"Cerritos Surf" Mexico, marinescape by Robin Weiss

"Cerritos Surf"   10x10 oil on panel   Sold

 The big draw of Pescadero for Americans and others is the great surfing beach at Cerritos just a few miles from where we were staying. People come from all over to enjoy the soft sand and nice break of the waves.


The palapa at Cerritos

The great thing for my purpose was the large palapa that would provide shade for the painters on the third day of the workshop in Mexico.
 The idea was to get there early enough on Sunday morning to beat all the beach goers that would be showing up to enjoy a day off.....and that we did!  My wife, Ann camped out at the surf club on a deck chair under an umbrella enjoying a good book while we painted the rocks and ocean surf.

This was my demo for the workshop of waves hitting the rocks. I was trying to portray the motion of the water and create design with the rocks. The painting above was done from pictures I took on location using my plein air study for local color.

Frieda working hard

Margi working on her seascape

The students enjoyed the shade and the beautiful day at the beach!  everyone did great even though painting surf can be very challenging ...even for the teacher!

As we were painting several boats raced in through the surf and hauled up on the beach to clean their catch. It was quite a show and a Mexican family who shared the palapa with us was happy to get what was left over after filleting the large fish.

Ann enjoying the view overlooking Cerritos Beach

"Calle Sin Nombre" Mexico, plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Calle Sin Nombre"   10x10 oil on panel     Sold




Juan Valdez

Calle sin nombre means "street with no name" and there are a lot of those in Mexico!  The sun bakes the red dirt roads and reflects into the very air bathing everything in warm light. I was glad I brought along my trusty, wide brimmed, painting sombrero!  That thing has kept me comfortable in many hot locations.

This view of Pescadero was painted from the top of Jolyns house where she had a traditional palapa built by local Mexicans. Not only does it make a great place to hang out and relax in the shade but it also helps to keep the house cool in the summer when temps can reach 120 degrees!





Painting under the Palapa

After the morning demo we all went up to the palapa to paint the view from a shady spot. I worked on this painting as I taught my process of tackling a landscape. The day before I drew a few thumbnail sketches which I looked at as I worked out the values using a red orange color for the underpainting. 

I also went around and offered suggestions and answered questions from the other artists. I wanted to make sure they didn't get discouraged. Painting landscapes on location is one of the hardest things an artist can do and even the best aren't always successful. When you give it your best shot and still have a stinker, best to chuck it into the nearest arroyo and try another view.

Me and Ann having our morning coffee






"View of Pescadero" Mexico, plein air, landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"View of Pescadero" 8x10 oil on panel   sold

The second day of the Mexico workshop we gathered at the church in Pescadero where there was a terraced out door plaza of sorts. Everyone set up their easels and got started with thumbnail sketches.

Frida, Jolyn, Tori and Cynthia

The lesson for the second day was to begin by composing small value sketches from different perspectives. This is a skill that is often very useful in the field but often neglected by artists a little too eager to start painting before they have a good "road map" to guide them.






visitors

It wasn't long before we had many interested spectators.  We realized that it being Saturday, all the children in the village come to the church for catechism class.  At one point there were five or six kids around each easel watching with wide eyes and cute faces.






Enjoying the Day Painting

It was another warm, sunny day in Mexico and everyone was happy with the work they did. It took me all day to finish my painting because I was busy trying to suggest ideas to help each artist and attempting to communicate with the children. Jolyn catered a great lunch of local BBQ chicken and then we both stayed late to work on our paintings after everyone left...What a great day!





Tori works on her painting

Tori's painting


 

Marsha Dahlquist's painting

"Coffee Pot Demo" still life demo painting in Pescadero by Robin Weiss

"Coffee Pot Demo" 10x10 oil on panel   Sold

The workshop in Pescadero, Mexico was a great success excepting a few glitches, like hitting a cow on the highway coming back from La Paz at night! Thanks to Jolyns quick reflexes we didn't hit it head on and only sustained damage to the car and not ourselves!




Baha Moon

The drive from the airport in Cabo San lucas to Pescadero offered spectacular views of the desert with the moon coming up and started to get me excited about painting this beautiful region

Sunset in La Paz

The second day we drove to different, possible painting locations and made a plan for the three day workshop. After that we drove to La Paz to try and purchase some supplies that didn't make it through by mail...Tip; if you are planning a workshop in Mexico don't mail anything ahead! plan on paying for the extra baggage. You will be money ahead!  Another Tip; If you are driving along Mexican highways at night, Stay Alert!  Cows often trot across the highways and even seek them out for the warmth generated by the pavement.

Still life demo at Jolyn and Toms Casa

Tom and Jolyn Moran offered their lovely home as' home base' for the workshop and we met there for the first days opening talk , color class and painting demo. the weather turned out beautiful and the student/artists who attended were a delight! 



Stayed tuned for more adventures in Mexico!

