Saturday, July 3

We will meet in the middle of Point Richmond. There is a Starbucks in town. Let's meet there before heading into various spots surrounding the town's center. Unlike previous visits to Point Richmond, we will not be going to the Miller Knox Regional Park by Keller Beach. Instead, we will place a more urban focus on our work. We will depend on the bathrooms at some merchants. Bring your own water and a cell phone.

Directions: From Berkeley, take 580 towards Marin and get off at Gerrard. Get off on Castro St exit and make a left on Castro Street. Go under the freeway and you will end up on Tewksbury Ave. Make a left on Tewksbury and continue along the freeway until you hit Washington Ave. Make a right on Washington and go to the small plaza with a statue. The road forks. Stay on your left and park anywhere you see a spot. You should see the Starbucks to your left.

From elsewhere, just take Richmond Parkway west all the way past the dump, and get off toward the end, on Castro St. North. Follow the same instructions as above once you get to Tewksbury Ave.
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Inspiration Point, EBMUD Trail

Betsy and I were the only ones on this World Cup Saturday. Luckily for us, it was not very hot. She set up shop in the middle of this path but I did not paint her. The challenge of this painting is that I've been wanting to do different subject matter. Maybe next time. This 20 x 20" oil was done entirely with a spatula.

Belated Wildcat Creek (down Rifle Range)

I started this painting 18 months ago, but was not able to finish it right away because of its size (30 x 40"), and the difficulty of getting to the spot I chose to paint. The trail at the end of Rifle Range is a long half mile down a steep hill crossed by Wildcat Creek. Then you go uphill for a while in order to see this view. I was carrying at least 30 pounds of gear and on hot days (I finished after three visits) I felt like my heart would come out of my chest. I revised a little at home.

Reflecting Pool at Blake Garden

I sat atop twin staircases that led up a hill, turned around and saw his view. This was an 18 x 18" canvas. I used oils. The photo isn't great, but I am behind in my posting.

Blake Garden House

I had the house on my mind before getting there, so I tried to do something with it. I lost the brightest value in the small palm tree. Once I put the light green on there, it was gone. I might have tried to leave some white, or darkened the wall behind it, but I just left it for now.

Larry Hatfield
9x14 watercolor

I posted this earlier but it went somewhere else???

The Bay from Blake Garden

This painting was a struggle to work on after my easel broke and I had to work on the ground. The colors developed in a way I liked but in the end I lost some of the  composition and may work on it from memory.

I like Blake Garden but never get a painting i like there. This is a 15 by 30 acrylic on canvas.  Karen

Monday, June 28

We return to the Blake Garden off North Arlington Rd. The address is 70 Rincon Rd. We will meet in the parking lot. If you are coming from El Sobrante, Richmond or El Cerrito, turn right at Rincon Road. From Berkeley it is a left from North Arlington. Watch carefully for the inconspicuous entrance and sign on Rincon Rd.

Saturday, June 26

We return to Inspiration Point at the Tilden Park in Berkeley. Bring sunscreen, your cell phone, drinking water and a chair. There are restrooms. We will meet in the parking lot's middle area, under the shade of the Monterrey pines. Please RSVP Rebeca if you're coming.

Directions: The park is located in the Berkeley hills just north of Highway 24--take the Fish Ranch Road exit east of the Caldecott Tunnel, drive uphill, and turn right at Grizzly Peak Blvd. From Grizzly Peak, you will pass the Lomas Cantadas Steam Trains entrance, the South Park Drive entrance, the Golf Course Road entrance, and the the Shasta Road entrance. Or, enter the park from its west side in Berkeley from Canon Drive where Wildcat Canyon Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard intersect. Or, you can also enter the park on its east side from Wildcat Canyon Road off San Pablo Dam Road just north of Orinda Village (take the Orinda exit off Highway 24 east of the Caldecott Tunnel).

inspiration Point and Blake Gardens

Inspiration Point 

Blake Gardens

I am behind in posting.  I was reminded at Inspiration Point about how much I like to look at the hills in California in the summer. I think we should find a place near Mt Diablo to paint  soon.  And Blake gardens is a very comfortable place to paint but also very difficult because it is so inclosed. It takes some thought to find a structure for the composition for me.

Blake Garden, Kensington

Beautiful garden with lots of wonderful compositions, I found it hard to choose what to paint. I'm getting very interested in shadows and their colors and so opted to study a group of trees providing a shady arch over a path. The trees threw a wonderful dappled light that moved and changed as the morning progressed. I'm now reading up about color theory and going back to Blake Garden again soon.

Monday, June 21

This sunny Monday we will meet at the parking lot of the Blake Garden. We had a delightful time last year, painting among the visitors and gardeners. The shady areas are very shady, and the sunny ones are quite sunny, so bring a hat and your own drinking water. There is ample parking, restrooms and shady areas. The Blake Garden is located at 70 Rincon Road in Kensington, and their phone is (510) 524-2449. If you are coming from El Sobrante, Richmond or El Cerrito, turn right at Rincon Road. From Berkeley it is a left from North Arlington. Watch carefully for the inconspicuous entrance and sign on Rincon Rd.

Saturday, June 19

We will be visiting Inspiration Point at the Tilden Park in Berkeley. Parking is tricky because the small lot fills up by 10:00 am, but you can still park on the side of the road near it. Bring sunscreen, your cell phone, drinking water and a chair. There are restrooms. We will meet in the parking lot's middle area, under the shade of the Monterrey pines. Please RSVP if you're coming.

Directions: The park is located in the Berkeley hills just north of Highway 24--take the Fish Ranch Road exit east of the Caldecott Tunnel, drive uphill, and turn right at Grizzly Peak Blvd. From Grizzly Peak, you will pass the Lomas Cantadas Steam Trains entrance, the South Park Drive entrance, the Golf Course Road entrance, and the the Shasta Road entrance. Or, enter the park from its west side in Berkeley from Canon Drive where Wildcat Canyon Road and Grizzly Peak Boulevard intersect. Or, you can also enter the park on its east side from Wildcat Canyon Road off San Pablo Dam Road just north of Orinda Village (take the Orinda exit off Highway 24 east of the Caldecott Tunnel). 

Saturday, June 12

We will not have a painting session this Saturday because most of the regulars who could be there to wecome new people will be busy with Open Studios. We will reconvene next Saturday, June 19 on Channel St and 4th in San Francisco.

Monday, June 7, 2010

We return to Mare Island now that the weather is better. You can find a map here.
Directions: Go north on I-80 until the I-780 exit. Don't take 780, but as you exit stay on the frontage road until the second exit. Go west onto Curtola Way. Take Curtola until you get to the water. The road bends to the right and becomes Mare Island Way. Stay on that until you see the Mare Island Causeway (the bridge). Once across the causeway, turn left onto Railroad Ave. The first turn is Nimitz, then Railroad near the end of the causeway. About a block and a half or two there is a street named "Pintado" with an empty parking area to your right. The small sign is blue. We don't know of any public bathrooms on the island. Bring your own water, and your cell phone in case we miss each other.

Open Studios this Weekend June 5-6

Some of our members have Open Studios this weekend. Support Pro Arts and 413 other East Bay artists by visiting. Take a look at the 2010 artist directory, which has maps. Karen Zullo Sherr, Fran Osborne and Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez will be showing recent work from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.