Sloshing Around in an Almond Orchard

 What a fun day sloshing through the almond orchard!  When my friend's family irrigates their almond orchards I come running over with my paint box!  Sam had the sprinklers going and there were large puddles of water under the rows of the almond trees.  Luckily, I was able to set up my paint box on the driveway and saved my shoes from getting soaking wet.  I couldn't wait to get out my paints!  The reflections are wonderful... almost magical under those trees!  I can see so many colors in the water, soil and grasses on the ground alone!  The trees bend here and there in different directions and the soft green leaves on the branches hang down loaded with the almonds.  It is late July and soon the almonds will be harvested in the Central Valley of California where I live.

 Here you can see my paint box.  I started out in the shade, but soon the light dappled through the tree behind me and I had to put up my umbrella.  It is important to see the painting in even light as I am painting it. 

When I got home, worked on the painting a little more, refining some places, adding more color, etc. using my photo references and my memory.

Scroll down to see the finished painting in a frame.

Here are some of the photos I took that day to help me finish my painting. 

Look at those reflections!

"Time To Irrigate" - oil on linen panel - 9" x 12"

Here is what the painting might look like in a frame.

Available for purchase on my gallery page at

www.RhettsStudio.com

 

New Coastal Paintings

A Beach For Seals
11" x 14"    oil on panel

I have been working on revising and up dating some older paintings.
I created this painting on location during the Big Blue Live TV show a few years ago.  It was painted at Hopkins Marine Station Beach near the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  I love this beach because it is fenced off and the seals have the beach all to themselves.  As I was painting from the pathway above and behind the fence, I had fun watching the seals resting and playing in the gentle surf.  Such a pretty place.

Send me an email via Daily Paintworks
 if you are interested in purchasing this painting.
You can see close ups of it on Daily Paintworks online gallery. 

$600 ~ does not include a frame.

Pacific Grove House Painting progress

I have reworked the house color to a more muted color.  I still need to put the mobile hanging from the eaves.  Hope to get to that next week.  

We have been having a lot of wet weather lately and it has been making it difficult to get the painting to dry.  I am hoping the coming hot temperatures will help dry the oil paint.  It has to dry so I can give it a coat of varnish and ship it.  

It has been very busy here with my husband having cataract surgery and several shows I am trying to get paintings finished to enter.  Hope to get back to the Pacific Grove house next week.  

Sand Dunes and Eucalyptus     6" x 6"  oil on panel

Returned recently from a fun time painting in the Carmel (CA) area.  I hiked down through the sand dunes at the end of Ocean Ave. in Carmel to make this painting.  The ice plant is a nice contrast with its red color against the green eucalyptus trees.

You can bid on it in the Daily Paintworks auction 

Here is the scene I painted from in Carmel.

Day 3 Working on the Commission Painting

More work on this beautiful landscape scene.  I got so involved in the painting that I forgot to take progress photos!  But here is the mostly finished painting after adding the pine tree limbs on the right, more grass and of course the purple coneflowers as well as tweaking a few more spots here and there.

Coneflower Field with Sheep Sorrel  -  oil -  30" x 40"

Art Show in Pacific Grove

 AUGUST 28 - OCTOBER 27 - 2017

They even installed new track lighting for me!

I have a display of a few of my small paintings at the Sally Griffin Active Living Center in Pacific Grove, 700 Jewel Ave.  The center is only a block from Lovers Point, so you can enjoy the beautiful coast before you drop by the show.   

RECEPTION - SEPT. 8th 5 - 7 pm
Please join me and the three other artists in this show, Harry Wareham, Laura Lockett, and Tamara Keiper, for our reception on Sept. 8th, 5 - 7 pm. 
Come and enjoy live music and refreshments. 

10% of all sales donated to the Sally Griffin Center to help Meals on Wheels. In conjunction with the Central Coast Art Association.

Three pastels.

A painted lady in Pacific Grove.
This pretty house is near the park in Pacific Grove.