Vulture pen. |
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| Susan B-G's painting of the Vulture |
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| Iris' sketch of the Vulture (Interesting to note that a docent commented that the Vulture always seems extra active and excited on Senior Safari day. I wonder why) |
Large and Scary Reptiles:
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| We thought John was somewhere in the Zoo but nobody could find him. We wondered, "Could he have gotten too close to the alligator in the new 'gator habitat exhibit?" |
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| Janice S. |
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| Janice's sketch of the African Tortoise -- no problem here with the subject moving ... |
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| even less problem with this tortoise --- it's a stone sculpture for kids to play on |
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| Candy's sketches of a menagerie: the hedgehog, a box turtle, and a chicken. These sketches illustrate
the pitfalls of dealing with animals --- you just get started, the
animal moves, and you're left with a few squiggles ... |
Marsupials and other cute Mammals: Lemurs, Meerkats, Giant Anteaters, Goats, etc.
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| SCVWS Thursday Paintsites Coordinator (and Birthday girl) Marilyn |
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| Marilyn's painting of the Wallaby |
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| Marilyn's painting of a "sentry" meerkat |
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| Brads sketch of "sentry" meerkats |
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| Iris' sketch of the handsome little foxes |
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| Candy's sketch of a docent and goats in the petting zoo. |
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| Candy's sketches of the aptly named Giant Anteater in "Caitlyn's Corner"and a lemur |
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| Brad's painting of the fascinating Giant Anteater which was a fun subject as it was very active: digging for ants (throwing dirt onto viewers), drinking from a pond, and wrestling with a log in its enclosure as well as pacing. |
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| Lisha's sketches of Lemurs |
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| Brad's sketch of a lemur eating a healthy lunch of mixed vegetables |
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| Brad's all-in-one reptile, mammals, and birds sketches |
Miscellaneous subjects:
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| Candy's sketch of 'hobby horses' for kids to bounce on ... |
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| ... and her sketches of fellow artists ... |
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| and her sketch of exactly what you'd expect to find in a zoo -- an old VW Bus in the Backyard Habitat exhibit |
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| Janice's sketch of a tree over a cup of coffee |
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| Alison's all-in-one macaw, crooked house, and carousel sketches |
Lunch and Show & Share
We ate lunch; then we celebrated a special occasion (Paintsite Co-ordinator Marilyn's birthday) by singing "Happy Birthday" to Marilyn; then we ate a delicious Birthday Cake (which Marilyn brought to share with her artist friends); then we Showed & Shared our paintings and sketches; then we went our own way - some back into the Zoo, some home.
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| Clockwise from left foreground: Janice, Lavonne, Lisa, Iris, Lisha, Sunny, Marilyn, and John . (Happily, John wasn't the alligator's lunch. He'd been denied entrance to the Zoo -- "too young to qualify for Senior Safari" or some such nonsense so he moseyed over to History Park / San Jose ( http://historysanjose.org/wp/ ) and painted the old gas station ... |
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| John's painting of the gas station in History Park / San Jose |
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| John's painting of the old fire house in History Park |
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| Marilyn starts serving cake. |
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| Lisha, left, and Birthday Girl Marilyn prepare to serve the cake. |
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| Candy arrived too late to sing to Marilyn with the group so, accomplished singer she is, she sang a solo "Happy Birthday" to Marilyn. |
