Eliot Fowler — Journal

Abbotts Overlook

Mon, 10 Aug 2026 22:41:41 GMT

I was walking the trail by Abbotts Lagoon with my family. I stopped to look around and take in my surroundings, and I was taken with this scene: the muted hills in the distance, the mystery of a white structure far off, the peaceful sound of the wind rustling the grasses at my feet.

Inverness, and the whole Point Reyes area, is such a special place. Sometimes I feel like there is a painting waiting to be painted in every direction.

This was the final painting made during my self-made artist residency.

Self-Made Artist Residency: Final Recap

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

It's the last day of my residency, and the painting is progressing really well. The overall bones of the painting are all in place.

The foregrounds

Most of the bones of this scene were figured out in the 9x12 study I did previously, but the foreground didn't work for me in this new double square (2:1) format. I wanted something with a clearer lead in. I liked the colors and playfulness of the foreground in the study, but the composition wasn't strong. So I grabbed some 6"x12" panels and did 30-minute studies to experiment with different foreground options.

One variant leaned into the color shifts I liked from the first one, but it also introduced a more distinct land mass/bush at the very bottom of the frame. That one ended up competing for attention too much, and your eye was drawn to the bottom of the painting, which isn't what I wanted. Another variant made the whole foreground much more subtle and calm, so the viewer would just glide right through it, but its over-simplicity ended up being distracting in its own right.

The one that really drew me in showed a grouping of yellow flowers dotting a line toward the water. I loved the higher saturation of those foreground flowers against the muted temperatures in the rest of the painting. I decided to use that in the larger piece, and I like the direction it's going.

What's left

I still have to add a lot more detail to the foreground, add some dimension to the sky, and refine the distant hills. I'll keep tweaking the painting until it feels like all the pieces are working together rather than just standing on their own.

Reflecting on the residency

This residency was a huge success. I'm so proud of all the paintings I made. Many of them were duds, but I spent so much time painting, and I produced finished pieces that serve as a point-in-time portfolio. I learned a lot about painting and plein air, and the things I learned were not always what I expected.

For example, toward the end of the residency I found I was able to scout a scene and settle on a painting I wanted to do much faster than when I started. That's not even getting to the painting part yet, but just walking around, selecting a scene, and confidently choosing to go for it was a skill I really upleveled during this residency.

What didn't go as planned

There were many things that didn't go as planned. In fact the list is so long that I think for each day of the residency I could name something that failed. A few that come to mind:

On the very first day, I was so excited to go paint Pigeon Point Lighthouse at sunrise. I woke up early, drove over an hour to get there, only to find it covered in scaffolding for a multi-year repair. Learning that a location I'd chosen from pictures online wasn't always what I expected was a good lesson.

I really struggled on super bright days to keep my values in check. I'd often end up with a painting that was way too bright or way too dark, because it was so hard to mediate values with the direct sun right there.

There were several sessions where I got set up with all my plein air gear only to realize I'd forgotten something important. Since I was mixing plein air days and studio days, and I don't keep backups of materials just for plein air, I had to remember everything when repacking, or it'd be left at home, as it often was.

I had real decision paralysis when it came to choosing a place to paint. With driving, walking, and setup time, I didn't really have time to try a place, decide it didn't work, and still walk away with a painting. So I felt a lot of pressure (all from myself) to pick the right park or vista to drive to in the first place.

The Arizona workshop

The workshop in Arizona with Mitch Baird was a super helpful experience. The workshop itself was great because it let me spend way more hours painting each day. Since I was away from my normal life responsibilities, I could wake up early and paint (or learn about painting) until evening. On top of how great Mitch and the workshop were, I also roadtripped through Arizona and New Mexico and had a wonderful time painting in Sedona. It was such a different landscape, and it let me explore leveraging my skills in a new way.

Looking ahead

I've never done a real residency before, so I don't have anything to compare this to, but having six dedicated weeks to paint and work on my skills has been an incredible opportunity. Having dedicated focus time to really experiment, explore, and hone my skills is something I want to continue carving out time for, even if in smaller increments or in different ways. I plan to continue working on my final painting and finish it up in the coming weeks.

