In and around Berkeley.

Karen pointed out today that it's been a long time since we posted to this site. Boy is she right!


One of my goals for the past year has been to learn to feel comfortable painting in a small format. I have a bias toward larger scale, because it allows for ample movement of my brush, and shows off gesture so beautifully. I wanted to create paintings with a physical presence in spite of their small size.

It has taken quite a bit of time to work toward this goal.

Betsy Kendall, Trail Crossing, at Urban Ore , 18" square, Oil.

Trail Crossing goes back to last year's outing at our local construction junkyard. The yard is surrounded by interesting construction supply businesses and warehouses. Plus you can see the hills to the east.

 Betsy Kendall, Tilden Trees, 16" square, oil.

We all tried various views of Tilden Park from a rise in a popular dog-walk trail. Lots of pines and redwoods give way to a view of golden grass and ridgetop trees. Interesting changeable light, and some stressed conifers turning red-brown in bits made it interesting.

Betsy Kendall, Gateway, University Village, 18" square, oil.

Gateway was one of three I tried at the end of 6th Street in Berkeley, where a park marks a "daylighted"creek, and international families stroll in and out to the University's student housing. Albany Hill is seen in the distance.

I was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, and everyone was very friendly and curious. I also saw a Belted Kingfisher perched above the little creek (behind me in this painting), looking for fish in this new hunting-ground.

Only Anytime, 16" square

Only Anytime was from one of the group's trips to the Berkeley waterfront park, near a lagoon where people row. Lots of parking restrictions! But trees and greenery, and wading birds, too.

Lake Anza, Berkeley

Lake Anza, Oil on canvas, 18 x 24"

I took my mom to Lake Anza. Ever since my last visit I have wanted to return to work in oil, so that's what I did. My mom sat down to read while I tried to capture this spot with a palette knife. I revised a bit in the studio. I still want to return and do another one.

Blake Garden

Blake Gardens- Challenge #4
2 color/complementary-watercolor winsor yellow and winsor purple

Sharon Hind-Smith sent this jpeg of her painting done at Blake Gardens recently.  It is a featured painting on the website of  Plein Air Artists.  She has been working on a series of challenges they have posted on their website.

Painting at Lake Anza

Lake Anza #2   acrylic on 22 by 28

I almost cancelled todays session because of the heavy fog but decided to go after all. It was foggy all the way to the park but once inside the fog was gone and there was even sun.  The lake was glistening.  I did this painting last week  at the lake and have been working on it in the studio.   Karen

Ninth Street Corner

This is the painting I was doing in the photo  (see the post titled "Painting in Berkeley").  It was a windy day, but we were in the shelter of a tall warm wall.  Hooray!  I used a photo to record the windblown clouds for later work in the studio.
30" x 40" oil on canvas.   Betsy Kendall

House at 8th and Page, Berkeley

I sat on the back of my car and painted this one week when there was a break in the rain.  oil on canvas 18" x 24"

  Betsy Kendall

9th Street in Berkeley

The group met at Harrison Park and decided to revisit the location at Camelia and the Ninth Street. On 9th St. looking to the South, the interesting shape of the building drew my attention. In the painting,  the foreground on the right was very empty.  I painted the sign on the road which leaded me to add the figure to the painting.  I hoped it helped to balance the composition. This was done with oil on a 12 by 16 gesso board."   Philip Ng

Camelia and 9th Street

It was nice to meet and paint with the fellow landscape artists.  This was a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. The location was at the corner of Camelia  and 9th Street in Berkeley. The painting was done with acrylic.  I emphasized the light on the sidewalk and tried to make the mailbox look more interesting.  The size of the painting was 9" x 12" canvas panel.      Philip Ng

Berkeley Adventure and Oriental Rug Co.

