San Pablo Yacht Harbor

The Vessel Coyote was used in the San Francisco Bay to remove debris like old pilings broken loose, and trees washed down from the Sacramento River into the Bay. We were intercepted by the Chevron Security Guards again as we rendezvoused , but Vickie tamed them. We then moved on to the Harbor where Roz and her many dogs welcomed us. It was a very pleasant day, cool but nice. There was a lot of smog or haze in the air that you can see in the distance. I added some streaks of Amazonite to the Cobalt+Ultramarine blue water for the greenish color. The sky is a Cobalt Blue wash. I started with wet paper above the horizon. Then I used a weak wash of permanent orange where the background hill is and let it go up into the sky area. Then I started at the top and came down with the cobalt wash almost fading to plane water just before meeting the orange. I left out the many other boats to the left and right of this view.

Larry Hatfield

Monday, November 30

We return to the Pt. San Pablo Yacht Harbor in Point Molate using the same caravan method. Bring a cell phone and your own water. Park in the area labeled for visitors. There are bathrooms on the premises.

Directions: We will meet at the beginning of the road, form a caravan, leave by 10:15 and drive together to the yacht harbor. Take 580 going north. Right before the entryway onto the San Rafael Richmond Bridge, take the Pt. Molate exit to the right. Continue on, and you will see that the road branches to the right and left. Stay in the middle and continue on. After you have driven several hundred yards, there will be a wide gravelly shoulder where Rebeca and Vicki will park and greet people as they arrive. We will proceed en masse to Pt. San Pablo.

If you arrive late, stay on this same road, which follows the bay with magnificent views. Not far past a pond, you will come to a fork in the road. Bear right and go up a badly pot-holed road, which goes up and down a hill leading to the Pt. San Pablo Yacht Harbor. When you arrive at the Yacht Harbor, park in the area reserved for visitors alongside the train tracks, and call your fellow painters' cell phones if you do not see them right away.

Point Molate


Point Molate is run down and quirky. It feels isolated and there is a definite edge in the air. I wanted to find a subject that captured some of the feeling of the place. This is acrylic on a 16 by 20 canvas. I used my extra long brushes and it let me get back and not focus on details. After I packed up I decided to redo the sky and distance. I went over it with water and dissolved some of the forms and went back in with gel and some color. Karen

Deep in Redwood Park


I remember Redwood park as deep dark greens. It felt rugged and far away even though it was in the middle of Oakland. It was very cold in the shade. I painted quickly and revised numerous times to eliminate detail.

Point Molate Whaling Station


All that is left are some rotting posts of the pier of the old whaling station. We were at the San Pablo Yacht Club looking West. Leslie Wilson and I did pretty much the same scene in two different styles. I like her sky and the way she colors into the hillside. The sun was lower that summer so it wasn't too bad painting with no shade this time. The paint dried faster than I expected and I didn't get the hazy atmosphere behind the distant hills in Marin County. When I got home, I felt like I needed some reflections in the water, but I didn't actually see any at the time. Getting there was a challenge on that road. Its potholes were patched so soften there were more patches than road. It was very bumpy and narrow. You definitely wouldn't want to drive it at night after a couple of drinks.

Our Two Year Anniversary

Our group has experienced an influx of new people so I thought I should write a short history of its origins, in celebration of our two year aniversary on November 28.

Susan Brand, Susan Newman, Karen Zullo Sherr, Barbara Maricle, Mike Warner and Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez met at the figure drawing class that the Richmond Art Center then offered. Their first session was inspired by an invitation from Mike Warner to continue drawing and painting during the Richmond Art Center's winter break. He offered his shop in El Sobrante as our first location. Rebeca created the listserv, a Google group then called West Contra Costa Figure Drawing, on November 15, 2007. It was meant to keep everyone in the loop as they figured out how to keep the sessions going.

