Afternoon Surf Laguna

Oil 12 x 16 Private Collection

Well, tomorrow I am off to California for the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational. I am driving- I like road trips- I'm like a kid in a candy store watching the landscape change as I drive west. The event starts Sunday the 7th with a paint out then ends the following weekend with the Quick Draw and auction and then the Exhibition & Sale Saturday and Sunday October 13-14 at the Laguna Art Museum. There is more about the event here. I hope to post through out the event so stay tuned!

Moonlit Tide - pastel 9 x 12

In a few weeks I'll be heading out to Laguna Beach for the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational. This is my third year in this event and its a big thrill to be included in one of the most prestigious plein air events in the country. Plein air shows are like a high wire act- at least to me. You are trying to paint a landscape which is not your home turf - in this case, surf- do some of the best work you can and do it in just a few days! This year the organizers decided to ask each artist to exhibit a studio piece in addition to the work done during the event. I didn't have time to create something but I did have this small pastel from a previous trip to Carmel. I had planned to hold onto it because I like it and I think its important to keep paintings that signal the direction you want your work to go (I love nocturnes- but that's a subject for another post!) - but now its headed for the Laguna Art Museum, and that's ok too!