Sharing a Wonderful Paint Trip to Carmel, California

Here I am painting along the beautiful coast.  Photo courtesy Debra Groesser.

I've recently returned from a wonderful paint trip to the Carmel, California area.  What a great experience!  We had beautiful weather for painting and I got a lot of work done.  I have included several photos of some of the plein air pieces I completed.  These, as well as some studio work, are available at Mountainsong Galleries in Carmel through May 19.  Our group show opened April 19 and the work looks great!  You can see the studio pieces in the show online at Mountainsong Galleries website.

 

Painting in progress at Carmelite Monastery.  This was the first painting of the trip.

Who knew that all my painting in the Kansas wind could prepare me for painting along the California coast!  It was windy and a lot cooler than we thought it would be.  However, we were determined to paint water and rocks so we braved it.

Deb Groesser and I celebrating after a great day of painting, even though it was a little cold!  Photo courtesy Gary Huber.

Garrapata Mood, oil, 8x6.  The day I painted at Garrapata State Park, the clouds were spectacular.  Both this piece and the one below were painted in this park.  Both available at Mountainsong Galleries.

Fair Weather Clouds, oil, 8x10. 

The day we painted at Garrapata was windy but what great atmosphere!  And a bonus - meeting some of the artists that stayed to paint after the PleinAir Convention.

Here I am with Michele de Braganca.  Got to know her and Gary Huber while we tried to keep warm in 15 layers of clothes painting at Garrapata!  Photo courtesy Gary Huber.

Sticking it out was worth it.  Mother Nature gave us a beautiful sunset!

Deb Groesser and I pausing to enjoy the sunset.  Photo courtesy Gary Huber.

WOW!!

Painting at Point Lobos State Reserve the next day was equally wonderful.  The weather and the atmosphere were both great!  Many of us painted the rock formations. 

Several from our group checking out Point Lobos before settling on something to paint.  Left to right:  Cindy Baron, Becky Joy, Christine Debrosky and Shanna Hernandez.

See those painters in the distance??

And I couldn't resist giving China Cove a try.  I went for the back lighting which made for great color and mood, however not so good on the eyes.  Even with my cap really, really low I still had to quit.

Painting in progress at China Cove.  This one will have to wait to be finished in my studio under more controlled lighting.

Sundown at Point Lobos, oil, 6x8.  Available at Mountainsong Galleries.  We spent a day painting in Point Lobos State Reserve. This was my last painting of the day.  I worked fast to catch the evening light.  Sometimes faster is good as there's no time to over think.

There were several times we simply did the beautiful drive along Highway 1 and found places to pull over to paint.  The Eucalyptus trees were fun to paint because they had such nice shapes!

Ocean Side Meadow, oil, 8x10.  Available at Mountainsong Galleries.  Just had to paint this beautiful, open meadow along the coast.

Another area along the Highway 1 drive with great views was close to the Big Sur area.  Cindy and I pulled over to paint the fog.

Cindy Baron and I at one of our group's favorite painting spots.

Painting in progress near the Big Sur area.  The fog continued to move making for great atmosphere.

Morning Impression, oil, 7x10.  Available at Mountainsong Galleries.

Our group met many other artists in town for the PleinAir Convention during a beach side bonfire - how fun!

As if painting in a beatiful location with great artists wasn't enough!  During the trip I found out that "Chasing Light," a 36x36 piece which won the January/February bi-monthly competition, took an honorable mention in the annual PleinAir Salon Competition.  The winners of the 2nd Annual PleinAir Salon Competition were announced during the PleinAir Convention in Monterey, CA organized by PleinAir magazine which was taking place while we were there.  Outdoorpainter.com has a nice online article about this piece:  http://www.outdoorpainter.com.

Opening Night at Mountainsong Galleries. Left to Right: Becky Joy, Deb Groesser, myself, Cindy Baron, Christine Debrosky, and Shanna Kunz Hernandez.

It was great to see all of our hard work together on the walls of the gallery at the end of the trip.  We have a strong show hanging now until May 19 at Mountainsong Galleries.  Please visit the show online at Mountainsong Galleries website.  I hope you have enjoyed learning a little about our trip to Carmel!

A small sample of the work hanging on the walls - Shanna Hernandez, myself, and Becky Joy.  Plein air pieces in front.