Back then, the group was primarily interested in painting the figure, so on November 28, 2007, they met to draw each other - they had no model! The second session took place at Rebeca's studio, and the third, at Karen's. The group hired amateurs until it was able to secure an account with the Bay Area Models' Guild. But the guild booking person at the time thought that sending models to rotating locations would be confusing, so Rebeca offered her studio as the primary location until the start of RAC classes. Soon after, Karen and Rebeca decided a three hour pose was not such a bad idea, so they began scheduling models with this in mind (as opposed to the 20 min poses at the RAC).

After a few weeks of this, they began discussing ways to make the volunteer-run environment welcoming and supportive, and settled for a few principles that are still part of both groups: Membership involved neither fees nor a portfolio review, just a commitment to painting, because they wanted members to have diverse approaches and levels of experience. Through a non-teaching environment, they wanted to encourage and support the development of members’ individual styles, believing this diversity contributes to a developing critical dialogue. And they encouraged members to share their knowledge of online communication, digital image processing, and the art market through free member workshops and joint projects.

At the same time, Karen and Rebeca began painting outdoors together. Their first session took place in 2007 on a very cold Tuesday. On January 8, 2008 they went to Inspiration Point in Berkeley, and they almost froze! They returned there the following week, but did not develop a steady routine until later. For a few months, it was mostly just them and a schedule that moved between Tuesdays and Mondays. From the beginning, they thought about painting on weekends but a busy family schedule made this difficult. Ever so slowly, they began meeting painters who had these days available, and who were very committed to painting outdoors. Mike found Larry Hatfield painting near his house in El Sobrante, and Karen brought Vicki Salzman. They were added to the proto-listserv, which was then open to anyone who wanted to join and held the names of those interested in figure or outdoor painting.

On February 2009 (fourteen months after its start)the listserv was vandalized for the second time and Rebeca was forced to close it, delete it, and start a new one with a new name: East Bay Plein Air. This list continued to include people from both groups until August 2009.

The first blog was devoted to plein air painting, and made its debut in May 4, 2009. Rebeca wanted to have a public space in which to announce locations, since the listserv was no longer open to the public. She also envisioned it as a collaborative space where members could post work done during the group's painting sessions. It quickly gained a big readership because it is updated frequently with members' work. The group also began advertising on Craigslist and on Facebook. Because of this the listserv has also grown, and now sends updates to 42 local artists. East Bay Plein Air sessions now meet twice a week, with anywhere from six to nine painters attending at any one time.

For more than a year since its beginning, the figure drawing group continued meeting in Rebeca's small studio, which held a maximum of five painters. Karen and Rebeca shared the booking and coordination, and quickly discovered that a small group of drop-ins cannot always afford the model's fees, so they decided to seek a more spacious location in the spring of 2009. This was the Richmond Art Center at first, but because the center was undergoing a renovation, it was very difficult to stay. This prompted Karen to broker an arrangement with the members of Berkeley's Firehouse Collective during that summer, and to think up a new name. By August, Rebeca introduced a blog and a separate listserv for this group, and Karen took over the booking and coordination. The group, now named East Bay Figure Painting, began advertising almost immediately on Craiglist and other venues, to ensure they could cover the model's fees in the new location. The Berkeley location has attracted a steady group of about seven painters, and they have achieved a supportive environment respectful of diversity in artistic approaches.

During the fall of 2009 and as a group of long-time members contemplated exhibit opportunities, Karen and Rebeca held discussions on the direction in which these two groups should go. They decided to keep the two groups together as a collaborative network, Re-Emerging Artists. Its mission is to facilitate the re-entry of mature artists into the art world, so now the groups' interactions are centered on supporting clusters of re-emerging artists.