"Yellow Truck" old truck oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Yellow Truck" 8x8 oil on panel   $330

This restored truck is seen a lot parked around Bainbridge Island.  I have my rendition of it displayed in a solo show at The Tree House Café in hopes the owner will notice and buy the painting....you never know...

The show will be up through January.  Stop by, shoot a game of pool, have a pizza and check it out!  

"Pt. White Estuary" Bainbridge Island, plein air landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"Pt. White Estuary"  7x11 oil on panel    Sold

I found myself at Lynwood Center on Bainbridge Island last week. I drove over to put a red dot on a painting that sold at my solo show at the Tree House Café....which by the way, will be up for the rest of January! hint -hint...

Darrell painting at Pt. White

The day was so sunny and beautiful I decided to paint down on the beach..It was such a beautiful day I called my painting buddy Darrell Anderson to see if he was able to come down and share it with me...Just so happens Darrell was anxious for an excuse to abandon his plans to clean the studio to get outside and paint.  We both had a great day on the beach!  If you would like to read Darrells blog post and see his outstanding painting go HERE.




   

getting started

I was also test driving my new home-made pochade box...Everything is working just the way I hoped it would!   Now I'm all ready for more adventures in plein air this summer....=]

"North Head Lighthouse from Benson Beach" Landscape painting by Robin Weiss

"North Head Lighthouse from Benson Beach"  32x48 oil on canvas   Sold

It has been a long delay before posting this work....but worth it!  "North Head Light"  is a studio painting done from a plein air study and photos taken on location at Cape disappointment, on the Long Beach Peninsula, Wa. state.




Peoples Choice Award!

 The painting was selected by juror, Eric Jacobson as part of the Plein Air Washington Artists, Washington State Parks Exhibition at The American Art Co. gallery in Tacoma Wa. It received an honorable mention from the juror and then I was surprised to learn at the end of January that it also received the Peoples Choice Award!  This was especially gratifying for me since it came from many of my peers in the art community.  This show was the culmination of many fun paint outs with the PAWA gang this summer and included many fine studio paintings accompanied by their plein air studies from many members.
You can see the post of my plein air adventure at Cape Dissapointment when I worked on the studies HERE

Check out some of the other paintings and winners from the show HERE

Check out some fun interviews with some of the artists involved in the show  HERE

"Blackbird Bakery" Bainbridge Island, oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Blackbird Bakery"  18x27 oil on panel        Sold

Looks Like this will be my last post of 2013!   I still have a lot of paintings done in 2013 to post but just haven't been keeping up with the blog as I should be....It's been a busy year!!!  So many great things are happening and we are really looking forward to 2014!

Blackbird Café plein air study

 The Blackbird Café is a favorite morning coffee stop for many on the island!

I painted this larger studio painting from a 6x10 plein air study and some photos taken on location for the figures.

You can see both of these paintings and many more recent works at a solo show I am setting up today at The Tree House Café on Bainbridge Island!  Come on down and ring in the New Year!

Rob and Ann at Snoqualmie Summit

We wish you all the best of God's blessings in the coming new year!

"Last Stand" Seattle City oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Last Stand" 18x14 oil on canvas    Sold

Everyone who lives in Seattle knows that the Alaskan Way Viaduct is slated for removal by late 2015 and a complete re-design of the Seattle waterfront by 2019. They are now in the process of drilling a deep-bore tunnel using a 57 foot bore drill made in Japan and shipped by freighter to the US! I have been painting the Viaduct from various perspectives in an effort to record the history for posterity. 

I started in my usual method by beginning with an under-painting to establish value and composition using a reddish toned thin wash that will peek through as I cover the canvas.

When I arrived at this stage of finish I was not happy with the texture of the paint. It was too thin and needed more build up. I went over the entire canvas with another layer of paint mostly applied by palette knife and achieved what I was aiming for.

"Highway to Seattle" Seattle cityscape by Robin Weiss

"Highway to Seattle"   6x10 oil on panel       Sold

I had a couple blurry images taken by my steering wheel cam on the way back to the ferry from a trip up north....This is what I was able to render in about an hour. 

The Pescadero workshop is still rolling!   To find out more about it visit my workshops page HERE

"Art and Architecture" Port Angeles Fine Art Center, plein air painting by Robin Weiss

 

"Art and Architecture"    10x10 oil on panel   NFS
 

A&A in progress

A "Quick Draw" is an event at many plein air painting competitions. You have a limited time, usually one to two hours to complete a painting done at a specified location. There is a beginning and ending bell.  This was my first quick draw and I was really feeling the pressure....especially because I wasn't very confident about my subject or composition. I had no choice but to continue on due to time constraints. Mentally I took away some of the pressure by consigning myself to failure and just started having fun with the painting.  The result was a First Place award in the quick draw, awarded by juror Ned Mueller!   I have recently gifted the painting to The Port Angeles Fine Art Center, a great organization with an interesting back story. 

