Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve

Went for a drive to the Poppy Preserve off Hwy 14. The flowers were in full bloom after the recent rains. I had never seen them before and they were great - just rolling away in different directions. Weather was overcast which didn't spoil the experience, it made it look flatter from a painting and photography point of view.

Hosted a great workshop on Saturday 12th April with the Mid Valley Art League in Temple City. The theme was "Using Photography to Make Better Paintings."

I discussed some of the technical aspects of lenses and distortion, working without flash, ISO, shutter speeds and printing out b+w plus color prints to start the painting. Do a freehand thumbnail to get the hang of the image to edit and make your own.

Try drawing on the final paper or canvas with a paintbrush, and not a pencil!

Interpreting the shadows used to make the photo is especially important as the print is made with 3 color inks and black.

I am doing a demonstration in pastel tonight for the Corona Art Association. Again the subject will be the interpretation of color from a photo.

Chicago Night

We had a great inaugural reception for the first exhibition of the Pastel Society of Southern California in Manhattan Beach today. Pictured from l-r: Sally Strand, Ron Libbrecht and me. Also here is a second painting I have in the show made from a visit to Chicago at Thanksgiving in 2009.

Lifeguard Tower, Redondo Beach

Here is a recent pastel painting, part of a series on Redondo Beach, which is in the inaugural exhibition of the Pastel Society of Southern California. A dozen of us formed the group last August and now we have many members. Our exhibition is at the Creative Arts center in Manhattan beach until 16th April 2010.