Rosicrucian Museum, San Jose, January 19th

We had an impressive turnout for this paintsite considering how cold it was! Our shivering artists were rewarded with wonderful Egyptian architecture to paint. After lunch we visited the Triton Museum and the viewed the 2011 Statewide Painting Exhibition.

Anna Jacke

Caroline Garborino

Mary Paquet

Jenny Tero.   The planetarium at the Rosicrucian. This was my second attempt using a view finder, the first one finished up with a dome that was way too big - the eye deceives

Sylvia Waddell

Palo Alto Baylands, January 5th

For our first paintsite of 2012 we painted at Palo Alto Baylands. It was sunny and very peaceful, apart from the occasional small plane buzzing overhead. A large Egret fished right in front of us and lots of other birds busied themselves in the water and reeds. After lunch the tide went out and presented a whole new view.

Caroline Garborino

Jane Saltman

Brad Santos

After enduring the near blizzard conditions at the Cupertino Paint-Out before Christmas and weeks of greyish Spare-the-Air days since, Sylvia, one of our Weather Goddesses (Jenny, of course, being the other), ordered up a clear, sunny, and unseasonably warm day for us to paint the popular Palo Alto Baylands.  Some of the salt marsh plants are an interesting shade of rusty-orange -- something of an unusual color in a landscape.  A bonus: a high tide and calm conditions made for distinct reflections in the sloughs.   And, yes, those are waterfowl flying over my landscape, not UFOs.  Brad Santos

Sylvia Waddell

Cupertino Memorial Park, December 15th

Two weeks ago our hearty band braved gale force winds in Santa Cruz. This time we were tested with a grey, gloomy, and bitterly (at least for us native Californians) cold day at Memorial Park in Cupertino.   But we hung in there and painted!  Several of us painted the small pavilion on what would normally be an island in the middle of the ponds -- if the ponds hadn't been drained. We chose it not only because it was interesting but because we could quickly find shelter in it if it started raining. Brad Santos

Mary Raftery

Caroline Garbarino

Brad Santos

Santa Cruz Mission, 1st December 2011

Our plein air painting was made extra challenging today by gusty winds that had us clutching on to our hats and painting supplies. However, the sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant blue, and the little square at Santa Cruz Mission provided an abundance of painting material for us to enjoy.
Our group gathered for a festive lunch in the courtyard of the Mission. Everyone brought some food to share and there were all sorts of homemade goodies to enjoy. Our members have great skills in addition to painting! Thanks to everyone for sharing and making the day a fun trip out.

Leslie Grimm, Holy Cross Church

Laurie Barna, Santa Cruz Mission & Mission Plaza

Janice Faulstich

Mary Raftery

Brad Santos

Brad: Beautiful day, albeit a bit windy, in a hidden little corner of Santa Cruz.    I'd seen the Holy Cross Church many times and always admired it from the highway but never made the effort to see it up close.   I think it looks better from afar.   I painted the Mission reconstruction after lunch --- I think the sugar rush from all of the wonderful desserts the group brought helped me finish the painting in record time.    Maybe sometime we can have a dessert 'paint-out' where we lay out the desserts in some scenic location, paint the spread as a still life, then dig in.

Sylvia Waddell - Watercolor Canvas



The Adobe at Santa Cruz Mission, Jenny Tero

Moffett Field Exhibition December 7th - January 7th

Several members of our group are exhibiting their Moffett Field plein air paintings, including Laurie Barna, Brad Santos and Sylvia Waddell.
Hangar # 1 is gradually being dismantled and this famous icon will be gone next year. It has changed considerably since we all did our paintings back in September. Go along and check it out.

Moffett Field Plein Air Exhibition  
December 7th through January 7th 2012
On display will be contemporary paintings, sketches, and photographs created by Bay Area artists of iconic Hangar One and the historic area surrounding it. Continues through January 7, 2012, during the Museum’s regular hours--Wednesday though Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Opening Reception on Pearl Harbor Day, Wednesday, December 7, 2011.
The museum will be open one extra hour, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., for an opening reception featuring many of the artists. There is no admission fee for the reception.

Moffett Field Historical Museum,
Building 126 Severyns Rd.
Mountain View, CA 94035
(650) 964-4024
Exit Hwy 101 at Moffett Boulevard
http://www.moffettfieldmuseum.org/

Forbes Mill, Los Gatos, November 17, 2011

A rather dull, cool day and a rather plain, graystone building in Los Gatos, but our paintings were all so different and lively.

Sue Newberry,  Forbes Mill



Brad Santos, A view of the back of Forbes Mill

 On first glance, the Forbes Mill Museum isn't a very impressive building --- next to noisy Hwy 17, squat and grey, Jenny called it "boring" and Sylvia commented that it looked like a jail.     But with prolonged study it grew on me as the various types, sizes, colors, and shapes of stone and the masonry styles or patterns emerged from the boring, squatty greyness.   Afternoon forecast showers never came but the constantly changing (in addition to the expected moving) light made everything even more interesting.   Working on the relatively "sunny" sides, Laurie and Mary found all sorts of subtle colors and textures in the stone.   A bonus was that in the Museum Gift Shop, 2006 Los Gatos Historic Home Tour note cards that Jenny had drawn were on sale --- a set of which I'm now the proud owner.

Laurie Barna,  The back of Forbes Mill

Caroline Garbarino - Forbes Mill Afternoon

Jenny Tero, The front of Forbes Mill

Sylvia Waddell, Charcoal and Watercolor sketch

Guadalupe Oak Grove Park, Short Hike & Sketch, November 10, 2011

This was a paintsite that we added in at the last minute.  We have painted here before, but this time we made it a hike and sketch, as most of the views require a short hike and some serious climbs.  The views were magnificent, with patches of autumn colors in the distant trees. Some interesting rock formations and lots of twisted oak trees. 

Caroline Gabarino, Guadalupe Oak Grove

Mary Paquet, Guadalupe Oak Grove Park

Sylvia Waddell, San Jose Skyline from Guadalupe Oak Grove

Jenny Tero, view to the East Bay hills from Guadalupe Oak Grove