Painting Month: Day 22 Recap

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

It's day 2 of the final week of my residency and my final project is a 15" x 30" painting of a scene in Inverness, CA. On Day 1, I designed the composition, drew the outlines of the big shapes, laid down an underpainting, and blocked in the background and mid-ground.

Blocking in the foreground

I spent the entire day focused on the foreground and I had to work through a series of challenges. First off, I was feeling pleased with how the painting was coming together, particularly the background hills:

Due to that, something I struggled with was every stroke I added, I felt like I was making the painting worse.

Another challenge I struggled with was maintaining the (rough) value structure I had outlined. As you can see in the picture above, there are some subtle value indications in the monochromatic underpainting in the foreground. I found it challenging to stick to that outline when I started applying color. I started doubting the decisions I made before and choosing something different now.

The bushes

I started this day by tackling the bushes – the furthest away part of the foreground. This was the very first thing I started with on the smaller study and I really liked how it turned out in the study:

I struggled to get the same loose brushwork on the larger canvas, at least as of yet:

I still feel like I was able to define the overall form and think with some finessing, I can achieve something like what I painted in the study.

The grasses and flowers

The rest of the foreground is composed of some tall grasses in the middle and some smaller bushes/flowers at the very bottom of the canvas.

I blocked in really rough shapes, trying to keep it simple and stick to larger shapes as opposed to getting bogged down in details. Here is where I ended the day:

Wrap up

On this day, I managed to block in all of my shapes and effectively cover the canvas with color. This is a crucial step in being able to stand back and assess: what needs refinement or correction, what areas to leave simple, what areas should be more detailed.

As I look at the grasses in the foreground, it's hard to imagine how I'll be able to turn that into something akin to what's in my mind, but that's a problem for another day.

Painting Month: Day 21 Recap

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

When I crafted the plan for this residency, I designed it to consist of 2 main phases. During the first phase, I would explore nature, study color and light, and practice painting what I saw directly in front of me. During the second, and final phase, I would take everything I learned during Phase 1 and apply it to a finished studio painting.

Today is the start of the last week of my residency and the kickoff of Phase 2.

The subject

If you've been following along, the subject for this weeks painting will look familiar. It's the same subject I painted at the end of last week on Day 19 – the scene from the trail in Inverness, CA:

When I started the painting last week, I hadn't intended it to be a study for this larger piece. As I continued working on it, though, I realized there were some changes I could make that would really elevate it as a painting. At a high level, I wanted to paint it larger, I wanted to change the format to be wider, and I wanted to make the whole painting more atmospheric to really show off a sense of distance.

With my subject selected, I headed to the art store to procure an appropriately sized canvas for my project. I decided that I wanted to go both larger and wider than before so I picked up a 15" x 30" canvas and got to work.

Day 1 progress

I started by drawing in the big masses and lightly filling some to help me see the differences:

Since this was a larger painting, before moving into colors, I next continued by putting in a monochromatic underpainting to help define the larger shapes and understand the value structure:

I felt happy with that underpainting and decided to get started working from back to front. By the end of the day, I had an initial layer for the sky, background, and middle ground:

Next up, I plan to work on the foreground before I start refining the shapes, tweaking the colors, and adding in details. Since this is a larger painting and since I want to polish it, it will likely take me the full week at least.

Painting Month: Days 19-20 Recap

Sat, 01 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 19, it was gloomy/rainy out and I decided to make it a studio day. I realized that the fast pace required to deal with changing light conditions was making it hard to work on areas I wanted to improve. While I was having a blast painting outside, I felt I could really benefit from moving a bit slower and focusing in the studio.

Distant Storm in Inverness painting

A few months ago while on a hike in Inverness, CA, I took a photo to use as a possible reference for a painting. Upon looking at it again, I felt inspired to make a go of it:

What drew me to this photo was the symphony of greens in the foreground contrasted by the muted tones in the distance. I also really liked the suggestion of rain or a small storm in the distance.

I started by laying in the foreground bushes since those would have some vibrant greens and high contrast that I could use to compare the other parts of my painting. Then I added in the lightest lights – the water and the sky:

It is still a work in progress but I really like how it's coming together so far:

Painting Month: Day 18 Recap

Thu, 30 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 18, I only had a half day planned so I hoped to work on a 6x8 study in the Diablo Foothills again. I had so much fun when I was there on Day 2 that I wanted to see what it would be like under different lighting conditions.

