march winds

we've had some wild and wooly weather - storms blowing through much of february along with some beautiful, warm days.
the école has been working along the gaviota coast, from gaviota beach to refugio, to el capitan and haskell's - in preparation for a 'scape' group show in april.
here's work from the last few monday painting sessions:

nina warner
starting a new one, haskell's, oil on panel, 10"x10"

nina warner
el capitan
oil on panel
8"x10"

nina warner
north haskell's, oil on panel, 8"x10"

nina warner
gaviota south, oil on panel, 9"x12"

groundhog day

beautiful day at haskell's beach - long low tide, haze to sunshine. missed gigi with us. some of these may hopefully end up in the upcoming scape show for the gaviota coast/naples coalition.
we had as many 'do-overs' as we wanted. just keep trying to get it right.

pamela zwehl-burke
cormorant
gouache on paper
4"x8"















pamela zwehl-burke
low tide, bacara
gouache on paper
5"x7"

nina warner
haskell's
oil on canvas, 18"x24"

close of january

at last some images from the reluctant landscape painter among us 

pamela zwehl-burke
hendry's I, gouache on paper

pamela zwehl-burke
hendry's II, gouache on paper

pamela zwehl-burke
tucker's 
gouache on paper

pamela zwehl-burke
refugio shore, gouache on paper

more for january

great way to bring in the new year. one of the things we love about working 'plein air' is that you get to experience the change of everything - time, light, color, conditions - just by standing there and paying attention. trying to capture all this with paint almost seems futile, but the challenge is invigorating and the greater reward - the gift of being there in the moment - is well worth it.

libby smith
january 1, late afternoon
oil on panel, 9"x12"

libby smith
winter mojave
oil on panel, 9"x12"

libby smith
first storm, lake los carneros
oil on panel, 8"x10"

the rained-out paint-out:

libby smith
morning rain, gaviota
oil on panel, 10"x10"

the sunny reward after the storm:

libby smith
morning calm
oil on panel, 8"x10"


our foggy day at arroyo burro. some of us were mentioned in an article, with photo, in the local 'independent' paper. 

libby smith
foggy morning, hendry's beach
oil on panel, 8"x10"



coco and mimi need to stop dressing alike.

libby smith
oil on panel

nina warner

gouache on paper

libby smith
oil on panel

nina warner
oil on panel

libby smith
oil on panel

nina warner
oil on panel

happy new year 2015

after the blitz of the holidays, we are back on track for the new year. coco and mimi have a tradition of starting the new year by getting out to paint. felt rusty and clunky, but determined to get our painting legs back.
here's a start, as soon as I get more images from the rest of the école, I will post them.
  

nina warner
new years day,
summerland
oil on panel
8"x10"









there was a SCAPE paint-out at gaviota beach which turned into a rain-out. we tried anyways.














nina warner
gaviota
oil on panel
9"x12"







a sunnier, beautiful day at refugio beach:

nina warner, refugio lagoon
oil on panel, 7 1/2"x18"


finally a day when all four cats where able to get outside together. foggy MLK day, with the sun coming through by mid-morning at arroyo burro aka (hendry's beach). 

nina warner
hendry's beach
oil on panel
8"x10"

nina warner, lagoon, arroyo burro
oil on panel, 8"x8"

more end of year images

we'll try to squeeze in some of the missing work before the year is out.

didn't really squeeze this one! 
great vertical format - just a slice.





diane handloser
vedanta view
7 1/2"x2"
gouache on paper

diane handloser
butterfly beach, 2 3/4"x4" gouache on paper


last couple of monday paint days:

nina warner
vedanta view, 4 1/2"x5 1/2" gouache on paper

nina warner
low lake, 4"x5" gouache on paper

from pamela, some catching up:

pamela zwehl-burke
already broken, watercolor on paper





we have all been working on portraits and figure painting as well, so time to start adding in some of those:

pamela zwehl-burke
livia #1
gouache on paper

pamela zwehl-burke
livia #2
gouache on paper

pamela zwehl-burke
livia #3
gouache on paper

pamela zwehl-burke
maddie, oil on canvas

getting to the end of the year 2014

so here it is, december. we have had a busy and very fruitful year. lots of monday painting sessions, a trip to the sierras, figure painting class, many shows and even some sales. as a group and individually, we have all worked hard at our painting and art making. not an easy thing to do given what life in general throws at us which this year included too many curveballs.

gigi has caught up with taking photos of her beautiful gouaches:

diane handloser
afternoon in the park, gouache on paper, 4 3/4" x 4 3/4"

diane handloser
hunters moon, gouache on paper, 5 1/8" x 5 3/8"

diane handloser
pearls's pond, gouache on paper, 4" x 6"

diane handloser
skin of eucalyptus
gouache on paper 
6 1/4" x 3 1/2"

diane handloser
toward bellosguardo, gouache on paper, 3" x 4"