This post ends the series on the first annual "Paint the Peninsula 2013"   I'm looking forward to 2014!

FYI,  I am giving a three day oil painting workshop in Pescadero, Mexico,  January 17, 18, and 19.
This should be a fun workshop and a great getaway from the January, winter blues!  I will be teaching basic plein air oil painting techniques,  with short tutorials on color theory, composing with the thumbnail sketch and viewer, underpainting and on site demos each day for those interested.
   This workshop will be hosted by Plein Air Washington Artist, Jolyn Wells who lives in Pescarero with her husband during the winter months. You can review costs and more info by visiting my website workshop page HERE.

BTW , Jolyn has told me about a cool place to stay if you plan on coming....The Pescadero Surf Camp, located across the street from Jolyns place.  You can bring your own tent and camp there for $10 a day!  plus they have lots of other options and there are other hotels as well. 

Contact me at robinweiss@earthlink.net  or Jolyn Wells at   jowellsmoran@gmail.com for more info.
                                                                 
                                                                                  =]

"Foggy Bottom Boys" Port Angeles. plein air, marinescape,oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Foggy Bottom Boys"  12x8 oil on panel  SOLD

 As I reported before, the weather at Paint the Peninsula was a mixed bag!  This morning was so foggy you could actually lose your scene completely! ....but the show must go on,.. so me and Sandy Byers set up in the parking lot .




Sandy Byers painting the classic



FB in prog

 Sandy set up to paint this old classic Chris Craft.....which, apparently she helped to sell to a gentleman who stopped by to see the painting and then fell in love with the boat! He was able to contact the owner who came and showed him around and then closed the deal!
  This boat had sunk was pulled up and set on blocks in the marina lot. It looked like a black hole of endless work and money to me but this guy thought he got a great deal....lol 





One other important fact about this painting spot was lunch....There is a little local café  tucked into the marina businesses that caters to the fishermen and boaters . I had the best, freshest, fish in chips I ever tasted there! 


Donnas Fishermens Wharf Café   Don't miss it if you find yourself in Port Angeles!

"The Golden Dolphin" Port Angeles, plein air, marinescape oil painting by Robin Weiss

"The Golden Dolphin"  9x12 oil on panel    Sold

Golden Dolphin in progress

The next day dawned grey and rainy.  I had scouted a dock in town called The City Pier which afforded a great view of a pair of old fishing boats, and that's where I headed. Even though it was raining I was not going to let this scene pass unpainted! I worked on it most of the day and was not satisfied. bear in mind I had been completing three paintings a day until this one!  In the morning, still not happy about the painting I went down to City Pier again to see if I could put that spark of life into it.  The extra effort payed off and this painting sold as well at the Gala Exhibition.




The next day the sun came out again and  two painting buddies came down to the dock to share the fun. Check out Brook Borcherdings plein air work HERE   Sandy Byers amazing paintings HERE

Sandy painting the boats

Brook painting on the pier

I stayed at the pier all day again until evening, went and had dinner and then came back. It was that nice a place to spend time.

Evening on City Pier, Port Angeles, Washington State

 

"Line Up" marine oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Line Up"   8x8 oil on panel     Sold

 

 Back to the paintings from Port Angeles done at Paint the Peninsula. I kept being drawn to the boats and painted another one sitting on a bench by the marina.  I was glad that it went to a good home during the gala art exhibition at The Port Angeles Fine Art Center!

set up for "Line Up"

I will try and get more photos of my process in the future but basically I do a quick sketch under-painting using orange/red and then after a short set up time , get right to work laying in the color.

That big pipe going across the photo?  Well that's a BIG pipe parallel to the walkway and getting in the way of the view!  Fortunately us artists can just leave those distractions out!  =]

"Leigh's Roses" rose oil painting by Robin Weiss

"Leigh's Roses"  7x7 oil on panel    Sold

Well okay, alright!  A lot has happened since my last post! For one I have a new computer that will carry me, hopefully, for the next ten years or so!.....with all my data intact!

We had a great studio tour! Arts in the Woods has consistently been my best show of the year and 2013 did not disappoint!  Thanks to all of you who made it out to the show!  =] and thanks to Leigh and all the organizers who made it wonderful to be a participating artist!

Thanks to a good friend in the Plein Air Washington Painters who is sponsoring me and providing lodging and organizational expertise I will be giving a workshop in Baja Sur Mexico near Todos Santos in January , 17,18,19 !  Time is short so if you are interested in going down please contact me at robinweiss@earthlink.net  for more info. This should be a lot of fun and a great time of year to head down to sunny climes!

This is the last rose painting and I will be picking up where I left off on the Port Angeles adventure, Paint the Peninsula! Thanks for following and stay tuned for updates on shows and workshops!

Oh , and please visit my website to see more stuff!  =]    www.robinweissfineart.com    Thanks!