Diablo Foothills Regional Park

The day was cloudy but there were little bits of sun shining through. I was hopeful that there would be some interesting light/shadow patterns on the mountain. When I arrived at the park, I was excited by what I saw:

It's not as clear in the photo (this is why painting outside is so useful), but the contrast of the part of the hillside in light vs the part in darkness was really striking.

One of the challenges of working outside (and especially in partly cloudy weather) is changing light. Every time a cloud blocked the suns view of the mountain or allowed a different amount of light through, the subject changed dramatically. Take a look at the difference in these photos:

Not only do the light and shadow patterns change dramatically, but the color green that the grass is changes as well. I attempted to choose a point in time I liked and replicate that, but it proved very challenging and this is something I will continue to focus on.

Here is the small study I ended up with:

While it's certainly not a finished painting, I learned a lot about changing light and I managed to record a point in time that I could use in a larger studio painting if desired.

Painting Month: Day 17 Recap

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 17, I planned to spend the day in Benicia, CA, painting the bay views along the shoreline. Unfortunately, while driving up there, visibility dropped steeply when I started approaching the area with surrounding fog in every direction. After consulting satellite photos, it seemed to just be affecting that small region:

After searching for backup locations, I finally landed on attempting another Mt Diablo painting from Clayton, CA.

Donner Canyon at Mt. Diablo State Park

I had hiked this area before and really enjoyed some of the views so I decided to hike in and see what inspired me.

After a quarter mile hike in, I found this view and decided I would give it a go:

Despite the composition being interesting and the variety of colors, I struggled to get into painting. I pushed through for a while but eventually decided I would leave with my color notes and finish the painting in the studio at a later time:

One thought in looking at this after getting home is that it would likely be a more interesting painting if I remove the focus from the central tree and leave it on the distant mountains. When continuing that in the studio, I may give that a try. To be continued...

Painting Month: Days 14-16 recap

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 16 of my painting month, I'm back in the Bay Area and planned to paint at Black Diamond Mines Regional Park and Markham Nature Park.

Black Diamond Mines Regional Park

Black Diamond Mines, once the location of the largest coal mining operation in California, is now a park in Antioch, CA with rolling hills, copious hiking trails, a historic cemetary, and some historical ranches.

After arriving, I really struggled with what subject to focus on for painting. While there was a lot of natural beauty around, I wasn't feeling inspired. Here are some of the options I considered before landing on my eventual choice:

Rose Hill Cemetery is a historic cemetery that serves as a monument to the lives of the former residents of the coal mining community.

At first, I was drawn to this pathway carving up towards the hillside, and all the different oranges, greens, and browns. It didn

I really like the shadow patterns on the far hillside, but I couldn

Eventually, I drove back down to the ranch by the entrance and found a scene I was interested in painting:

The ranch

Once I got started, the painting came together fairly quickly. While not a finished painting, I did have the chance to add some more details that I typically reserve for the studio. Here are some progress pictures:

And here is where I decided to call it done (for now):

Markham Nature Park

I had never been to Markham Nature Park in Concord, CA before. I'll definitely be going back, but perhaps not for painting. I really struggled with my painting here and didn't end up finishing it. I attempted to paint a picture of this creek:

Unfortunately, I was and was not able to compose a painting I liked, nor was I able to match the various browns and greens in the water. I learned that I'd like to practice painting creeks and rivers in the studio before attempting them in plein air.

Painting Month: Day 13 recap

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 13 of my painting month, I planned to make 2 paintings in Sedona, AZ. There are so many places to paint in Sedona that it’s almost overwhelming. In the end, I decided to paint Cathedral Rock and Coffeepot Rock.

Cathedral Rock

i got a tip from one of the other painters in my workshop (who happened to live in Sedona) that the best place to paint Cathdral Rock is off the Baldwin Trail in South Sedona.

I arrived at Baldwin Trailhead at 7:30am and my car’s thermometer read 14°, 15° cooler than the area of Sedona where I was staying. Hoping the other site I planned to paint was warmer, I decided to drive over there and paint that first.

