Sausal Creek

This was a new location for me. I hiked along a path and crossed a road where I saw the name of the creek. I came back near the building where all the kids were playing at Dimond Park. Usually, when I try to paint water, I wet the paper first. However, this time I didn't. The green reflection was so bright that I didn' t want to loose that. I painted that first after the top third, then put in the darks, then the rocks.

Larry Hatfield
10x15" watercolor

Saturday, May 8

We return to Dimond Park, Oakland, home of vast green areas, conifer groves and a beautiful creek. There are bathrooms and water available. The city of Oakland does not publish directions to Dimond Park , but click on the name for a map. The address is 3860 Hanly Rd, Oakland, CA‎.
Directions: Berkeley residents can take Highway 13 to Park Blvd. (west), then make a left on Wellington. The rest of us are better off taking 580 to Park Blv (east), then making a right on Wellington. We will try to park on the parking lot at the end of Wellington. Bring your cell phone so you can locate us.

Belated Rodeo Beach, Marin Headlands

I started this 24 x 24" oil last week, but used the following week's session to go back up the hill and look again. There are elements I modifed in my effort to make the painting frame the beach. For example, I was judicious wih the tree branches and roadside bushes. I never took a photo the second time I went, because I am finding memory a better guide for colors and values. I went home and redid the main values. Now I am happier with the noontime light.

Pregnant Women at Rodeo Beach, Marin Headlands

I was painting this 16 x 20" acrylic in a big hurry because I was with my dog and there was no shade. I did the rocks, sky and water in an hour. I left the sand undone and ran to the car to get my dog in the shade and turned on the air conditioning. As I sat there, the women who had been at the beach crossed the parking lot and I snapped a few cell phone pictures of them and of two men. I went home and "fixed" an otherwise boring composition with these figures. I had to imagine the colors and many details as my camera is only 2 megapixels and the figures were tiny. I was thinking of Joaquin Sorolla, whom I greatly admire. My only frustration is that this picture does not show the colors as they look in the painting. Rebeca

Old Fort Barry Chapel

I have been wanting to paint this building for some time. Its the old Fort Barry Chapel, now the Visitor Center at the Marin Headlands National Seashore. It took me a long time to find a place to paint it. I tried several angles and always there was something in the way. Those big trees in front block most views. Finally I went above it and took some photos thinking I would have to do it at home. Then I saw a closed trail and some shade, so I parked there and painted.
Larry Hatfield
10x14" Watercolor

Monday, May 3

We return to the Marin Headlands. To make it easy to find each other, we will again meet at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center's parking lot, then depart to a location of our choosing. Please try to be on time so that we can all make the most of our painting time. Directions from the East Bay: Cross the San Rafael Bridge. Follow 101 south through the Waldo tunnel. Take the last “Sausalito” just before the Golden Gate bridge. Turn right at the end of the exit ramp. Pass under 101, at the stop sign go straight onto Alexander Avenue. Turn left on Bunker Road (a brown sign saying “Marin Headlands Visitor Center” marks the intersection). Go through the one-way tunnel and drive approximately 2 miles. Turn left onto Field Road. The visitor center will be on the right side of the road. It is located in the historic Fort Barry Chapel, at the intersection of Field and Bunker Roads. The Visitor Center is approximately 3 miles from the entrance to the Marin Headlands. Bring water, food, money, a hat and your cell phone, specially if you're going to be late. There are more directions here.

The Dog That Was Not a Cow

When I arrived at a good spot at Rodeo beach a black dog was playing gainst the white surf and I wanted to paint that but of course the dog left almost immediately. So I used the occassional other dog to help with the form. With animals I often have to invent because they have left or moved and I have to use memory of what that animal looks like. Some end up looking like something else-- a cow for instance. It is an 18 by 24 acrylic on canvas. Karen