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.

Gus's Grocery

Ok, I will admit, Gus's isn't in Morro Bay, it's in San Luis, but its an institution and everyone knows it.  I had to give it a try.  Incidentally, if you want a great sub, Gus's is the place to go.

Some good and some bad on this one, just like the rest.  Seeing the scanned image, i can tell my perspective is still off a bit, but I don't think it really takes away from the picture all that much.  Some good coloring on the trees, and a bit ont he brick on the front of the store.  The stucco, I feel like I am having trouble with.  Soooooooooooooo many of the building here are all stucco, and if you know me, you know that i think stucco is like the laziest way to finish a building.  It rarely ever looks good.  Maybe I feel I am having a little trouble painting it because of the way I feel about it.    After painting the Bayside, I was told that if I made the windows totally dark, or black, that they would be much more dramatic.  I have to say, That was some good advice.  Well, I hope you all enjoy the painting.

Dorn's The Original Breakers Cafe

Double click this picture to enlarge.

This was done over the weekend.  I found out one really important thing.  If you have two sick kids who are pretty needy, you aren't gonna be able to paint very much at any one time.  This entire painting was drawn and painted in one to two minute segments.

Even with the challenges this turned out ok. Now, I will say that I have been past Dorn's a thousand time, and I don't think the colors are right.  As it turns out, I had to paint the entire thing from a black and white picture.  I should also say that I felt so confident when I started this, that I didn't even do it on really good watercolor paper.  I did it on a slightly lower grade paper.