Coffeepot Rock

I arrived at the Andante Trailhead at 8:26 and the 30° F temp was much more inviting. In the sun it felt even warmer than that. I started down the trail and quickly found the view I wanted to paint:

Well zooming in to the part I wanted to actually paint (it didn’t look as far to the naked eye):

I sketched out my composition and blocked in the major shapes, focusing on getting those value and temperature relationships right:

Flat shapes, just blocking in

Once I had the major shapes in, I added some details and the painting came together pretty quickly:

Coffeepot Rock, 9x12

Cathedral Rock

After taking a short lunch break, I headed back to Baldwin Trailhead and was excited when the car’s thermometer read 57° F.

A mere 250 feet in revealed a view I was excited to paint:

As usual, I started by sketching my composition:

After starting the first sketch by laying in the focal area (Cathedral Rock), I realized I made it too big in the frame.

The sketch in the bottom-left is the next one I tried and while the shapes were good, I wasn’t satisfied with the foreground and felt that I had slightly squished the rock on the right.

The sketch in the bottom-right was the one I went with. I liked this idea of creating a walkway into the painting by inventing some foreground bushes.

Here’s what it looked like as I got started:

A note here: you’ll notice my easel is not facing the subject. Something I learned in my recent workshop is that it’s beneficial to face your easel towards the sun (regardless of what you’re painting), as that will keep both your easel and your palette out of the sun. By keeping both of these in shade, it’s easier to compare colors and keeps you from painting too dark.

Followed my usual process, the next step was to block in my major shapes with the correct value and temperature (includes some minor blending):

I got cut a little short when the wind picked up and started blowing dirt everywhere. I got to a pretty good place with the painting and am still pleased overall:

Painting Month: Day 11-12 Recap

Mon, 20 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 11, I only had time for a quick 6x8 painting. Since I was in Albuquerque, NM with my family, I took a quick trip to the Sandia Mountains to paint a scene there.

Sandia Mountains

Something I learned after painting there, is that the Sandia Mountains start right after the Rockies end.

After a short hike in, here is the scene I decided to paint:

And here is what I ended up with. Just a short study. I attempted to put into practice what I learned during my recent workshop.

Not a finished paintings by any means but I ended up with a composition I’m happy with and enough information to make a bigger painting if I’d like.

Workshop Recap: Plein Air Painting at Saguaro Lake Ranch

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For days 6-10 of my painting month, I attended a workshop in Mesa, AZ at the beautiful Sahuaro Lake Ranch.

Image courtesy of SaguaroLakeRanch.com

The workshop

For starters (and for better or for worse), this workshop was not about creating beautiful paintings of the breathtaking landscape. This landscapes focus was on creating color studies – accurate value and temperature representations of the scenes in front of us. Mitch Baird, the instructor, defined success as a completed “start” or block-in, where the major shapes in the painting are defined with the correct value (lightness/darkness) and temperature (color). That proved to be a lot harder than it sounds, especially in a new landscape.

Key learnings (or reinforced ideas)

Given this workshop’s focus on the fundamentals, there wasn’t a lot of groundbreaking new information I learned. Rather, the value I found was through Mitch’s delivery of the different concepts I’ve already been practicing and his feedback as I attempted to put it into practice. Here are the main takeaways I have from the workshop:

The lights are warm or cool, the shadows must be the opposite

This came up every day of the workshop and the learning for me was that this is a more strict rule than just a guideline. Mitch had the opportunity to study with Richard Schmid, and one of the learnings he passed on from the late master was that if you have a muddy color, it’s likely because you have a wrong cool color in your warms or a warm color in your cools.

To expand on this, when the sun is shining unobstructed, the lights in the painting should be in the warm family (colors leaning towards red, yellow, orange). In this situation, the shadows would be cool (colors that leaning towards blue/purple). An example that would lead to muddy colors is if the painting was sunlit (as opposed to overcast) and there was a yellow-y or red-ish color in the shadows. Admittedly, this is subjective but ultimately it is relative. In other words, nothing in the shadows should be warmer than anything in the lights.

And that brings me to the next key learning

Painting is a game of comparisons

Mitch taught us to always be moving our eyes around the subject and around the painting. His approach is to constantly compare colors and values to ensure the relationships are correct. In fact, that is whole challenge in front of us. If we can properly relate the color and value relationships, we can make a successful painting. Or at least a pairing that reads. Of course there is still composition, brushwork, etc, but those are build atop the foundation of color and value relationships.

