A day away - progress

Since getting to attend school in one of the most electric places in the States, I am thankful to still live a few hours from San Francisco. I get back regularly to visit friends, paint, eat, explore. Recently, I brought a couple art buddies from Sacramento and showed them a few favorite painting spots. I am grateful to love what I do, but it was certainly a work trip. We arrived late morning in North Beach and found a favorite spot on Russian Hill overlooking the neighborhood. I can visit the same spot multiple times and it will usually look different depending on the weather. Using a limited palette I tried to capture the homes and business layering the hillside. It was overcast, but warm - great painting weather.

When you have something as dynamic as SF city streets, its important to stick with your initial design. I keep thing in simple groupings at first and then start to bring out the details and various colors as I go. 

By early afternoon we made our way to our next spot, Crissy Field. The wind was gusty off the Bay and quite chilly. We had brought layers and bundled up for a quick plein air painting. This view is of the Golden Gate Bridge focussing on Marin County. I loved all the variations of gray. I tried to capture the soft transitions of colors. 

We wanted to get one more painting in before heading home. We headed over to the Legion Of Honor  and Lands End park which has another great view of the Golden Gate.

The light slowly started to dissipate, creating a calm evening mood. I focussed on my value pattern and tried to push the cool blues in all the groupings. 

We ended the day at Palomino's on the Embarcadero. It was a perfect way to warm up, relax, and discuss our painting day. I'm hoping to do it again sometime soon. Do you have a favorite look out spot or painting place in the Bay Area? I would love to hear about it - Maybe I'll try that one next time. 

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