STREET SCENES

Dusk- Looking North

North Bay View - Near 30th Place

A quote I rather like.

“This twinned twinkle was delightful but not completely satisfying; or rather it only sharpened my appetite for other tidbits of light and shade, and I walked on in a state of raw awareness that seemed to transform the whole of my being into one big eyeball rolling in the world’s socket. Through peacocked lashed I saw the dazzling diamond reflection of the low sun on the round back of a parked automobile. To all kinds of things a vivid pictorial sense had been restored. Water in overlapping festoons flowed down one sloping street and turned gracefully into another. With ever so slight a note of meretricious appeal, narrow passages between buildings revealed treasures of brick and purple. I remarked for the first time the humble fluting – last echoes of grooves on the shafts of columns – ornamenting a garbage can, and I also saw the rippling upon its lid – circles diverging from a fantastically ancient center.

I walked up, and I walked down, and I walked straight into a delicately dying sky.”

 “The Vane Sisters” – Vladimir Nabokov – American Fantastic Tales.  

The Strand House

Sketches

Some quick sketches in Yosemite and Palm Springs. These are small paintings and have taken me about 20 to 30 minutes.

Wawona Meadow

Wawona Dome

Palm Springs - San Jacinto Mts

Up Hill -  Down Hill

16th Street

I don't think I will ever get tired of painting these streets down to the ocean --- maybe it is because they lead to the beach and Pacific. The childlike joy of seeing the waves always makes me happy - I'm guessing it's the same for most of us who have childhood memories of happy days spent playing in the sand and waves!

I particularly like 16th Street for it's beachy colors. I have painted it a few times - playing around with lose and tighter painting techniques - also the shadows on the road. - The streets in Manhattan Beach have been constantly changing over the years with a large amount of construction work. The houses are an eclectic mix of old beach cottages and 3 story modern town homes.

Older Sketch

Study

El Porto uphill

Sidewalk Sketches

Morningside Parking Lot

Side walk sketches in my small 8x5 Moleskin watercolor sketch book.  The parking structure on Morningside is really interesting if you ever bother to look up and see the patterns of the iron or steel supports - painted in this case a lovely turquoise to go with the beach side theme. Looking up is always a good idea - people miss so much by just looking ahead. I guess I am used to doing this especially coming from London where there is so much fantastic architecture to look at. When I visit with my kids I am constantly telling them "look up".

Painting in progress.

Sketch

Downtown -Manhattan Beach blvd

I thought the shadow on the street was really interesting - and then all the colors of the different restaurants and bars makes for a colorful little sketch. Some great eateries along this little parade - "Rock n Fish" a family favorite - and the great beach bar "Shellbecks" on the corner.

Uncle Bill's - Manhattan Beach

Uncle Bills Morning

Walking around town on a Saturday afternoon or  Sunday morning with my husband I often come across  quite a lot of places to paint! --- Here are a few examples from the last few days.  A little bit of history on Uncle Bill's - and if you are in Manhattan Beach most certainly have breakfast at this local haunt - great pancakes and omelettes. You can enjoy these out on the patio with a sea view or inside which is real quaint with a very small diner bar at the north end. This great little building was built around 1908 as a home on Highland Avenue. It has been used as a flower shop and real estate office before Uncle Bill McElroy opened Uncle Bill's in 1961 - the southend was still a barbershop! - Paul Allen Van Amburgh bought the restaurant in 1973 and expanded it into the barbers and opened the patio. Uncle Bill's remains in the same family today ---- and it still has that cosy family run feel.

 

Corner of Uncles Bill's Pancake House

Witches Walkstreet Morning

 Last Sunday morning we took a stroll and passed one of my favorite walkstreets down to the beach - I have painted it before at dusk - but liked the different feel it had in the early morning. This is a made up name for this street - but suits it well because it is always decorated for Halloween with corn husks wrapped around the many gas lamps dotted along the street...

Dusk

Bay View and the Strand

Bay View Drive

work process

I am going to post the words of two talented artists that I admire to go with todays  artwork! I don't pretend to be a writer on my blog - I much prefer the work to speak for itself. I wonder if this is how most famous artists felt? Their words always seem so clever and profound to me.....

ANDREW WYETH on watercolor
"The only virtue to it is to put down an idea quickly without thought about whaat-you feel at that moment. It's one's free side. Watercolor shouldn't behave!---Andrew Wyeth

The Strand Looking North

Sketch

"Colors and line and shape seem for me a more definite statement than words."
Georgia O'Keeffe

The Strand Looking South

DOWNTOWN  BLUES

Down Town Alley 5x6

Using different color tones this week - It's good to move into a palette that makes you look at your work and change it up! --- Why is tone important? Here is what the master Henri Matisse had to say on the matter...
"Painters Notes 1908" - "When I have found the relationship of all the tones the result must be a living harmony of all tones, a harmony not unlike that of a musical composition." - Henri Matisse

Sketch

16th Street Mail Box 4x6

Sketch

11th Place Alley-toward the pier

Yosemite Oak
2012 Twitter Art Exhibit #2 organized by David Sandum - a Charity Art Exhibit to raise funds for a women's refuge center. The exhibition was held in Moss Public Library in Norway. I am pleased to announce my painting above has sold! ---- Good Luck to all the women involved in the refuge......