Highlights and my paintings

To restate what I started this post with, the point of this workshop was not to create finished paintings. I took that to heart and really embraced Mitch’s principles. As a result, the paintings I created are not strong paintings but they do represent putting these principles into practice. With a bit of work in the studio, these could certainly become successful paintings due to the foundation of color and value relationships I worked on.

One highlight was when this wild horse came to check on my progress:

Conclusion

I had a wonderful time at this workshop and have a lot to work on and practice now. there is something comforting in the fact that it all boils down to a strong understanding of some basic principles.

Painting Month: Day 5 Recap

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 5 of painting month, I went up to Point Reyes, CA and made a painting at Heart’s Desire Beach. I planned to also go to Point Reyes Lighthouse but I ran out of time. I’ll add that to my list of future locations to paint. Noting here that I’m 0/2 for lighthouses.

Heart’s Desire Beach

I had never been to Heart’s Desire but it came highly recommended. When I arrived, I could see why. Amazing views in every direction:

I tested out a few different compositions but finally landed on this one (I always start by sketching it out to make sure it will work):

This painting came together fairly quickly. While I would definitely add more detail for a studio painting, I’m pleased with how this one came together:

If there was one thing I could fix (and I just might), the shape of the closest land mass is really rectangular. I would like to improve the outer edge by making it more irregular and organic.

Painting Month: Day 4 Recap

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 4 of painting month, I decided to take a half day since I have a big drive tomorrow (Point Reyes National Seashore, CA) and an even bigger drive on Sunday (Arizona). I planned to paint at Old Borges Ranch in Walnut Creek, CA.

Old Borges Ranch

Old Borges Ranch used to be a cattle ranch and is now part of Walnut Creek's open space. There are several historic buildings, farm animals, trails, and a ranger station that can all be explored.

Initially, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to paint a closeup of a historic building, a distant scene of the ranch, or a view into the hills. After walking around the area for 30 minutes or so, I settled on a distant scene of the ranch with a composition I really liked.

I sketched out my composition, and worked mainly from the background to the foreground after I got the structures in:

What I like about my painting

I really like this composition. The ranch is the main subject and there are lots of lines leading your eye towards that.

I like the varieties of greens I was able to incorporate. This was a scene of cascading hills and greens in the foreground. It was a challenge varying the greens appropriately but I think I did a decent job of that.

What I would like to improve about my painting

The value (light/shadow) of my painting is way too dark. As you can see from the harsh shadow that my paper towel makes on my palette, the sun was shining directly on my canvas. As a result, I made all my colors way too dark.

The edges are messy which makes it hard to differentiate objects in certain places. I'd really like to have harder edges on the ranch structures so they look more architectural.

The foreground is not designed very well. I would like to remove the bushes and simplify the foreground.

Wrap up

This was a fantastic location to paint and I'd love to go back and either fix this study or make a new one. I learned a lot and had a great time.

Painting Month: Day 3 Recap

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 3 of my painting month, I planned to paint at Sycamore Grove Park and Lake Del Valle, both in Livermore, CA.

Sycamore Grove Park

Sycamore Grove Park is an incredible park. It was my first time going and I'll definitely be going back.

I arrived around 8:30am and moved quickly so I could take advantage of the morning light. The following view caught my eye and I decided this is what I would paint:

I was particularly drawn to the shadows on that far set of hills. After sketching out the composition in my sketchbook, I redrew it on the canvas:

I was right on the walking path so I enjoyed talking to many different passers-by about their love of the park, what they thought about my painting, and various small talk. I ended the day with the painting mostly finished, but I want to add some final details at home.

I'm excited to share that one of the local residents liked my painting so much they offered to buy it. This painting will be living right at home in Livermore!

(The Road To) Lake Del Valle

As I was in the final stretch before getting to Lake Del Valle, I came upon this view and I couldn't help but pull over. I felt like I could paint in any direction and have a beautiful scene to paint. These pictures don't even do the scene justice:

Using my trusty viewfinder, I settled on the following composition:

I ended up painting a small 6x8 study and while it's pretty rough, I like how it turned out.

Painting Month: Day 2 Recap

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 2, I planned for a shorter day, just doing a single painting at Diablo Foothills Regional Park.