I headed down to the Berkeley Marina Saturday morning but unluckily for me I had inadverantly left my headlights on and when it came time to join the EBLP, I was waiting for the AAA truck. I amused myself while waiting by watching the local kids flying their kites nearby.
After my car was charged up ( by driving to have lunch at El Pollo Loco-yum!) I headed over to 9th and Camelia Street where the East Bay Landscape Painters were gathered. I was able to park a short distance down the street and captured this view of the Oriental Rug Company.  A fun end to an adventurersome day!  "Oriental Rug Company" 12" x18" pastel on black paper.    Janice Lopez

Below San Pablo in Berkeley

We have been painting below San Pablo in Berkeley. There are a lot of intersting streets with a mixture of small cottages and light industry and we have just begun to explore the possiblities. This is a 24 by 30 acrylic done at the corner of Camelia and 8th Street.  We are going to go there again this Saturday.

Karen

Boynton St., Berkeley

The narrow Boynton St. snakes its way through the Berkeley hills, leaving little space for neighbors to park their cars. We had to set up shop on the sidewalk. Others tried the stairs leading from Maryland to Boynton, striving to capture a view of the bay. This was a smaller oil, 16 x 20." I used a lot of stand oil to work faster than usual, since I had challenged myself to get all nine cars in this painting. I worked from the background towards the foreground, from the more distant cars to the closest ones. By the time I got to the Volvo in the foreground, I was tired.

Figure and Landscape Show in Berkeley

I want to thank all the landscape painters and blog followers  that were able to get to my opening at the Firehouse North Gallery in Berkeley on Friday night.The show included some of the urban landscapes done in this group including this one from near Urban Ore in West Berkeley that I don't think I ever posted and some from Tormey that I know were posted on this site late last summer.

You can see some pictures from the opening on the  Firehouse North Blog as well as see the schedule of when the gallery is open in case you have a chance to get there and see the show.  I enjoyed it but am glad it is over and eager to get back to painting.

Karen

Monday, November 1

We will meet at Indian Rock Park in Berkeley.  If you pack light to sketch or work in watercolors you can climb the rocks and get stunning views.  There are also place to set up an easel. The rocks themselves are pretty dramatic.

From 80 take the Albany exit and follow Buchanan across San Pablo where it becomes Marin. Take Marin all the way to the Circle.  Go around the Circle and bear right on Indian Rock.  The park is on the left.

You can also come from San Pablo or Richmond on the Arlington. Go all the way to the Circle and go around an bear right onto Indian Rock.           There are no bathrooms.

Cement Plant on Virginia St, Berkeley

Fran, Marilyn, Karen and I converged on a cold and overcast Thursday morning to paint around this block flanked by the train tracks. I had bought a new color, the obscenely expensive cadmium red light, and decided I was going to use it. Several people in various deteriorating mental states stopped to offer their ideas about art, which was refreshing.

2nd street, Berkeley,

Two paintings of the concrete plant at 2nd and Virginia/Cedar.

The first was from Thursday morning when the marine layer was thick and the whole atmosphere a little eerie and quiet. Quite a bit of touching up in the studio afterwards. The second from a hot Saturday afternoon. In the second painting I found a place out of the wind and with a different view of the concrete plant. After struggling with the composition, I decided to forget about the ubiquitous chain link fence and slap the color on with joy and abandon. Really enjoyed painting on this Saturday and the peace and quiet in this part of Berkeley.

Both are:
Oil on canvas
16 x 20 inches

Two Views of the Same Block in Berkeley

I went for consecutive Saturdays and ended up painting at the same location. I like the big (18 x 24") cement plant oil, done mostly with a palette knife on canvas. But I don't like the truck oil as much, done with brush on masonite. Still, the important thing is to get out there and paint, even if you hate the results. At least you are doing something you love and not sitting at home wishing you were painting.

Cement Plant Berkeley

I thought I was the only one painting Saturday, but I see Karen was somewhere in the neighborhood. I just sat where Rebeca was the week before and decided to do this cement plant tower thing. It was kind of fun trying to simplify it. And I gave it some more intense color, its pretty dull as is.

Larry Hatfield
10.3 x 14.25 Watercolor

Crystal Amber Sand

After being on the freeway 3 times longer than anticipated, I had to search around and calm down to be able to paint. I saw this Sand company building. I looks like an elevator and chute to fill trucks with sand. There was a big ugly truck in front that I left out because I got such a late start. I wanted to keep it simple.

Larry Hatfield
10x14 Watercolor

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.

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.