Monday, May 16, 2016

BLUE FISH COVE


                          Blue Fish Cove  | Pastel | 9x12

Point Lobos State Park is just a few minutes south of Carmel, Ca. Small but spectacular, this rugged coastline is filled with rocky points jutting into the ocean, cypress clinging to steep precipices, wildflowers in abundance and one of the most prolific collections of poison oak I've ever seen!  A mere half mile walk into Blue Fish Cove was a bit more rigorous carrying all my Plein air gear. I took everything I could out of my backpack but pastels are heavy and I needed my tripod, of course.  The day was overcast which was fortunate as the light remained unchanging all day. I painted this from 10:30 am- 1:30 pm while a steady group of walkers came by, stopped, chatted and moved on. I told them all about the Carmel Art Festival going on and sure enough, many of them came by on Saturday and Sunday to see all our paintings!

Painting Notes:  Rocks present their own special challenge - how to render them believable without having to fill in every crevice. I started by outlining the planes with a black Nupastel, then filling in broad strokes of three to four different shades of blond, beige and gray lights; brown, umber and Sienna darks. Then back in with the black and dark gray/brown hard pastels to redefine some of the darker crevices. Like painting where trees and sky meet, it was all about weaving the forms together. 

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