Carmel Art Festival

I had the opportunity recently to participate in the 14th Annual Carmel Art Festival in Carmel, California. One part of the festival was a 1 and 3/4 day plein air competition. 60 plein air artists had that amount of time to complete 2 plein air pieces, frame the work and turn the works in for a silent auction. I had a really good time as I met some really nice and talented artists. And of course Carmel, Monterey and what I saw of Monterey County was simply stunning. Overload to tell you the truth, so much to paint with so little time. I spent an entire day before the competition scouting the area for potential sites. It was a great time overall and hope to participate again in the years to come. I was fortunate enough to sell my paintings! Here's what I came up with:

12x16

Oil/masonite

Plein Air

This one is titled Coastal House. It was painted on the Monterey peninsula on the first day. The weather was gorgeous, the tourists were friendly and the view was breathtaking. It's such a beautiful coastline.

11x14
Oil/masonite

Plein air

Pacific Grove Lumber Yard was painted the morning of the second day. Pacific Grove is a little town not far from Monterey. The view caught my eye right off the bat. The day before it was sunny but the day I painted it was cloudy and cool. I really liked the sunlit look the day before, but I also enjoy grey day paintings. A few guys behind the white building were taking their break when I started painting. They were puzzled why anyone would want to paint the building.

A few more pics from the area:

Ocean Beach Life Guard Tower

9x12
Oil/cotten panel
Plein Air

Wasn't too sure about this one when I finished it, but after a week or so it kind of grew on me. It was one of those bright hazy mornings. The distant dark on the horizon was a fog bank that eventually rolled in. What caught my eye was the sand bank in the foreground and the obvious division of foreground, middle and background with a hint of the ocean itself.

McCoy House At Old Town

11x14
Oil/linen panel
Plein air

This view caught my eye wandering through the Old Town area of San Diego. The house is called the McCoy House. Don't know anything about it, just liked the view, the vertical format and the zig zag of the fence.