The Road to Arles

9 1/2" x 13"  oil on board

$75

I actually painted this piece back in May. That was when The Virtual Paintout - a challenge where you paint from the Google map - went to Cote d'Azur. I, however, turned the wrong way and went west to Arles, where I went van Gogh crazy and decided to paint where van Gogh himself might have painted, setting up our easels side by side as it were. You can read about it here.

So when The Virtual Paintout went to Arles this month, I was thrilled! This little piece is one of my favorite paintings, and now I can show it as it was meant to be seen!

You can see more of my work, or purchase this painting (or many others) by visiting my Gallery page at the Daily Paintworks. Thanks for looking!

Stevens Creek

12" x 16"

oil on canvas

 gifted

Plain and simple, I am in denial about summer's demise. I can't believe it's over, I can't let go. My heart belongs to long days, sultry heat and when stepping down to a quiet little brook, you can dip your toes in the cold water - what bliss. 

Stevens Creek Park in Cupertino has just such a creek, which runs from the Santa Cruz Mountains down to San Francisco Bay, but right here it is rather shallow and slow. It's a place where on a hot day you can just take your shoes off and dip your toes in the water. Or you can set up your easel and paint. 

This painting is available through my page at The Daily Paintworks. I hope you'll visit me there.

Autumn

Cuesta Park Annex

16" x 20"  oil on wrap-around canvas

$300

Cuesta Park Annex is one of the few remaining tracts of natural land left in our ever growing little city. City planners have assured us that what we really want is for it to be built up and improved upon, despite the majority of people who think that we should leave it just as it is. But lately it seems that this lovely little piece of open space has gotten a reprieve - the big basin the water district was considering digging has been put on hold, and now the proposed history museum was just voted down. 

That's the good part! The bad part is that the concept of keeping this lovely, natural  little piece of land "as is" is probably still in question. Eventually the economy will improve and the powers that be will look to this place with new eyes and reconstruction in mind.

But till then we still have a chance to walk around and enjoy the land, left pretty much as the early settlers found it.

This painting is painted on a thick wrap-around canvas, in a beige color similar to the dry grass. No need for framing, it is ready to hang.

This painting is available directly from me, or from The Daily Paintworks.

Nuraghe Orolo

Bortigali Nuoro, Sardinia

13" x 9.5"  oil on board

$75.

The Virtual Paintout has traveled to Sardinia this month. The idea is to paint from the Google map, so I traveled over highways and through villages, taking this road or that until I came upon this scene. This is a ruin in the central part of Sardinia, near the foot of Mount Cuguruttu. It is a prehistoric tower (nuraghe) of uncertain age, whose usage is not really known, ancient when the Romans were there.

The Flower Market in Lucca

9 1/2" x 13"  oil on board

nfs

Something different this week!

You can see more of my work - and see lots of other really nice paintings by visiting my gallery at TheDaily Paintworks. To do so, click here. Thank you for stopping to look.

A Summer Hike 

11" x 14"  oil on canvas

nfs

If you're a summer person, it's hard to let go and welcome fall... so, here, let's take one last summer hike!

You can buy this painting directly from me, or visit my page at The Daily Paintworks!  It's framed in redwood lath and ready to hang.

 Bud's Broiler

New Orleans

9 1/2" x 13"  oil on board

sold

The Virtual Paintout is painting in New Orleans this month. With all the history and culture it has, there were so many places to choose from. Wandering up and down the streets (on the google map) I came upon this building. I was attracted by the architecture and the feeling that this place full of stories and nostalgia.  Bud's Broiler is a local institution, and a great place to go for really good burgers. This is the original one, and has been here for almost sixty years. Like much of New Orleans, it has survived Katrina, but has a way to go before it will be the place it once was. To get an idea of how it looked before, click here, and let's all hope it will be back to its old self, and better than ever!

 Before It's Gone

Cuesta Park Annex
16" x 20"  oil
Framed in redwood lath.

$120.

This week Cuesta Park Annex might have gotten another chance to exist. Long story short: official powers want to develop one of the last natural pieces of land around here - a beautiful spot - but now are reconsidering how much they will do. I've posted paintings and opinions so many times about this that it would be overkill to do it again - I'll just list those posts below.

So, another painting showing how beautiful this place is, how wonderful the many trees are, how lovely the whole area is - and what a great place it is for plein air painting! Dare we hope other development plans could be reconsidered as well?  It would be nice to save this place, leaving it as it is, so our children and grandchildren will have some idea of what the land looked like before we came here.

To see my other posts about Cuesta Park Annex:

http://patriciamusgraveapaintingblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/cuesta-park-annex-summer-oil-on-canvas.html

http://patriciamusgraveapaintingblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/mid-spring-at-annex.html

http://patriciamusgraveapaintingblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/oak-tree-at-cuesta-annex.html

http://patriciamusgraveapaintingblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/little-landscape.html

http://patriciamusgraveapaintingblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/almond-trees-at-cuesta-park.html

But wait! There are more paintings of the Annex to come - stay tuned.

Sunlight and Shade

11" x 14"  oil on canvas

$150.

Some times when you go out plein air painting, you think it just isn't going to happen - that you won't be able to create anything wonderful from what you're looking at, that you just don't feel the "spark". Then you are pleasantly surprised by what unfolds under your brush! Such was the case when we were painting at over Whisman School Park, where I started without much hope, and ended up extremely pleased! 

Please visit my gallery at the Daily Paintworks, you can get there by clicking here.

Egrets at Baylands

oil on canvas 

11" x 14"
sold

The egrets were everywhere. Nesting in the trees, fishing in the shoals, flying all around.  Even though I came here to paint the eucalyptus trees, I was captured by their elegance and serenity. With their beautiful wing spread and graceful,  long necks, complimented by snowy plumage -  well, they just stole the show.