"Green Houses, Half Moon Bay"
14" x 10" watercolor
Bob and I just returned from five days on the San Mateo Coast in Half Moon Bay while Bob attended a master flute class, "Flutes by the Sea," sponsored by the San Francisco Flute Society. While he spent the day with several flute masters, most Julliard trained, and world class performers, I was free to do whatever I wanted. I brought my folding bicycle and my art supplies. There is a trail that runs along the Coast that provided nice views and benches to sit on.
The area is notorious for summer fog, and I saw sun only for an hour or two on a couple days. Temps were in the high 50s and very low 60s. Needless to say, this was quite a change from San Jose were the previous week we had a triple digit heat wave. On the first day I set out in the morning and completed two paintings. The top one was my second piece and my favorite, capturing the shapes and variety of the vegetation, the fog over the mountains, and the agriculture that is a big part of the economy along this coast. Half Moon Bay is known for it's production of pumpkins and has a big festival in the fall. I imagined that the green houses were there to start pumpkin plants.
"Summer Camp"
11" x 5" watercolor
The second piece I actually painted first to get myself warmed up, much like a musician. Several people where setting up an area on the beach that soon was being used by many children. I speculated this is summer camp. With the gloom of the fog, I got a bit heavy handed on this little piece. After my painting session, I rode to Pillar Point Harbor and treated myself to lunch at busy Barbara's Fishtrap, all cash, fresh fish. Some folks took my photo as I left. My art supplies are in the panniers on the back of my little folding bike.
I read in the paper about
Sunset Pianos, a venture by a local musician to place a dozen pianos along the coast. I had seen one on my way to the harbor. The following day I headed south along the trail and located two of them. I sat down near this one and did a painting. Notice the plastic. There is a weighted cover to place over the piano and signs encouraging you -- "Play the piano. Play for the Whales." Instructions tell you to leave a note in the log in the piano seat.
As I was painting, three women and a dog arrived and I asked if anyone could play. One recalled a simple tune from her childhood. I was delighted with the unusual experience.
Opus II Sunset Piano
I'm not super happy with this piece, but it's given me some ideas.
"Play for the Whales"
14" x 10"watercolor
On Thursday evening,
Viviana Guzman, master flutist and organizer of Flutes by the Sea, arranged for the group to perform around the piano for a documentary film being done on the pianos. Here you see the flutists in action. Bob is easy to spot, being the only male who chose to participate.
You can watch and listen to the
video. It was fun to mingle with people who gathered impromptu wondering what was happening. I talked with Mauro who instigated Sunset Pianos, and he told me that the parks folks gave him back some of the pianos, but they allowed 7 to remain. When art meets government, interesting things happen.
On Wednesday, I sat in the fog and painted a few of the beautiful trees along the coast. I was not happy with my first attempt, so the next morning I painted this one in my room, away from the gloomy fog, so I could more easily imagine some color. I like to mix it on the paper for landscapes.
"Coastal Sentinels"
11" x 5" watercolor
