january moon rise

full moon on january 15 - we decided to try the view from the bluff at shoreline park. it is a challenge. beautiful, big yellow moon, with great reflections on the water.

libby smith

wolf moon, january 2014
10"x10", oil on panel

16 january 2014

mid-january. the weather has been unbelievable. down-side: drought and fire season year round. up-side: warm days, clear beautiful weather, sunny most days with amazing sunrises and sunsets. needless to say, great for plein air painting.
the école is still a bit scattered with the things life puts in the way, but we hope to be back on track with the four of us together on mondays once again.
in the mean time, Mimi and Coco have been going out to paint, with a guest appearance of Gigi. 
are we looking at the same thing or what? interesting to see the same view through our own lens.


this was a grey day, great spot to paint and try out our new gear - pochade boxes & tripods

nina warner
IV bluffs toward devereux
6"x12" oil on panel

libby smith
winter afternoon, devereux point
8"x16" oil on panel


a warm day with constantly changing skies and mountains.
a bob-cat grabbed a coot for lunch right across the lagoon from us.

nina warner
goleta slough
8"x10", oil on panel

libby smith
goleta beach slough
8"x8", oil on panel

trying to get out of the wind. calm spot where we watched squads of canada geese come in for a landing, have a rest and take off in formation. the sound of them: honking and beating their wings as they flew over our heads, was amazing.

nina warner 
devereux 
8"x10", oil on canvas



looking south toward campus point. the white heron posed for a little while, then got bored and left.

nina warner
IV bluff
9"x12", oil on canvas

libby smith
january, campus point 
9"x12", oil on canvas


Coco is catching up on sending images: 

libby smith
arroyo burro beach walk
9"x12", oil on panel


beautiful way to start the new year - looking down at the ocean rocks as the tide moves out.

libby smith
new years day, 2014
8"x16", oil on panel

happy new year 2014

beautiful winter day - cool sunshine, cooler shadows.
as one of the cats has often said, "begin as you would continue", so out to start the new year with paint brush in hand. cold spring canyon actually starts out as 'gould park' before running off into various trails, so as I keep working on my park series, it was a good place to start. the light was fleeting in the canyon, but caught this young bay tree for a moment.

nina warner

gould park
cold spring canyon

oil on panel
6"x8"

december 2013 - end of the year post

here we are at the end of another year - many mondays of painting together.
this has been a particularly difficult year with all sorts of unexpected and/or unwelcome challenges and events, but through it all we have continued to work. the camaraderie and support that the 'école de quatre' share is without measure.
we've worked through many hours of portrait painting and kept up in the landscape. the last few weeks have been hectic with holidays and other obligations, but we are all looking forward to starting up again in the new year.


here are a few examples of the last months work:

beautiful winter day at the beach. coco and mimi were on the sand, watching the clouds come in.


nina warner
looking south, hendry's beach study
6"x8" oil on panel

nina warner, looking north, hendry's, 9"x12" oil on panel

libby smith
afternoon walk,
arroyo burro
9"x12"
oil on panel

different day, 
view from the overlook




nina warner,
hendry's beach

6"x12"
oil on panel







c & m went to the sb mission, only to find it covered with scaffolding. we hunted around for a place to paint and ended up in the mission garden, off limits apparently to the general public, but we were ultimately allowed to stay and paint. beautiful, bright, sunny day.

libby smith, mission garden, 8"x16" oil on panel

nina warner,
monastery view 
from the garden
9"x12" 
oil on panel




c & m found a good spot looking at leadbetter beach. lot's of unexpected foot traffic - it's a good walking area. folks would stop to watch and comment. one person actually wanting to purchase a painting. that was a pleasant surprise!

libby smith, winter walk, leadbetter beach, 8"x16"

nina warner, leadbetter point, 6"x12"




a couple of full moon paintings from november. c & m bundled up, watched and waited for the moonrise - it was worth it.

nina warner, moon-rise over the mountains, 6"x12" oil on panel

libby smith, november moon-rise, 6"x12" oil on panel

november

beautiful afternoon at lake los carneros. the time change makes for long shadows and a shorter afternoon painting session. lot's of birds out on the 'new' beach. canadian geese, swans, mallards, coots, egrets…..

libby smith, oil on panel, 8"x10"

nina warner
small study
oil on panel
5"x7" 

nina warner, oil on panel, 9"x12"



went back to a great spot by the beach, lagoon with birds, sand, ocean, boats, mountains in the distance - it's all right there. and a beautiful day - sunny and hot

libby smith, oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner, calm sea, oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner
looking toward east beach
oil on panel
9"x12"

october

the école has been busy - we have been working on portrait painting with a few side-trips back into the landscape.
some of the recent work:
                                                 
                                               

coco has been spending time at goleta beach.
autumn in santa barbara is really summer.









libby smith 
oil on panel 
8"x10"

                                                                                        

libby smith, oil on panel, 10"x10"

libby smith, oil on panel, 10"x10"

libby smith
oil on panel
8"x10"

libby smith, oil on panel, 8"x10"

meanwhile, mimi was in the sierra's. real weather. autumn color, snow and hail.

nina warner, oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner

oil on panel

5"x7"

coco and mimi painted the "hunter's moon" - amazing and fun working at night. views from east beach, watching the moon rise. hard to photograph the darkness of the images.

libby smith, oil on panel, 9"x12"

libby smith
oil on panel
9"x12"

libby smith, oil on panel, 9"x12"

libby smith, stearn's wharf @ night

oil on panel, 10"x10"

nina warner
oil on panel
9"x12"

nina warner, afterglow moonrise
oil on panel, 6"x12"

nina warner, oil on panel, 9"x12"

and now to some portraits....

pamela zwehl-burke
Gige, oil on canvas, 18"x24"

libby smith
bonnie
oil on panel
9"x12"

diane handloser
lulu
oil on canvas
9"x12"

nina warner
maddie
oil on canvas
18"x24"

7 october 2013

Autumn in the sierra's. a few recent paintings from Mimi.

nina warner
trail behind the cabin
4"x12" oil on panel

this painting in a cropped version will appear on the cover of the new 2014 ponderosa telephone company phone book.

nina warner

tuolumne meadow trail

5"x7"

oil on panel

nina warner

tuolumne moonrise

5"x7"

oil on panel