Goldsmith Seeds

What a fun place this was! Goldsmith Seeds is down in Gilroy. Only two of us from the Watercolor Society showed up at this paint site, but it was definitely worth the drive. I just loved the rows of flowers. I did this in just about two hours and have still not done any adjusting at home (although it needs it).

The dirt rows were obviously more brown than the grey I used, but I think the grey makes the bright flowers pop more. Also, my hills in the back sort of faded, but it gives it some good atmosphere. This was a cheaper Canson block and the background washes didn't behave the way I was used to. However, I think their fuzziness plays nicely off the texture in the foreground. Anyway, this one makes me happy when I look at it.

Rengstorff House at Noon

This was a plein air painting I did on June 25th. I managed to find a nice shady spot and was really taken with the wonderful shadows on the ground that framed the bright lawn in the middle ground. I liked the idea of making the house just a background element that the gardens were playing off of. It was tricky making all of my greens interesting enough, but I think it worked.

Downtown Los Gatos

I'm just catching up on my blog for the summer...

Here is a pen and watercolor sketch of Downtown Los Gatos that I did with the Watercolor Society on June 18th. It was a beautiful day with a guitar player practicing in the park and lots of people wandering around enjoying the sunshine. I hope I captured that happy serene feeling. The truth is I had trouble simplifying all that detail and still maintaining the charm.