Jana and Gerry Near Port Costa

I walked around for half an hour looking for a nice view of the twisty roads on this extremely hot day. We were on top of a hill and so I was already overheated when I sat down to paint Jana, who had a reflective umbrella and had brought water. Gerry was even smarter and hid behind a small tree. They weren't so close together. Just looking at Gerry required moving my whole setup about 15 yards up the hill, but I wanted to do something different. Towards the end the heat was too much and I had to leave. I was glad I brought oils and not acrylics, and I was happy with my new cadmium red light, which produced such great, glowing oranges.

Above Port Costa

I was frustrated by the heat and fast drying time for the watercolor paint. I took it home and did some reworking on the trees in the middle and a few other places added shadows.

Above Port Costa
This is about 10x14 Watercolor




The second painting was of the hills above the Carquinez Scenic Drive. I was so frustrated with the first painting I tried a second one with a huge brush that I just bought. I did it in about 20 m in. But then did some more work on it at home.

10x14 Watercolor

Larry Hatfield

Above Port Costa Church

Marilyn and I went to Port Costa. I think it was Feb. 20th. We went up on the hills above the town. I painted the church from there, but didn't finish it. I got sick the next day and just got around to finishing it. I was sitting in the sun and the paint was drying too fast. That was a bigger problem because I was using a half sheet on a board. A vertical half sheet is a handful without an easel. I thought the roof of the spire was too dull. So I glazed perinone orange lightly over it, and it seemed to help. I also boosted the contrast in the trees and finished the far shore of the Carquinez Strait. The painting is about 14x20 as shown.
Larry Hatfield

Pink Truck at Port Costa

The shapes and colors at Port Costa are interesting. I loved the deep colors in the shadows and the greys in the sky and parking lot. I did a lot of color mixing directly on the canvas in this 18 by 24 acrylic. Karen

Sparky's Garage, Port Costa

After I finished this, I thought I should have done it as a horizontal painting since I was fascinated by the windows and planters below. The perspective on the Victorian windows above were a bit of a challenge since they were going at odd angles. However the yellow patch at the top may add some compositional interest and a relief from the busy windows.... The weather in the morning was sunny, then cloudy so I decided on just grey — in my continued exploration of black and grey. Both the items behind the windows plus it's reflection was really the center of my exploration in this painting.

Marilyn Hill
Watercolor
14 X 11"

Art and Monster Trucks at Port Costa

Okay, they were irresistible. Not the trucks themselves, but their reflection on the parking lot's deep puddles of dirty water. Karen and I noticed them at the same time and decided to paint them, but I had a square 20 x 20" canvas and had to make the composition work. I jumped on my truck bed and found it gave me a good view of the puddles. I also became an unwitting participant of the hotel's gossip from this vantage point. Just when I thought I was going to spend a wonderful half hour rendering the pink truck, a man who was going fishing parked a big 350 Ford right in front of the pink art truck. I promptly got off my platform to beg the good man to move it, and he obliged (thank you!). Karen got a good laugh from the whole episode, which she watched from a far corner of the lot. I ended up moving the bare mossy tree to the left, because it was sitting right in between the two trucks, but I left the rest pretty much the same way it looked. Rebeca Garcia-Gonzalez

Waterfront Port Costa

I wanted to do some detail this time not a building or scene. After walking around, I found some rocks and old pier pilings that I thought were suitable. I changed the color of the water because it was not very attractive. I couldn't see much color in it, just a dirty brown. There were some interesting bubble patterns. I tried to use a wax candle for that, but it was only partly successful. At first I couldn't see it at all, then later after 2-3 washes it began to show up. If I do this again, I think I will make it even simpler. It might be interesting to see it in very strong sunlight.

Larry Hatfield
Watercolor
9.5x13.5"

Yellow Building at Port Costa

Port Costa has many things that I find interesting to paint. I love the hills nearby also. I had a great view across the parking lot and could watch the people coming and going. Having the buildings and the hills beyond and the cars in front let me play with shapes and colors until I liked the balance of abstract and representation. It is a 18 by 24 acrylic on canvas. Karen

Bull Valley Inn - Port Costa

I was going to just focus on the sign and the windows near it, then this guy sat down on the bench and I stretched out the composition to include him. This is the first time in 2 years that I included a person in my plein air painting. I came away feeling that I had made it more complicated than I wanted to. I also had to crop it a little since I tend to make the vertical lines lean to the left when I am drawing. I did it again. I have been playing around with some new brushes and so some of the brushwork is uncertain as I try different things. I used a 2" angled flat brush for the underpainting of cobalt & Ultramarine blue on the left background and perm. orange for the building in sun. I left the white for the sign and the guy's hair white.

Larry Hatfield

Port Costa Train Tracks

Sometimes the challenge is to paint the ordinary. I was interested in the pooling water near the tracks and walked away from the fence opening until I found a good view of them. I was also challenged by the many greys, purples and greens on this hazy day with no direct sunlight. The problem was that I brought my dog with me and this did not let me concentrate very well. I think I needed more contrast, and I never did the puddles the way I wanted. I still like the idea, maybe I will try again next week. Rebeca

Port Costa

I painted this scene in Port Costa on Thursday. It was a beautiful sunny day. There are some wonderful buildings and good stuff to paint. The town was practically empty. Restrooms are scarce to nonexistent, so you can use the one located before coming to Port Costa at the Crockett Hills Regional Park (we painted there before- on top of the hill) or roughing it is always a possibility. The cafes are only open sporadically. There is only one large parking lot at the end of Canyon Lake, so not hard to find. Hopefully it won't rain.

Marilyn