Diablo Foothills Regional Park

Sitting at the edge of Walnut Creek, this is an understated park with a beautiful view of Mount Diablo.

I quickly found the view I wanted to paint, but I struggled a lot with the composition.

I made several value sketches to trial different compositions and finally landed on one that had some of Mount Diablo cast in shadow, and some of its beautiful golden hills showing.

I was really drawn to some of the striking patterns that the light/shadow were making. Unfortunately I got off to a late start and ran out of light before I was able to finish the painting. Here is where I left it at the end of the day.

I plan to finish this in the studio later in the week.

Painting Month: Day 1 Recap

Tue, 07 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

For day 1, I planned to paint Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, CA and Mori Point in Pacifica, CA.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pigeon Point Lighthouse is located in Pescadero, CA, which is roughly an hour and a half drive. I wanted to beat the morning rush hour traffic so I left the house at 5:15am. With me I had some cold weather clothes (it can be so windy along the coast), my lunch, and a large hiking backpack filled with all the gear I need to paint outside.

When I arrived at the lighthouse, it was still dark and it was foggy so visibility was limited. I could hear the waves crashing into the beach below the parking area and once the sun started to rise, I decided I'd go check those out before scouting out where I wanted to paint from.

Unfortunately, once I panned up to the lighthouse, I realized I would not be able to paint it – the lighthouse is undergoing a restoration started in mid-2024 and won't be completed until early 2026.

Rather than paint another scene at this location, I decided to just head to Mori Point.

Mori Point

Mori Point is located in Pacifica, CA which is about 45 minutes up the coast from the lighthouse. I arrived at the trailhead and oriented myself for the 1 mile hike in.

The fog had been coming and going as I drove to this location and I was hopeful there would be some visibility once I got to the top. After seeing the waves crashing into the beach and disappearing in the not-so-far distance, I was not optimistic:

And alas, when I got to the top, what should have been a dramatic view of cliffside dropping into the ocean was just a blanket of fog:

First painting

I walked out to the edge of the point and all I could make out were a few large rocks in the ocean. I decided to go ahead and paint that despite visibility being low. Here was the scene I decided to paint:

In the end, this was a really challenging painting because the fog was lifting while I was painting which really changed what I was looking at. Here are some progress shots and the painting I ended up with:

There are a lot of self-critiques I have (shape design, atmosphere, composition) but I did end up having a great time and I learned a lot from this painting.

Second painting

After finishing the first painting, I turned around and saw that the fog lifting had completely revealed the view I initially came to paint.

I decided to paint a small 6x8 study of this view.

Wrap up

Despite the challenges, I had a really great first day painting during this month. I met several interesting passers-by, spent time in nature and came away with 2 paintings.

My Self-Made Artist Residency

Fri, 03 Jan 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Happy New Year! I have some exciting plans for this year. To kick things off, I'm taking a month(ish) off from my normal day job to focus on making art.

I've been referring to this period as a "Self-Made, At-Home Artist Residency" which is both an oxymoron and a mouthful, but it does get the point across. Starting January 6 and going until February 10, I'll be spending my working days making art in some way.

Goals

Given this is such a unique opportunity, I want to be structured about the time so I can make the most of it.

One of my primary objectives is to dedicate lots of time to actually oil painting. I want to elevate my skills in a meaningful way and I know the best way to do that is to get out and paint. Tangibly, I aim to produce some finished pieces that can both represent my current abilities and also serve as a point-in-time portfolio.

Landscapes will be my main focus, though I'm open to experimenting with wildlife or portraits to push myself.

Stay tuned for updates throughout the month! Another goal I'm setting is sharing my progress with friends and other artists for encouragement and feedback.

Plan

For the first four weeks, from January 6 to January 31, my days will revolve around immersing myself in painting. Each weekday, I’ll dedicate my time to either a full day of plein air painting or a mix of plein air sessions in the morning and studio work in the afternoon. My focus will be on creating two "starts" every day—filling the canvas with bold, blocky shapes and laying the foundation for future refinement without getting caught up in the details. This approach is all about embracing the fundamentals and building confidence in my process.

As part of this phase, I’ve planned a few special opportunities to deepen my learning. I’ll be attending a plein air oil painting workshop in Mesa, Arizona, where I hope to gain new techniques and inspiration from seasoned artists. I’m also setting aside a day to paint the stunning landscapes around Sedona, soaking in its iconic red rock beauty and translating it onto the canvas.

