Week 46 - February 7 to 13, 2021

Paintsites is back in action! Our second site for February was located on the San Francisquito Trail section of the Palo Alto Baylands:

The wind and rain held off for an atmospheric day at a less traveled area of the Palo Alto Baylands. Nine painters painted a variety of views of the bay, golfers, aircraft, and the creek along the San Francisquito Creek Trail ~ Alison

See below, for this week's artwork posts, details on our plein air safety requirements, ideas for painting on your own and upcoming events including a Zoom Presentation/Q&A on Plein Air Painting with SCVWS Paintsites.   

Paint Site Guidelines

Please check the Paintsites website for details including directions and possible cancellations. To keep our members and guests as safe as possible during the COVID-19 era, we must change how we do things. Some of the paint sites have visitor limits. When this occurs we will post the information in paint site details on the SCVWS website. Participants must wear masks and observe the 6 ft. distancing rule. We no longer take photos of paintings on site. Please take your own photo, crop if needed, and submit  to paintsites@scvws.org 

Blog Submission Guidelines

If you choose not to attend the organized SCVWS plein air events, we invite Paintsites' artists sketching/painting on their own to pick one painting from that week and submit it by Saturday of that week. Here are some guidelines:

• Submit a digital photo of your artwork to paintsites@scvws.org. Cropped photos are preferred.
• Include your name, the date and comments about the site or unique media notes.
• Be creative! Some of your best subjects are in or around your home. You may want to paint from personal photos of your travels.
• Submissions after Saturday midnight will appear in the following week's blog.
• One submission per member per week, please.

February Challenges: 

What’s Your Passion?  

Sketch or paint something that represents your passion for music, gardening, hiking, architecture, or even an idea or a cause.

Clouds:

It's cloud season! Watercolor is the perfect medium to paint clouds. So many shapes, so many colors! Break out those blues, grays, yellows and lavenders, clouds are coming!

Upcoming Events

• Thursday Paintsite, February 18, 2021 - Coyote Valley Open Space Preserve, Morgan Hill
• Thursday Paintsite, February 25, 2021 - McClellan Ranch, Cupertino
• Sunday, February 28, 2021 - Plein Air - Tips to Get you Started: A Free SCVWS Online Overview and Q&A. Click here for detatils.
• Registration is Open for 53rd Annual Show

Artwork and Photos from Palo Alto Baylands at the San Francisquito Creek Trail

View of the Palo Alto Baylands Preserve from
the San Francisquito Trail (photo by Alison)

Mary P's painting of a view from the San Francisquito Trail 

Mary P's watercolor of the Bay (a closer view)
On a damp and overcast morning, we sat overlooking golfers,
planes taking off and landing at the small airport, and hikers
enjoying the trail. I chose to focus on shapes and colors. This
first painting is a closer view across the Bay. [The above painting], 
is a more distant view with some interesting blue mist against the
mountains, done very loosely ~ Mary P

"Palo Alto Baylands" by Shirley L

A view from the San Francisquito Trail painted by Annie

Alison's painting of the Baylands.   

I tried to incorporate the distant Dumbarton Bridges and power towers and wires as linkages from the east and South Bay ~Alison

A sketch of the San Francisquito Creek by Susan BG

Golf course eucalyptus painted by Jane  S.

View of the golf course and airport, sketch by Jane S.

Artwork by Others, Plein Air or at Home

"Asilomar" by Dick

Watercolor sketches of the Palo Alto Baylands by Tanvi