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.