The final week, from February 3 to February 9, will shift to a more focused effort in the studio. I’ll use the plein air studies I’ve created as references to work on one or two larger pieces. This will be a chance to integrate everything I’ve learned into more polished, thoughtful works. To round out my time off, I’ll attend a gouache workshop in the Bay Area, exploring a complementary medium to further push myself.

Plein Air in the Bay Area

There is so much natural beauty in the Bay Area that I could spend a year painting outside and never paint the same area twice. Here are some of the locations I'm planning to paint this month:

Mori Point, Pacifica
Gray Whale Cove Beach, Half Moon Bay
Diablo Foothills Regional Park, Walnut Creek
Old Borges Ranch, Walnut Creek
Point Reyes Lighthouse, Point Reyes
Drakes Beach, Point Reyes
Los Vaqueros Reservoir, Livermore

And here are some photos from there that inspire me:

Workshops

To add some more variety to the month, I'm really excited to be attending two very different workshops.

The first is a workshop at Saguaro Lake Ranch in Mesa, AZ with Mitch Baird where we'll be focusing on painting en plein air, working on composition, value, and color.

At the very end of this period, I'll be attending a gouache workshop to explore a different medium and use that to expand my technique and style. I'm very new to gouache as well, and my hope is that by becoming more comfortable with that medium, I can use it as a more portable option for quick studies on the go.

Stay tuned for updates on my progress

I'm super excited to have this opportunity and really looking forward to spending some time painting in nature. I'll be posting regular updates throughout the month both here and on Instagram.

Reflecting on My Oil Painting Journey in 2024

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 17:00:00 GMT

My oil painting art practice was born this year. I painted for the first time in January and consistently practiced throughout the year. While I have long had a creative drive in me, it had previously been passive and casual – now I'm focused on dedicating time to get better.

Creations

While I’m ending the year with only one “finished” painting, I made 41 studies ranging from 6x6 up to 9x12. Here are some of my favorites:

I painted a variety of still life paintings, some from life, others from photographs. Many of them were on cheap 6"x6" canvas panels.

Some of the most fun I had was painting outside. I took a plein air workshop with Paul Kratter in Carmel and also spent time painting around the East Bay.

This painting of Baylands Nature Preserve is the first time I painted a landscape and liked what I had created. I really like the simple shapes and suggestion of trees in the distance.

The first time I finished a painting and felt ready to sign it was this one of Amoudi Bay. There are still things I'd change or even add, but I like where it's at and feel ready to say it's done.

Colors

I explored different color palettes – from a limited palette of just titanium white, burnt sienna, cadmium yellow, and ultramarine blue, to an extended palette with many more colors.

I am currently preferring a split primary palette with ultramarine blue, cobalt, alizarin permanent, cadmium scarlet, cadmium yellow light, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and white. Most recently, I've been experimenting with adding in either Naples Yellow or Nickel Titanate Yellow for a cooler yellow.

Looking forward, I'm definitely interested in keeping my list of colors short, though I'm interested to continue experimenting to find the colors I prefer to use the most.

Surfaces

This year I've mostly stuck to economical surfaces with the cheap canvas panel packs from Blick being the most common. For sizes, I've stuck to a fairly small and limited set of 6x6, 6x8, 8x10, and 9x12.

Looking forward, I'm interested in exploring other aspect ratios, like double squares, and going larger when I'm excited about an idea. I'm also interested in painting on linen, potentially making my own canvas panels to save on cost.

Courses and Workshops

I had the privilege of taking 4 in-person classes (weekly painting at my local community arts center), 1 in-person workshop (plein air with Paul Kratter), and 1 online workshop (Landscape Essentials with Kim VanDerHoek) this year. The in-person experiences have been the best and it's nice to have an online course when things get busy with family life. The number one thing I learned is that while the courses give me ideas and inspiration, the best way to learn is by just painting.

Looking forward, I plan to continue with the in-person classes at my local community center, take more in person workshops next year, and peruse 1 or 2 online courses as well.

Recap and looking forward

I had so much fun picking up a brush for the first time this year. I learned that it makes me so happy to put mix paint and put it on a canvas.