All comments are welcome!
Rebeca

Monday, November 23

We will be going to the Pt. San Pablo Yacht Harbor in Point Molate. It might be a good idea to bring a cell phone, and your own water. Because we will paint at the yacht harbor, it is important that we arrive together. We will meet at the beginning of the road, form a caravan, leave by 10:15 and drive together to the yacht harbor. These are Vicki's directions:

Take 580 going north. Right before the entryway onto the San Rafael Richmond Bridge, take the Pt. Molate exit to the right. Continue on, and you will see that the road branches to the right and left. Stay in the middle and continue on. After you have driven several hundred yards, there will be a wide gravelly shoulder where Rebeca and Vicki will park and greet people as they arrive. We will proceed en masse to Pt. San Pablo.

If you are late: Should any painters arrive really late and we have already gone, stay on this same road, which follows the bay with magnificent views.
Not far past a pond, you will come to a fork in the road. Bear right and go up a badly pot-holed road, which goes up and down a hill leading to the Pt. San Pablo Yacht Harbor. When you arrive at the Yacht Harbor, park in the area reserved for visitors alongside the train tracks, and call your fellow painters' cell phones if you do not see them right away.

Roberts Recreational Area


The Grand View. The view of Mount Diablo from Roberts Recreational Area in Redwood Regional Park. We all got cold today. Its time to unpack the long underwear. We were near the historical marker of where the giant Redwoods were that sailors used to navigate past some hidden rocks near Yerba Buena Island in the San Francisco Bay. That is before they cut them down, probably to help build the houses and buildings in San Francisco and other cities.

It felt good to get out and paint again. Its been over a week since I was able to get out and do it.
Larry Hatfield

A Street Overlooking the Strait


I had to leave early the day I did this in Crockett and had planned to take a picture but forgot my camera so I worked on it from memory.

Color at Briones


I liked Briones and did this one looking through the trees at the resevoir. I got a good mix of transparancy, and impasto that creates a pattern I like.

Saturday, November 21

A big thanks to Larry, who will lead Saturday's group into the Roberts Regional Recreation Area, a part of Redwood Regional Park. Larry has scouted the place. The best views are past the paying area, therefore, please bring $5 for the vehicle fee charged by the Regional Park system.

Directions from the northeast bay:
Take Hwy. 13 South from Berkeley toward Hayward. Exit Joaquin Miller & Lincoln which is where the Mormon temple is. Turn Left to cross over the Freeway and stay on Joaquin Miller. Follow the Blue signs to Chabot Space & Science Center. You will turn left onto Skyline Blvd. The Roberts Rec. Area entrance will be about a half mile before the Chabot Space and Science Center. The entrance is on the right. Let's meet in the lower parking area that overlooks a playing field. There are some short walks to vista points from there.

Monday, November 16

We return to the Overlook Staging Area in the Briones Reservoir. Click here for a map. This staging area has a bathroom but no water, so bring your own. The sign for the parking lot where we will meet is located to your left, farther inside, if you are coming from San Pablo Dam Road. The Briones Reservoir watershed is not open to the public. You can get fined without a permit. Vicki, the leader for this trip, will bring an EBMUD permit that covers a small group. Thanks Vicki!

Directions from Berkeley, Albany: Cross Grissly Peak to go east on Wildcat Canyon Rd. Cross Tilden, pass Inspiration Point, and continue downhill all the way to San Pablo Dam Rd, which you will cross into Bear Creek Rd. The road curves and goes uphill. Just after the electrical towers, watch your left for the small brown sign on your left that marks the staging area parking lot.

Directions from Oakland: Take Highway 24 and get off at the Orinda Village exit. Continue northwest on Camino Pablo, which turns into San Pablo Dam Rd. Just before that happens, turn right at the light, on Bear Creek Rd. Bear Creek Road curves and goes uphill. Just after the electrical towers, watch your left for the small brown sign on your left that marks the staging area parking lot.

Directions from Richmond, El Sob, El Cerrito, Pinole: Go south on San Pablo Dam Road. Pass the San Pablo Reservoir entrances. At the traffic light, turn left on Bear Creek Rd. The road curves and goes uphill. Just after the electrical towers, watch your left for the small brown sign that marks the staging area's parking lot.

