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Recent Paintings Blog
Open Studio and Cloud Shadows
It is just a week away for my Open Studio Art Sale event. Next Saturday, May 11 from 11am-4pm I will have all of my paintings on display at my home studio. (Please email me if you need directions.) All are welcome… come by just to see art in person. If you are interested in taking paintings home to put on your walls I will have some specials and promotions that day. I hope to see you there!
The location of this painting is high above Romero Canyon. The midground peak with the cloud shadow over it is Montecito Peak. Hiking that day, I was inspired by the dimensional quality of the clouds and mountain folds and the way the cloud shadows climb across the ground creating little patches of overcast on an overall sunny day. You can see where the trail to the right goes into shadow.
Romero Creeksplash
I love the combination of splashes of water and splashes of light on this zone up Romero creek. Beneath the oaks, such vibrant spring greenery weaves into a jumble of rocks waiting for the sun to find holes in the canopy to feed it light.
Daily Paintings
It’s 18 days into April and so far I’ve kept my challenge for myself to make a paitning a day. Sometimes they are small and quick like the one I did from the bleachers during my daughter’s lacrosse game a couple days ago. A couple times I’ve just set up right in the front yard like with the poppies below. Some days I’ve had more time. I’ve posted them all on my instagram page, but here are a few favorites.
Also, save the date for my Spring Open Studio event– it will be on Saturday, May 11, on Mother’s Day Weekend. I hope to see you there!
Full Moonrise–Evolution Valley
I’m really happy with this studio painting I made from photos and memory of a moonrise I saw over Evolution Lake. I had been backpacking on my birthday a couple years ago and witnessed this view as the first stars and planets were making their appearance and the tallest peaks still blushed with the fading alpenglow from the sunken western sun. The sky was so vast and below it miles of granite canyons and peaks lie waiting to be explored.
Ventura Botanic Gardens
I participated this weekend painting at the Ventura Botanical Gardens for a spring fundraising show they are hosting. Artists were all throughout the gardens painting the stunning views. The garden is young. It was started not too many years ago and then the fires set it back a little bit, but it is already beautiful and full of life and color. It is going to be fun watching it grown and mature over the years.
The South African garden was an explosion of color. Other areas are still waiting to bloom. It makes me wonder if spring comes earlier in their Mediterranean climate than it does in ours.
Weedy Spring Garden
I know, I know… those weeds aren’t going to pull themselves. Yes I should be making space for the spring veggies rather than just watching things grow but with all this green fecundity it’s hard to not just kick back and enjoy the feel of the color on your eyes and spirits.
I am going to be painting every day this month… it is Plein Airpril. There will be way more paintings that I will bother you with here on the email posts (I try to keep them to one a week max), but if you feel like you can’t get enough painting action, I will be posting them daily on my Instagram page @kevingleasonart. And if you don’t use social media, good job! That means you have more time for going outside and enjoying the spring colors first hand.
Flowing Creeks
When it is spring, you know what the high canyon springs are doing…. springing! I love the challenge of catching the moving water and interesting light where they spill. I learned it is not easy to include the vibrant blue-violet Ceonothus blooms in your painting. They look fake if you paint them their actual electric color, so I had to tone them down so they don’t outshine the sky.
The Tide’s Edge- Ellwood Beach
Happy first days of Spring, everybody! Yesterday was the Equinox, so today is the first day since late September that the days are longer than the nights. More time in the afternoons for walking places like here on the tide edge on Ellwood Beach. The bluffs are still wearing green for Saint Patrick’s day. It’s a beautiful season out there!
Wet Sand Mirror
I assume you know moments like this: Out on the beach when things are so elemental… the fire of the sun is just about to dive into the cold winter water and the ocean’s breezy exhales are weaving in and out of the slowly eroding rocks. And there you are… earth, fire, air and water yourself, feeling expansive and grounded and wanting to freeze time, but realizing it’s passing is what is so beautiful.
Ellwood Puddle Hop
Everyone is slipping and hopping on the post-rain muddy obstacle course of a trail to get out the the beach. Down there much of the sand is stripped down to the bedrock and all types of storm debris and driftwood rest on the high tide line. The mustard is blooming, and the grasses are growing fast, racing the growing daylight.
Kevin Gleason Art 