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Derek · member Member # Joined: 23 Apr 2001 Posts: 139

Awrighty... since we clearly have a few folks down southward who are doing so, I have to ask if anyone up here (Bay Area) is interested in doing such as well. I'm in Sunnyvale, and a weekly excursion to the hills (Fremont Older Open Reserve in the Saratoga area and Stevens Creek Park) on my own is getting, well, pretty lonely... and frustrating as I am a freaking island and would like to get some insta-feedback/input during the process, not just after.
Also, anyone come up with a decent way to get stuff back and forth on such excursions? I roam a bit into a small series of hills and it's uh... cumbersome, yeah... ah the joy of paint, water, boards, being lugged around, up, over, yonder and away. Most combos of palette, box, container etc. fail miserably.

EviLToYLeT · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2001 11:21 pm

Dum dee dum... I live near sunnyvale.... but hehe can't paint

I could tag along and offer some crits ya noe *grin*

frostfyre · Posted: Mon May 07, 2001 5:59 am

I'm in Redwood City, and have a little painters box that I lug about occassionally. Where do you paint generally? I do figurative work, mostly, but have been trying to branch into outdoor sketching as well. I'm sure there must be more than 2 artists on the list in the area..

frostfyre

Lunatique · Posted: Mon May 07, 2001 9:18 am

Dammit, I just moved from San Mateo to Louisville Kentucky a month ago. . ..

Derek · member Member # Joined: 23 Apr 2001 Posts: 139

Hey, a little going on here...

Evil, yes you could come along to crit... could use the exercise. <insert wicked evil nasty grin here> Or, gasp, you could start painting. Come on, if artists can do it how hard can it be? No, don't answer that... I've been doing this for years... it'd get me too depressed.

Frostfyre, right now I'm off of 237 and Lawrence Expwy in Sunnyvale. I usually head into some local areas such as the Fremont Older Open Space Reserve near Saratoga and also to Stevens Creek Park which pretty much backs up against the former (did I mention this in the post...? should have re-read it), but am looking to find new views; even back up to Marin, where I've gone a couple of times and found some decent places. Definitely open to suggestions. Also, SF Zoo for drawing and then Ocean Beach for painting on occasion. Wonder if the Primate Center is back in action...

Lunatique, congratulations on getting out in one piece. But Kentucky...? If you ever get back in the area for any reason, maybe we can set something up. Stranger things have happened.

As Frostfyre said, it can't be that only three people are in the Area... maybe I'll post asking for a Bay Area or Northern California roll-call. You have to have some idea of what this can do for your skill-sets folks...!
Feel free to email me at [email protected] with any ideas or questions.

quaternius · Posted: Mon May 07, 2001 3:57 pm

Derek - Sounds like fun, but I'm a little too far to conveniently paint in the South Bay area - am interested in what you're lugging around though. Are you doing watercolor, acrylic, or oils? I've developed some setups for each (it's an ongoing simplification project)- I paint with a semi-regular Sunday afternoon group up here in the North Bay area. Maybe I could lay out my stuff and snap a digital photo for reference if you'd like - watercolor setup fits in a single bag I throw over my shoulder. Trying to get the rest to that level as well. There might be one or two ideas you could use.

Lunatique -
Louisville???? I thought you LIKED the Bay Area? And here I was hopin' to run into ya one of these days and have a good Art discussion... oh well...hey, good luck

. I've got cousins in Louisville - they seem to like it quite a bit, so it must be a fairly decent place

Derek · member Member # Joined: 23 Apr 2001 Posts: 139

Quaternius...
Depending on my mood, I'll either grab gouache or acrylics for the outdoor stuff... but in the heat we get, in just a few minutes everyting is pretty well drying up. The gouache is much more manageable in terms of size and weight; have a nice small box I stuff it all in. The acrylics are harder to get there. Plus, those being water-based I have to allow for drinking and painting water supplies. Also have a collapsible canvas chair that I lug with me, as standing about can be a chore. No stand or easel set-up, so painting on my lap.
I'd like to convert to watercolor, as it is easier to refresh the paint and not have to eternally struggle with areas awakening on me. Plus the convenience of smaller tubes. BUT... I paint with watercolor for results that look like oil or acrylic even... familiar with Burt Silverman or John Clapp or Iain McCaig? That kind of watercolor work... so I know I would fuss a lot... can be freeer with acrylic and gouache, more like making notes for later, so to speak.
I paint pretty exclusively with rounds, a flat or two in fits of wanting a lot of color down 'right freaking now...'. Probably trek up with 6-8 brushes. Add on to that whatever I'm painting on and the fact that I go into not so easily acccessible areas (great for long walks and hikes, but when you figure in carrying supplies...)
What part of the North Bay do you find yourself in? When you look, that its...

quaternius · Posted: Tue May 08, 2001 10:42 am

Derek -
I know what you mean about gouache and acrylics drying up - which is why I usually just go with watercolor or oils for outdoor work. I use a little spray bottle for the acrylics, even in the studio - both on the canvas and on the palette - "misting" helps keep the stuff workable for me. Can also do more initial "washes" that way.

