kathrynlaw.com, and Paint-Out

 
I've got a website now, a real one!  Took a while to get it going, but it's coming along.  Check it out at KathrynLaw.com and let me know what you think!  New business cards on the way.

Saturday's paint-out at Cabrillo Monument was spectacular.  Fourteen painters and some of the most beautiful weather of the year, made it a day to remember.  We've already begun planning future painting events for the Park.  Here are some photos of painters in action. 

Emerald Building show and Upcoming Paint-out

 

I have a show of 10 paintings from the Cabrillo Artist in Residence project, showing in the display window of the Emerald Building in Downtown San Diego, at C Street and Columbia.  Around the corner are four still lifes in another window.

Old Lighthouse Parlor

 

10" X 8", oil on panel.   The interior of the Old Lighthouse was also the living quarters for the lighthouse keeper and his family.  In the late 1800's when this was an active lighthouse, the lighting was by lamplight, so probably never very bright inside.  It's been kept pretty much as it was, almost a time capsule.  I'm looking at it through a plexiglass viewing window, and the dark atmosphere is probably pretty true to how they lived.  

6" X 8", oil/cp.  These are the brass oilcans that the Keeper used to replenish the oil that illuminated the Fresnel Lens atop the Old Lighthouse.  They are beautiful objects.

Live Forever

10X8", o/panel.  This is Dudleya pulverulenta, one of my favorite plants, also known as Chalk Dudleya and "Live Forever".  It's a succulent, forming part of the extremely endangered coastal sage succulent scrub plant community.  This one is growing adjacent to some California Coastal Sagebrush (artemisia californica).  I love the chalky white stalks with small red leaves and red blossoms.  It has a ghostly beauty rising up out of the scrub.

Bayside Trail

6X8", o/cp (Sold, private collection).  This trail is part of Cabrillo Monument, and on a rare sunny morning, I took another stab at getting the color of this amazing coastal scrub.  Even in sunlight, the colors are very subtle.  The brightest green is Lemonadeberry, which has a Mediterranean growth pattern.  The leaves grow straight up (at a vertical angle) to minimize moisture loss by avoiding direct exposure to the sun.  As a result they don't reflect light the way most green shrubs do, so it's an interesting visual problem when painting them.  The orangey plants are Buckwheat, and much of the grey is Encelia which survives the summer by dropping all its leaves and looking really quite dead.  After the rains start again, it will green up and this scene will look quite different.

Another view, a couple hours earlier (8" X 6", o/cp; Sold, private collection):

Top and Bottom of the Tidepool Hill

6" x 8", oil on canvas panel.
Steps descending to the tidepools, looking back up toward the radar tower.

 6 x 8" oil on canvas panel.
The Tidepool Hill is a legendary stretch of road where groups of cyclists do a multi-climb morning workout.  I've crested this bend in the road many many times, gasping for breath.

Overlook(ed)

This is the New Lighthouse, the less-glamorous but much more practical younger sister of the Old Lighthouse which gets all the attention.  The Old Lighthouse is a much more picturesque and beautiful building, but it was actually a bit of a failure as a lighthouse:  because it's so high on a hill, it can't be seen as well underneath the marine layer of fog which rolls in almost nightly.   The newer, more visible lighthouse shown here was built in 1891, at a much lower elevation.  In fact, it's near the water's edge, and the buildings around it currently house the Coast Guard members stationed here.   (6" X 8", o/cp.)

The Path to Enlightenment

6" X 8", o/cp
This is part of the path that winds its way along the tidepool shore, down below the lighthouse.  The path itself is such a beautiful thing; up and down, back and forth.  The maintenance of the path is also an important part of arresting the erosion of these fragile sandstone cliffs.  Out to sea, there's a clear view of that vast (and vastly important) kelp forest.

 

8" X 6", o/cp

Near the end of the path is this small, natural, smooth-walled cave worn into the sandstone cliffs, a product of the erosion that is happening in "real time"--as I sat there painting, little chunks of sandstone would softly break loose and roll down from above. 

 

8" X 6", o/cp

Another look at the Shaw's Agave and radar towers, still exploring that juxtaposition which seems so emblematic. 

Tidepools and Radar

Fog Midtide, 6 X 8" o/cp (SOLD)

The Monument is an incredibly beautiful nature preserve.  These tidepools are where I did my first-ever plein air work four years ago with my brand new paintbox, the same one I use now on the bike.  There is a kelp forest right here that is the largest in the northern hemisphere, 8 km long and 1 km wide. 

