November 26th. to December 1st. Plein Air Workshop at Rincon de Guayabitos

Click on the Photo to get all the details.

 
 The beach is clean, safe and full of colorful subject matter. Fantastic restaurants for seafood - the place has real unspoiled Mexican charm. Only a 1 hour drive north of Puerto Vallarta but with a very different ambiance. We'll do some exploring of other smaller coastal locations too -  hope you can join us for this November get-away.

Below:
Donna painting boats and boogs at Rincon de Guayabitos.
 
 

New Stuff

"Valley of the Rio Laja"  47x 56 ins. oil on canvas

This was a commission for David Martin I just completed last week.

I'm not all that used to doing BIG BIG pictures but in the end I enjoyed it and plan to do some more around that size. The "Plein Air Monday" group will be going back up tomorrow afternoon to the location depicted in the painting. I hope we get some good afternoon clouds - it's a really dramatic spot. You're on this elevated limestone mesita with a long view way up the valley and there are lots of scrubby mesquits around to furnish a little shade. I'm hoping there won't be much water in the river as we have to cross it but it should still be pretty dry. However, we'll have to keep an eye on the weather - we start getting afternoon thunderstorms about this time of year and a miscalculation over a big one could strand the car on the wrong bank for quite some time.

"Iglesia San Jose"  9x12 in. on panel

 This was from the plein air groups outing 2 weeks ago. It was amazingly quiet - the street was torn up in front so no traffic was getting through. It could have been several hours spent painting in the far off countryside - just nearly silent painters and bird song.

 

 

 "Below el Chorro" 9x12 in.

.......and this was from 3 weeks back. I was really happy with this one as it was all completed during the one session ...... I'm pleasantly surprised that the work is moving along quicker these days. AND ... better yet! - it keeps becoming more enjoyable as the years flit away. I don't know whether it shows at all but the plein airs are usually done in a veritable parroxism of pleasure. There is nothing better than painting on location. You are forced to be keenly observant, inventive and economical in your approach. It is true that during the learning stages there can be very little in life more frustrating but for the obstinately patient there is a big reward of satisfaction lurking near the end of the tunnel. 

"The old Clock Tower - El Chorro" 9x12 in.

......... and having made those comments above ......... here is the one from last Monday that I fussed over for nearly the whole next day in the studio. I like it but the effect was pretty much there after the original 3 hours on location and a lot fresher looking too.

From our Trip to the Beach

"The Beach at Rincon de Guayabitos" 9x12 in. oil on panel
This and the next one are from our recent holiday at the beach. We camped at this location 42 years ago for 3 months and it is incredible how much it has all changed. Where there were a few small palapa's and old, narrow wooden boats floating in the bay there is now a beach with hotels strung along the length. They're now calling this section of coast the "Riviera de Nayarit". Puerto Vallarta is about 60 miles to the south and slowly spreading north. It's still nice in it's own way but when we sacked out under the stars in our sleeping bags we could have never dreamed it could get like it is now so quickly. One redeaming feature is that it has become a very "Mexican" beach where families pour in from Guadalajara and Mex. city on the weekends - it doesn't feel at all like the usual "tourist trap". Also, there are a lot of other Canadians who have discovered the place and manage to quietly blend into the scenery. Lots of good, inexpensive seafood restaurants on the beach - altogether a great place to sun, swim and paint for a while. We'll be going back more than once!

"Boats & Boug's" 9x12 in.

"Barranca Fountain" 14x18 in. oil on panel

This one from last Monday's plein air class. I haven't tried anything larger than 9x12 on location for quite a while and I was surprised that the increase in size really didn't slow me down much. In fact I liked it and plan to do more larger ones over the coming weeks. My palette size (9x12 ins.) is a bit small for larger work but with a little planning it can be made to work. I may even try a 16x20 in. for this Mondays class. We plan to paint from one of the rooftops in the very heart of centro. I haven't seen the view yet but they say it's spectacular - looking forward to it.

Painting from the Meetup last Saturday

"Cruz del Pueblo"9x12in. oil on panel
I was pretty happy with this one. I like the color and the perspective was quite a handful when all those steps go off at odd angles. It's always nice to paint up at "the Cruz." We had a nice group of enthusiasts, as always and the people up there are the best sort. Healthy too. - they have to be to live on that mountain slope! - no cars you see.

Paintings from our San Miguel Workshop last week.

This was done on our first day in the central Jardin.

For the first time I took a semi-active role in teaching. It was interesting and some of the students lied that they actually learned something from me and were glad of my involvement - very nice of them to say and with this in mind we decided that I would be part of a Donna/Tom team in future. I have to say though that I'm more convinced than ever that teaching effectively is a skill not easily acquired. Donna's had about a 30 years experience head start on me! I felt pretty awkward at times not knowing just what to say and what to avoid saying. I think people need a lot of encouragement to get to the point of high enjoyment as they paint and yet they need criticism as well in order to get there. It's a balancing act that Donna now takes for granted but it's a big challenge for me. At any rate it all became a little easier as the week progressed. The fact that they were a good group helped a lot. I don't know how I'll be when I confront my first "difficult" person.....................
The above painting I'm calling "Esquina del Jardin" and it's 9x12 ins. on panel. The surprising thing was that I almost completed it on that first morning - something about walking away and getting a fresh objective look when you return, I think. Mind you Donna was still carrying a much heavier load than I. All in all though it was challenging but fun and we're looking forward to more workshops together in the future.