Bay Street, Crockett


This 18 x 24" acrylic on canvas has an interesting story. Karen, Annette and I drove up the streets of Crockett looking for a view of the strait, and ended up at Bay St. I walked up and down that steep street until I found a view of the bridges and the C & H plant, but once I had set up I noticed that right in front of me was a view of something I love: cars. Manicured places and objects have never held my interest the way deteriorated stuff does, so I pretended I was painting the strait, but I was painting the house directly in front of me. Its inhabitants were going in and out but never once said hello, so I took that as a clue that perhaps a second visit wasn't in the stars. The boat's owner, I overhead, was leaving the following day for Colorado, so I took a cell phone camera picture and left at 1 pm. I got home with just an underpainting and some quick color notations. The challenge was to finish the painting maintaining the color scheme I had seen. I also wanted to preserve the detail I could have noticed while standing in front of the house, but all I had was my memory and a cell phone pic as references. So the brushstrokes aren't as loose as my other work, but I think the colors came out ok. Rebeca

Saturday, November 14

At this time of the year, the marshes are turning red, which is why we return to Point Pinole Regional Park to paint the Parchester Marsh on the western side of the park. Thanks, Karen Zullo Sherr, for leading this trip! Click here for a trail map. Getting to the northern edge of the Parchester Marsh is a much shorter walk than to the Whittel Marsh, but it will still take you about ten minutes, and the path is level but not always paved. We meet at the parking lot, where there is water and bathrooms. If the ranger is there, they will charge you for entering the park, so bring at least $5. just in case.

Directions from 80: Take the Richmond Parkway exit and turn west toward the water. Stay on the center lane so you can continue past San Pablo Ave without turning. Once you pass San Pablo Ave, watch for the Giant Rd exit. Take the Giant Rd exit ramp, make a right at the light and go downhill. Make another right at the light and cross the railroad tracks. Continue on Giant Rd past the Parchester Village development on your left. The park's entrance will be on your left.

Meeker Slough Pier

My preconceived idea was to paint the broken down pier. A photo that I saw online showed a small building at the end, but that was gone. As I was on the path near the pier, I realized that the sun would be right in my eyes soon, so I went back to this view. It had the advantage of a small spot of shade also. I had composed the painting with Albany Hill and the Berkeley hills in the background. Then the sun seemed to light up that middle-ground marshy area and I knew I had to try to capture that. The reeds nearest me were more dry dull. The pier became less important. I was trying to keep an area white that was a bird on the post at the end of the pier, but I accidentally painted over it. I think I'll crop some off the sky because there is some sort of blotch in the middle top that appeared and I don't know what caused it.

Larry Hatfield

Condos at Meeker Slough


I like the combination of habitats at Meeker Slough both human and wildlife and wanted to focus on the condos for this painting. I stopped early because I am trying to do more with less so I felt it was done. The water was starting to fill in the marsh area where I was painting so that stopped me as well. It is acrylic on a 16" by 20" canvas. Karen

Meeker Slough


I loved the Meeker Slough and might return on my own another day. There is a lot to paint if you factor in the tide levels. I returned to the same spot this Saturday, hoping to finish the parts of this view closer to me, but found the tide to be opposite to what it was last Saturday. It was high and getting higher! I finished this painting from memory and from the little bits above the waterline I could still see. The 18 x 24" canvas was a better size to work on. In the meantime, I painted the view to my left of the rapidly flooding slough on a smaller canvas, but one stretcher bar was broken and the canvas was not taut, adding a new dimension to my misery. There were coots and I struggled to add them to the water, with disastrous results. I am hoping to salvage this second painting and I might post it this week. Rebeca

Monday, November 9

Monday folks will paint at the Overlook Staging Area in the Briones Reservoir. Click here for a map. This staging area has a bathroom but no water. You would have to wade through mud in many areas to get to the water, so bring your own. The parking lot where we will meet is located to your left if you are coming from San Pablo Dam Road.