I'm a fan of the artists you mentioned - and think I know the technique/look you're describing. Transparent watercolor is definitely a different animal than that kind of work; tho' there's also definitely some crossover.

Doesn't sound like I hike out as far as you do - but I do occasionally throw everything into a large backpack and hike out a ways.

There's great places close by to go here... Tilden Park in Berkeley, or the Oakland Zoo. Sometimes we hop over to San Francisco for locations in Golden Gate Park, the Zoo, the Marina, Chinatown, the Wharf area, the Presidio, etc. Or further away are beaches and landscapes north along the coast like Point Reyes. We'll also get up to the wine country now and then, Sonoma and Napa. The group I go with for watercolor has gotten as far up as Calistoga in the wine country, but I didn't go that time 'cause it would've been the whole day. Usually a couple hours is all I can take to do this.

I grew up in Cupertino - and I remember some good spots in and around Los Gatos and Saratoga too. Highway 9 and Skyline Blvd.,Bear Creek Road, Stevens Creek Reservoir, Hakone Gardens, even head over to Big Basin Park for some redwoods, etc. Sounds like you prefer to get further out and away from things tho'.

Seems like I carry about as much as you do. Here's my typical watercolor setup. Handful of brushes, small collapsible accordian water-container for rinsing brushes. Small box-palette I hold in my hand. My easel is a small photo-tripod and a piece of 1/2" plywood I drilled and glued a photo-mount into the back of to mount on the tripod. I put a couple of metal angles on one edge of the plywood so I can hang my little water-container off one and also so the paper/watercolor block won't slide off the easel. I have a small folding stool that folds flat for transport. Outdoors I paint small, 8x10 or 9x12 - so I only take 1 or two "blocks" along. A small box holds the paint, brushes, etc. Add one small box of kleenex and a one-quart bottle of water. Everything fits into one of those canvas over-the-shoulder bags you buy at the art store.

Even though I've switched to water-soluble oils, oils are definitely a "closer-to-the-car" experience for me. I have friends who use small "pochade" boxes quite effectively - but I like more vertical separation between canvas and palette than their "openboxes" have.

You probably know of these guys already but check this out; cool equipment http://openboxm.com/ http://www.soltekarts.com/ (expensive)

Hey, you've got me thinkin' about tryin' some goauche outside. Might be an interesting change of pace and might help sharpen my oil work too!
Have fun! Hope you find some folks in the South Bay to join you!

frostfyre · Posted: Wed May 09, 2001 6:31 pm

Anyone? Bueler? Surely there's a few others... It figures Lunatique would move just when the bay area people start trying to hook up....

Lunatique · Posted: Thu May 10, 2001 2:30 pm

quote:
Originally posted by frostfyre:
It figures Lunatique would move just when the bay area people start trying to hook up....

Man, you are making me feel bad. Why didn't you guys think of this EARLIER??? Well, at least I got to hang out with a few Seattle Sijun kids(Nova, Visionary, and Pynk Pyro) when I was there for the Sargent exhibition.

Derek · member Member # Joined: 23 Apr 2001 Posts: 139

I'm thinking we're gonna have to start waylaying people, and as they come around we convince 'em that they really REALLY want to do this. >

That or I'll drive down to Santa Monica...
I don't believe that the Bay Area is so under-represented in this forum as it would appear to seem. What to do?
Anyway, I am having to put myself through hell this weekend to get my portfolio together... anyone interested in going after the 24th of the month is more than welcome. Will probably head out the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend next...(portfolio this weekend, girfriend in town (YES!) next...)

frostfyre · Posted: Thu May 10, 2001 9:58 pm

Awwwwww, I didn't wanna make ya feel bad, Lunatique. Saw the pics from the sargent exhibit- looked like it was fun! How's Kentucky?

spooge demon · Posted: Fri May 11, 2001 1:41 am

nobody wants to paint with me... *sniff*

frostfyre · Posted: Fri May 11, 2001 6:32 am

Malibu's a bit far for me

I just wanna paint!

Derek · member Member # Joined: 23 Apr 2001 Posts: 139

Well, if we got rid of all of the superfluous land between the South Bay and Malibu... nah, it wouldn't work. Sorry Craig, you're just gonna have to re-locate up here...

Waitaminute... 'Nobody wants to paint with me'... that's my line!