Shaw's Agave with Radar, 6 X 8" o/cp

Cabrillo Point is a natural location for defenses such as the Navy's radar towers.  A theme that I'm exploring during this residency is the coexistence--actually, the mutual benefit--of natural and man-made elements.  I'll talk much more about this as the concept expands.  Radar towers aren't conventionally attractive, but I think they are beautiful when juxtaposed with the organic forms of this rare Shaw's Agave, an endangered plant.  

 Fire Control Station, 10" X 8", o/gessoed paper

During WWII, Cabrillo Point was the site of artillery installations and "control" (lookout) points like this one to help the batteries direct gunfire.  These are fascinating structures, sculpted in concrete to match the surrounding cliff.  This painting doesn't illustrate the structure very well--we're standing on the cliff looking down on the station, with the tidepools far below.   Here's a pencil sketch of another station a little further south; and on the crest just beyond, another radar tower and more agave overlooking the ocean:

AIR at Cabrillo National Monument

 End of Cabrillo Point, 8" x 6" o/cp

I'm the first Artist in Residence at Cabrillo National Monument, a new program for them.   Many national parks have AIR programs; each of the larger parks hosts a dozen or more artists each year.   Cabrillo is relatively small, but loaded with significance.  Several months ago, I suggested to them that they should consider having an AIR, and sent along my resume and portfolio.  It took some perseverance to get approval through all the channels, but things finally fell into place and here we are.  I'm the first of (hopefully) many.  This place has deep meaning for me personally--it's where I did my very first plein air paintings in 2007, and have painted there countless times since.  In a historical/cultural context, it's a very rich and important place.  I will have the opportunity to explore that in depth now, and I'll talk about it here.

First and foremost, it is where Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed in 1542--the first point of European contact in California.  He made landfall not far from the cliffs shown in the painting above.

The Monument is also a very important preserve for native plants, birds and animals which are now endangered everywhere else.

My residency will culminate in a series of larger, more finished studio works, but there will be lots of these small plein air studies in the meantime:  color notes and explorations of subject.

High Tide

8 X 10", oil on panel.  Often when I'm painting by the tidepools, visitors ask where they are.  They're hidden by high tides, which is why they thrive.

Toward Cabrillo

6 X 8" o/cp.  Sunny morning means plein air by bike!  This is looking north on Cabrillo Memorial Drive, around 7 am.

6 X 8" o/cp.  Looking south toward Cabrillo National Monument, with the wall of Ft Rosecrans in the foreground.

I'm delighted to be the first Artist in Residence for the Monument, so there will be many more views of the park soon to come.

Honorable Mention

both 14 X 11", oil on linen (please click on image to see better resolution)

Encouraged by a friend, I entered the Art in Bloom plein air painting competition held yesterday at Balboa Park.  Members of the Floral Guild set out flower arrangements for us to paint from during a period of four hours.  A strong field of painters did some excellent work, so I was pretty excited to get honorable mention and a cash award for my results, shown above.

The thing about painting flower arrangements of this sort is that they are created with a florist's aesthetic, which may or may not be something that would inspire a painter.  Here are photos of the actual subjects.

I included a human in that first shot so you can see that those dahlia blooms are bigger than her head.  I've never seen basketball-size blooms before.  They're surreal.  The size, the color--not what we see and relate to on a daily basis.  What I hoped to do in my painting of them was to capture their color and beauty, but to humanize them more.  To give them more empathy, more humility.  To make them more like something I can relate to.  The photo was taken early in the day; later, when the sun hit them full-on, it was much easier to break down the planes of light and shadow and bring out the simplicity of their beauty.

The rose arrangement was easier to work with, and in fact that was the first painting I did.  Simple, humble.

I am pretty rusty when it comes to painting flowers, even in the studio--so the prospect of doing them plein air, in front of spectators and under time pressure, was making me a bit nervous.  The way I prepared for it, during the past two weeks, was to revisit Manet's flowers.

