It's So Nice I Had to Go to the Bayside Cafe

Well, this one too me a little more than an hour to paint.  In fact, it took me two lunch hours.  One to draw and one to paint.  And to tell you the truth, I am ecstatic with the outcome. I know that it is still not technically perfect, but it is a really good interpretation of the bayside, and I am learning a lot.

Check out the half barrels.  How do they look?  They look round.  Check out the tall stump behind the bench.  Round again!  and look at the shading on the umbrellas   They look like they could actually be in the sun.  The windows look like they are set back just a bit in their sills and the building has  a bit of texture to it.

The secret?  I'm learning to do things in multiple layers.  There is very little on this painting that was done with one layer of paint.  most of it has two three or four.  The stump, believe it or not, has six or seven, but i think it looks great.  I will admit that I had a bit of trouble with the grey in the windows.  They really need a go-over, but i couldn't bring myself to do it.  Any way, I really like this painting.

One more thing.  If you haven't seen it yet, there is a new drawing on Dabflyarts Drawings.   Just go to the top of the page, on the right hand side and click through.

Bayside Cafe

I have been thinking of painting all the landmarks in Morro Bay.  To see if I could do it I did a few quick paintings yesterday.  They turned out OK.  The problem for me is that same problem I've had all along.  DRAWING.  Having not had a drawing class since Mrs. Mudrack's class in high school.  Drawing is tough.  I have been working on it.

Yesterdays quick sketches gave me a little hope so today I decided to give a go on the Bayside Cafe.  It is located in the State Park, right on the water.

So, armed with a little confidence, resolve and dogged determination, I set out to draw, and paint.  Let me pat myself on the back for a second (pat, pat).  This was drawn in PEN.  Did you get that?  PEN, no pencil.  Once I started, I was all in, for good or bad.  It did take just a while to draw it, but the painting went great. OK, there are a few problems.  The perspective is off in a few places.  I know, I know.  But without an eraser, i was forced to forge ahead.  From a drawing perspective, this is like 5 times as difficult as most of my others.

In talking to my painting partner, Ed, (who is learning to watercolor at the same time) he suggested that it may not be quite enough to mix colors in the tray and then put a homogenous color on the paper.  These are watercolors after all, let the paint mix on the paper.  I am trying to take that advice to heart.  If you look in the painting, you can see that most of the colors change ever so slightly as they lay across the paper.  I do think it adds to the interest of the painting.  I am trying to do it even more.  Please click on the picture to enlarge it, it will look much better.