The Blue Doorway | Pastel | 12x12
Day 0 of the 2016 LOS GATOS PLEIN AIR I arrived in town by midday, ready to scout some new scenes to paint. I missed 2015's event but had written down some locations in 2014 after talking to some of the other artists. I arrived at La Rusticana - a Tuscan-like Eden whose water wheel at their entrance I had photoed years before. Ringing the intercom button, a lady appeared and after some phone calling, I was given permission to enter to scout painting sites for the next day. Just a few yards up the drive, this doorway grabbed my attention and stays with me to today! Hard to believe this house was not built back in the 1800s but the owners of this extraordinary property have lovingly recreated an authentic Tuscan idyll in Santa Clara County! This painting was my choice for the Friday night Gala where it sold quickly and remained everyone's favorite the whole show/sale day on Saturday.
Painting Notes : On site, I didn't get the values of the shadowed doorway right but was able to work on it a night or two later and get it down. All week long, I was plagued by the brightness on site and finally reached a point on the 3rd day (7 paintings into my week) where I realized my eyes were 'snow blind' - I couldn't distinguish color shades of the same value range. I was forced to spend the last day in shade, mopping my tearing eyes, making studio adjustments and framing. Not sure why this happened as I always wore a visor and always painted under an umbrella or in the shade.
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