If you don't know the story, basically it's this.  Edouard Manet was an extremely gregarious and social painter who had to retreat to the country in the hope of curing his fatal illness.  While he languished there, his friends would visit him and bring him flowers.  His final series of paintings were of these simple flowers which represented everything that life had meant to him.  There is such power and profound humanity in his portrayal.  In my opinion, no one has done flowers more beautifully. If you've not seen the book "The Last Flowers of Manet", I highly recommend it.  Out of print now, but used copies can be found for around $20.  (check Bookfinder.com)

I painted copies of 15 in the series--all but the last one.  I did them on the same scale as the originals, and emphasized speed (because I knew this competition would be timed).  Here are my versions of my four favorites, each done in less than 90 minutes.  Needless to say, Manet's paintings are much more beautiful than these:

Communing with the spirit and practice of a master is always beneficial, however you are able to do it.  Here's a closing shot of me (just packing up), and my award.

And yes, the judge's last name was "Flowers".  :)

New Landscapes

 6 X 8", o/cp
Point Loma seen from Cabrillo Monument.  This is looking back from the end of the point, toward San Diego.  Below is a slightly different angle of the same view.

6 X 8" o/cp

Lights Across the St. Lawrence

8" X 10"oil on gessoed BFK, mounted on panel. 
The scene at twilight--beautiful even though that glow is from an oil refinery.  The park in the foreground is a famous commemorative site, Plains of Abraham, where the Battle of Québec took place in 1759.

Sunrise, View from Above

 

 8 X 9.5", o/gessoed paper

A residential area of Quebec City.

Sunrise St. Lawrence

9" X 12", o/cp
My husband was in Quebec City for a conference, and sent me photos from his hotel room so I could see what he was seeing.  Beautiful area, especially at sunrise.  I zoomed into those photos and painted scenes as if I were there, which was a nice way to feel like he wasn't so far away.

End of the Road Trip

 8" X 8", o/cp
Returning to California, we explored the east side of the Sierras and stopped for the night at a motel in a residential neighborhood.  The sun was low and lit up these trees and that white building, and I focused on getting the color notes without defining the shapes too much.  This is my favorite painting of the trip.

More Road Trip

 6 X 8" o/cp
Heading east from Vale, Oregon into a cloudless sunny morning, the green of the fields and trees was beautiful against the red grass that grows on the hillsides.  In Idaho, the shades of green seemed more numerous:

 6 X 8", o/cp
Then in Salmon, a sketch of a farm with alfalfa fields and the still-snowy mountains around the valley:

8 X 8", o/cp

Road Trip (cont.)

Heading east through Oregon toward Idaho, we had to cover a lot of distance each day.  There wasn't time to stop and paint, so I did more small paintings with the paintbox on my lap as we drove.  This was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

 6" x 8", oil/canvas panel.
East of Crater Lake, cloud shadows on the distant hills.  Sometimes a scene (like this one) was unchanged for long enough that I could pretty much quickly paint just what I saw.  Other times, I'd create a "composite" scene--foreground, then distant hills from further down the road, then a tree from further on.  The one below was created that way:

6 X 8" o/cp
The colors are very muted and the soil is very red in much of eastern Oregon, and visible along the shoulder and hillsides.  Beautiful.

In eastern Oregon, we stayed overnight in Vale at:

Yep, that's the name, but NOT to be confused with:

from this iconic movie.  Even though they are almost certainly contemporaries in time, our Bates Motel is an original from (probably) the 60's, still owned and run by people actually named Bates.  A virtual time capsule, featuring a kitchen appliance I'd never seen before, combining a sink, three electric burners, and a refrigerator (where you'd expect to find the oven):

  

That is indeed my bottle of M. Graham walnut oil on the counter, and not for cooking...

Road Trip

Somewhere north of Shasta, as the storm clouds were breaking up.

Clouds obscured the top of the mountains. Those bands of color were beautiful.

Happy Endings

In April I submitted some work to a show in Boston, juried by a very important East Coast painter:  George Nick.  George is the mentor of my friend Larry Groff, who publishes the formidable Painting Perceptions blog.  Larry encouraged me to submit some work to this show, and I'm glad he did, because this piece was accepted:

"Late Afternoon", 12" X 10", oil/stretched canvas

The show is "Matter, Medium, Meaning:  Contemporary Still Life" at the Copley Society of Art.  If any of you will be in Boston between May 19 and June 28, check it out!  You can view the exhibition online at the link above, click on "view now."

The other happy ending is the outcome of the Stuart Shils masterclass which concluded Sunday. We had a truly superb group of painters, and Stuart was the most inspiring and dedicated teacher imaginable.  It's very difficult to describe the energy, direction and motivation which came out of it.   It surpassed all my expectations, which were very high indeed.