Friday, June 20, 2008

Davenport Cypress Trees


A recent trip to Santa Cruz, CA with art friends gave me sights to ponder and paint. We took our trip before the fires burned the landscape. A very special spot just north of Davenport inspired this painting. I hope these trees weren't damaged!

In the painting on the left, you see my "under painting" which is done on Wallis sanded paper with pigment in dispersion (like water colors without the gum arabic).

The second painting shows the finished product, with pastel on top, but places where the under painting shows through. I enjoy the texture and feel of the wet under painting and the dry drawing of the pastel on top. The best of both worlds, I think. And 24" X 18" is a nice size for landscapes.

2 comments:

bullwinkle said...

Love Davenport. Usually stay at the Cash Store Bed and Breakfast when I go down there for high school reunions in Watsonville. In the old days, when I was a kid, we would drive up to Half Moon Bay and buy crab at the marina, then go back to Pidgeon Point Lighthouse beach for a picnic. During that time, the cement plant in Davenport was coating everything around the area, especially the town, with a gray dust. They were later forced to clean up their manufacturing process, so now they don't pollute. Make for a nicer painting without the dust.

Katherine van Schoonhoven said...

No kidding?! Saw where it looked like the cement plant was dumping their waste into the ocean once upon a time, but that was long ago, I think. Sounds like I was in your old stomping grounds.