The Briones Reservoir watershed is not open to the public. You can get fined without a permit. Rebeca will bring an EBMUD permit that covers a small group, so you don't need a permit this week. Since she will not be coming next week, at least one person in the group should bring a permit. Anyone can buy an EBMUD permit online for $10 per year.

Directions from Berkeley, Albany: Cross Grissly Peak to go east on Wildcat Canyon Rd. Cross Tilden, pass Inspiration Point, and continue downhill all the way to San Pablo Dam Rd, which you will cross into Bear Creek Rd. The road curves and goes uphill. Just after the electrical towers, watch your left for the small brown sign on your left that marks the staging area parking lot.

Directions from Oakland: Take Highway 24 and get off at the Orinda Village exit. Continue northwest on Camino Pablo, which turns into San Pablo Dam Rd. Just before that happens, turn right at the light, on Bear Creek Rd. Bear Creek Road curves and goes uphill. Just after the electrical towers, watch your left for the small brown sign on your left that marks the staging area parking lot.

Directions from Richmond, El Sob, El Cerrito, Pinole: Go south on San Pablo Dam Road. Pass the San Pablo Reservoir entrances. At the traffic light, turn left on Bear Creek Rd. The road curves and goes uphill. Just after the electrical towers, watch your left for the small brown sign that marks the staging area's parking lot.

Saturday, November 7

We return to Meeker Slough which is where Meeker Creek meets the bay. There is a marsh, a beach, benches and a bridge crossing the creek, but no trees (bring a big hat). The place turned out to be lively, with joggers, cyclists and passersby. We will meet at the parking lot of Shimada Friendship Park, which has plenty of spaces, bathrooms and water, and walk about ten minutes along the Bay Trail to the Meeker Slough. Those of you who don't want to paint a marsh will find the nearby marina tempting.

Directions from North of Berkeley: From 80, take the Cutting exit and go west towards the water and through Richmond. On Cutting, make a left on Marina Way and a right on Regatta Dr. Make a right on Marina Bay Parkway and at the very end you will see Shimada Friendship Park and the bay.

Directions from South of Berkeley: Get on highway 580 and take the Erlandson St/Syndicate Ave Exit (10B), Make a right off the ramp, and the Erlandson/Syndicate will take you over 580 and will turn into Regatta Blvd. Continue on Regatta/Syndicate. This avenue will turn left. You'll soon see a fork that hits Marina Bay Parkway. Make a left on Marina Bay Parkway. You will see a park in front of you, but that's not Shimada. Go all the way to the end of Marina Bay Parkway and at the very end you will see Shimada Friendship Park and the bay.

Crockett

I think there were too many unhappy ghosts after Halloween. We all seemed to have a difficult time painting today. I tried to save this one, but I am not happy with it at all. The big eucalyptus tree was too dark, so I tried to lift the color, now its lighter but looks scrubbed. I cropped it quite a bit to focus more on the building. That is what I wanted to paint. There is no roof, and I wanted to get the glow of sunlight inside. That is about the only thing that did work on this painting. I darkened the tree behind the building and darkened the foreground grass in hopes of making the sunlit building the most contrasty thing. The yellow tree kind of competes, it was going to be more yellow-green, but I left it.

Larry Hatfield

Meeker Slough


I tried another bird. The birds at Meeker Slough were so varied and beautiful that I couldn't help myself. After I had blocked out my painting all the birds had flown off. Suddenly a flash of white appeared before me and I threw some white paint down in the general shape of the big egret. The bird stayed for only a minute but I kept it in the painting. Meeker Slough is a great place to paint in. Many different views and choices and the light in the afternoon is stunning. Karen

Monday, November 2

We return to Crockett again this Monday. Last Monday we enjoyed the variety of views possible (urban, water, hills)by dividing into smaller groups, but remember to go with at least one other person. We will meet at Rebeca's studio (749 Loring Ave) and then walk or drive to various places around town. Click here for a map and directions if you live in Oakland, Berkeley, El Sobrante or San Pablo.