We were a group of about 100 people at Asilomar, plein air painting together, walking on the beach together, having meals together, meeting together in the morning and the evening, and sharing living quarters (unless we paid an additional astronomical fee for a private room). With a crowd of enthusiastic painters, I had to work […]
Architecture at Asilomar
Many of the buildings at Asilomar were designed by Julia Morgan, the architect best known for designing the Hearst Castle in San Simeon. She is also known for many fine buildings in Berkeley, AND a building at the Springville Hospital (for TB) here in Tulare County, now torn down due to earthquake standards. Roomie and […]
Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 6 (PM)
Piños Point Lighthouse was pulling me, just like that Rocky Creek Bridge. I love architecture and really like to paint (and draw) a blend of man-made and God-made subjects. The trouble was that the lighthouse has very limited hours. By the time I finished painting at Lover’s Point Park, there were only 1-1/2 hours hour […]
Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 6 (AM)
Five days of painting plein air should have built some skill and some confidence. I learned two things: I paint better alone, and I paint better when there is no sense of being rushed. So, I headed to a place called Lover’s Point Park in downtown Pacific Grove. I skipped the morning Rah-rah meeting—fun, painting […]
Painting Plein Air in Monterey, Day 5 PM
The fog came in thick. We had planned to go to Big Sur, and took the chance that the fog would have cleared. Nope. Our hope was to go the viewpoint just north of Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, where a big deal painter named Bill told us to go in order to paint his […]
Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 5 (AM)
Day 5 was scheduled for painting at Rocky Creek/Rocky Point, and Rocky Creek bridge, which is shaped like the Oak Grove Bridge (but built 10 years later.) We drove to Rocky Point Restaurant, which is closed, but has a decent parking lot and some trails out to the point. Looks easier than waves. Better do […]
Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 4 (AM)
Every moment is filled. There are too many places to see, too many people to meet, too many places to paint. So, today’s blog will only show the morning painting session on Day 4. Roomie and I skipped the morning announcements and found our way to the Carmel Mission. I love those 21 missions and […]
Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 3
Day three was a test of my gear: could I fit what I needed into my trusty red daypack and carry my 3-legged stool under one arm and the loaner pochade box in my other hand along a trail? Yeppers. We started at Garrapata State Park, along the bluffs on Highway One. We painted all […]
Plein Air Painting in Monterey, Day 1
On Day 1, we stayed at Asilomar. People needed to get accustomed to their equipment, the schedule, the weather, the whole situation, so it made sense to stay on the premises, which are walking distance to the ocean. Our room is so tiny that I am keeping my supplies in the trunk of the car. […]
Travel Thoughts
Today (writing on Sunday night) I drove 242 miles to Asilomar, a conference center on the Monterey Peninsula for Fall Color Week, a private painting retreat with PleinAir Magazine’s Publisher Eric Rhoads and about 100 strangers. I got lost on the way, because it is sometimes nay, always tricky to both navigate and drive. I couldn’t […]