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

Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge, Hike & Sketch, Thursday, July 31, 2014

This was our first Hike & Sketch that wasn't led by Jenny & Sylvia so we didn't go as fast or as far as past Hike & Sketch outings.   Fortunately, Sylvia did attend and offered advice when the new leader faltered and was unsure what to do, or where to go, next.   So, some slight indecision aside, we had a fine day painting:  The breeze off the Bay made for both pleasant hiking and painting interludes interrupted only by a long and stimulating lunch and critique session.

For more information about the Don Edwards Refuge, go to:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/don_edwards_san_francisco_bay/

Upcoming Paintsites;

• Thursday, August 7, 2014:  Rosicrucian Museum, San Jose
• Saturday, August 16, 2014:  Gilroy Gardens Artists Access Day - contact Dick Zunkel at  wkendsites@scvws.org to make a reservation for free admission to the Gardens
• Thursday, August 21, 2014: Gamble Garden, Palo Alto

Refer to the Society August Newsletter for details.

First stop:  The still standing "hunting lodge" and an adjacent shack converted into a "picnic shelter" had a peculiar charm only a die-hard duck hunter, or a plein air artist, could love:

Liz

Liz's work-in-progress of the "Lodge"

Leonard

Leonard, from higher up the trail, captured the adjacent red Shack

 

Lisha

Lisha also choose the Shack/Picnic Shelter

Brad's watercolor pencil sketch of any geezer's dream "Lodge"

Lisha and Candy weren't painting each other, only sharing a table

Candy's unfinished painting of Cathy & Sylvia atop the levee

Cathy & Sylvia on the levee painting the salt ponds and bridge to the West

Sylvia's painting of the ponds, a dredge and the Dumbarton Bridge

Cathy's painting of same

For the second stop we'd moved a bit higher so could see more of the Bay, the levees and the salt evaporation ponds ...

Sylvia, Cathy, Candy, Lisha & Liz

Sylvia, Candy & Cathy (Alwyn's there somewhere too)

Brad focusing intently on sketch #2 (photo by Liz)

Brad's sketch of the group at stop #2

Sylvia's 2nd painting - looking North toward the San Mateo Bridge

Candy's 2nd painting - looking West to the Dumbarton Bidge and beyond

Lisha's 2nd painting - also looking West

Cathy's 2nd painting - looking North-West

Another short walk and we stopped for lunch and the "critique" at the high point in the park --- which was so much fun it was perhaps the high point of the day!

After lunch some of us stopped for one final painting on the walk back to the parking lot.   The colors in the ponds, sloughs and the Bay was fascinating.    The intersecting angles of the levees made it difficult to find a focus for some of us.    But not for Cathy or Sylvia.

Cathy's 3rd painting looking over the evaporation ponds, Hwy 84, the Bay and the San Mateo Bridge.

Sylvia's 3rd painting looking North-West again.

Brad's 3rd painting, also looking North-West