I did another one on the same sunny day at China Camp.  This one I did very fast when a lot of children from an adventure camp descended on the beach. It came out in the spirit of  a finger painting.

Karen

Family Outing at China Camp

Again I became involved with moving things. I caught the kids skipping rocks. All three figures were composites in motion. At the end I gave them more identity because the kids wanted to know if they were in the picture.

Acrylic on canvas 12" by 16"

Karen Zullo Sherr

China Camp Marsh

Colors in the marsh
streaming shadows
grass in motion
fishing for the right combinations

Watercolor over Graphite
14 X 21"

Low Tide Near China Beach

I was painting near Vicki Salzman, on a narrow trail just above the beach on a very sunny Monday. Because it took more time than normal to get to this park in Marin, I was trying to load some calories by munching on these potato chips I had brought, and later on a chinese chicken salad that I had bought on the way there. My paints were drying fast because of the heat and the backs of my arms got sunburned, because I stupidly wore a short-sleeved polo to paint on a day like this! The pool near the small beach was full of the richest, most incredible reds, blues, greens, in fact it was like a lesson in RGB color. Vicki and I were fascinated by it (so was Marilyn), but we also discovered just how difficult it was to depict that color while remaining true to the values in the overall scene. This was my attempt at low tide. Rebeca

Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16"

Cabin on the beach at China Camp

This is about the fourth time this month that I have been to China Camp State Park. I felt obligated to do something in the village, a building or boat or something there on the beach. No water this time just the hint of tidal action on the beach.

I struggled with the background trees above the cabin, but decided they were background and forget it. The rest of the painting worked out OK. I am trying to mix colors on the paper and maintain the transparency of the paint. I am feeling a bit more comfortable with the new palette of colors that I have been using now, but have some way to go to really feel at ease and knowledgeable.

July 27

We return to China Camp by popular demand! Here's the official page with directions.

China Camp Boat

7/13/09 Watercolor over Graphite , 11 X 14
I've been experimenting more and more with opaque watercolors so some parts of the painting are wet-in-wet transparencies and some drier opaques–contrasting the 2 approaches. Favorite opaques of the season seem to be Venetian Red, Winsor Newton an earthy rich orangy red, and Cadmium Red Purple, Holbein, a red with blue tinges. Jaune Brilliant #1 is a slightly orangy yellow with lots white by Holbein.

Five Pines Point at China Camp State Park

Marilyn and I struggled to keep up the group's reputation today. Only two of us painting, but a friend stopped by to encourage us. I neared despair on this one, especially the left side. I had to try a couple of rescue glazes to try to save it. Marilyn had some good advice about the shadows too. It is a little over worked for my satisfaction, but it came out better than I was thinking it would. Marilyn was laughing at my groaning.

I liked this one so much better than the one I did today that I decided to upload this one too. I painted this last Friday July 10th. I got a few mosquito bites, but didn't suffer much. I was surprised at how few colors that I used to paint this one. I am liking my new palette. I wondered why it is called Rat Rock Island. Then the more I looked at my painting, the more I saw a rat.

China Camp 7-13-09

This is a view of Buckeye Point at China Camp. It was difficult to find shade, so I was very close to the road guarding my toes from the traffic. It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I ended up trying to glaze over the reed bed and fussing with a tree. I didn' t get the separation of the distant hill and the point as I intended. I couldn't figure out how to do the reeds in the foreground, but after the second attempt to fix it, I had to quit.

Hoffman Marsh

I used a long horizontal canvas for this one done at the Marsh.  It was a good shape for the landscape.

Karen Zullo Sherr

July 13

Directions to China Camp:
Take highway 580 or 80 over San Rafael Bridge, then 101 North toward San Rafael.

Exit right on N. San Pedro Exit (east) toward China Camp State Park (follow "China Camp State Park" signs). This exit is just before the Civic Center so if you've gotten to the Civic Center you've gone to far. You'll see a 7/11 at a stop sign on the right. Keep going straight. Sunny Oaks Rd is the beginning of the Park. Keep going. Continue on winding road through park. You will pass three paid parking lots on the left hand side...Buckeye Pt, Weber Pt. and Bullhead. Continue to China Camp Beach parking lot where we can meet, the one that has the fishing village in it).

We may want to paint in the fishing village, or at some point before.There are some beautiful marshes with orange stuff along the way.

Walkers at the Emeryville Crescent

I was so cold that I painted this very quickly. I like the larger size for the way I am painting now and hope to go larger. It is acrylic on a 15" by 30" canvas.  I also like the urban references and Emeryville seemed like a good place to start getting used to painting with more onlookers around.

Karen Zullo Sherr

Marilyn Hill Painting on a Hill

As I sat there, not too inspired by my walk around, I saw Marilyn painting in the distance. So that is what I painted. I left out a bunch of trees that were very dark against the sky.

July 6

I took a scouting trip today to the Emeryville Crescent. Kafka and I searched for the old entrance but there is a fence where it used to be. You can still see the marsh close enough if you park on Powell across from the Watergate Towers sign, but the grass is way higher than it was in April. If you are like me and want to avoid ticks, this is not the ideal situation. So I propose we meet at the very end of Powell, in front of the Hong Kong East Ocean Seafood restaurant. There is ample parking on Marina Park, and we can walk to the water very easily from there.

Directions:
From 80, take the Powell exit west. If you are coming from Berkeley or El Sobrante, turn left at the second light and follow Powell all the way to the end, where there is a marina and a huge parking lot.