The one below "The Purple Door" was done on our second day out. We all got to choose our own subject this time and 3 of us chose this one. It turned out to be quite a challenge and a half. Both the other painters were good ones but we all had a bit of a tussle. The red bougambillia was INTENSE and it had to relate to the glare on the red wall correctly. We decided next time we would pin the flowers as intensely as we could in the beginning and let the rest fall off in value. Seeing as it's hard to get a light, intense magenta, it must be socked on relatively dark - you can't just go on adding white to raise the saturation.
It didn't help that I was being interviewed most of the session for a book on San Miguel artists. I do like the design however and if you hadn't actually had your eyes dazzled by the true color of these boogy's in real life you might be forgiven for thinking it's not a bad effort, all considered.

"Sanctuario de Atotonilco" 9x12 oil on panel
This was actually our 4th day out but I seem to be having some trouble getting them blogged into the proper order! I kind of missed with this one and it required some alteration back in the studio. I'm pretty happy with it now. We joked that next time we will take a "dry run" at all the subjects we have slated to paint, in order that the students are more thoroughly fooled into thinking their teachers really do know what they're doing! - well. the drawing was good anyway - it was the color of that white wall in shade that really through me off. I should have leaned a little heavier on my "hue finder" I guess but the light was changing and it got hot and ............... excuses, excuses, etc., etc.................

"By the Juice Stands"9x12 oil
This one was done on our 3rd. day out ( I added the people later ). 4 of us set up in the middle of this driveway and periodically had to move our equipment as residents drove through. We didn't mind and they were amazing - no sign of impatience at all and every sign of respect for what we were doing. In many ways the Mexicans attitude to life is admirable beyond words. They help make this country a perfect place for painting en plein air.

"Guanajuato Plein Air" 9x12 in. oil on panel
I always love painting in Guanajuato and I think this is one of the best plein air paintings I've done in that fair town. It really has that Guanajuato "feel". I again added the figures back in the studio but the rest was done on location. It has to be one of the most fun little paintings I've ever done. A customer saw it in Donna's studio a day or two later and bought it!
Some in the group didn't like the 90 minute trip by van to and from the city. We had thought it would be worth it but we are taking the criticism to heart and next time we are going to tack on a few extra days in Guanajuato separately, so students can decide whether to take the whole package or just the San Miguel or Guanajuato part. They can then book a hotel in the city for their stay. We haven't worked out the details of this for next year yet but will post them when we do.

And finally the last morning of the workshop, "Cuna de Allende". Elena watched me do this one. She does very nice line and watercolor paintings herself. She wanted to see how I begin and prod one of these things toward completion. By this time I was mercifully used to people watching so it was not a problem and she did a small one in her brand new plein air box which came out pretty well and more in the classic" plein air style". By this time broiling in the sun, we celebrated with the coldest most refreshing coca cola I think I've ever had (don't touch the stuff normally). She had it delivered from the restaurant in the picture - sidewalk service from "ten ten pie".

It was a great week and I'm looking forward to next years workshop already.

The Group photo by Jaime
front: Sherry, Donna, Elena
middle: Tom Lips, Laura, Sandra, Carol, Yvonne, Elaine
back: Tom (me), Isaiah, Leslie
missing: Laurel

Dos Chiquitas

"Main Plaza, Comonfort" 9x12 ins. oil on panel
This was from our Meetup group trip to Comonfort a couple of weeks ago. As always we had a great day and stayed to do another in the afternoon. The town is very Mexican - we didn't see another gringo all day! The people are really friendly and were pretty fascinated by a dozen painters dropping out of the sky. As is usual I did finish work on these two back home - no re-drawing and the color was pegged on location but I work slowly and contentedly doing plein air and almost never bring them to completion while on site. As time goes on I get faster and sometimes get pretty close to completion but I usually find something to fuss over back in the studio. But my technique is a lot rougher and looser than it used to be and it's slowly drifting more in that direction all the time.

"San Antonio centro" 10x10 in. oil on panel
This one was painted with Donna's Monday morning plein air class last week. The sun kept peeking in and out so the light and those tree shadows were a bit of a challenge.
Last winter we saw essentially no rain and very little cloud between September and June. This winter has been quite cloudy with a fair bit ( for central Mex.) of rain thrown in. We're hoping the present forecast for sunny weather holds, as Donna's 6 day workshop in and near San Miguel is about to begin. We're both looking forward to painting outside every day for a week and we most enjoy painting sunshine! - funny how you don't get sick of it .....................

Some mid winter efforts

"Montes de Oca" 24x30 in. oil on canvas
One of the steeper calles in San Miguel
By the time you've made it this far up the hill you're in need of a good rest. I almost got run over by a guy that started slipping backward while I was painting on this narrow street about 5 years ago. This one was done in the studio!

"Allende Corner" 12x9 in. oil on panel

"Sunny Morning, San Miguel" 9x12 in. oil on panel

"Morning at Los Rodriguez" 9x12 oil on panel

"Morning Light" 9x12 oil on panel

All the small ones were done this month, mostly on location with Donna's plein air classes.
Oh wait!! -the "Rodriguez" was done with our almost new Meet Up Group. It's really taking off with the plein air enthusiasts around San Miguel. We started it back in October as an alternative way of painting with a group without having to run around giving advice at the same time. I think we had one taker at first but I see we have 11 slated for the upcoming trip to Comonfort next Saturday. It's really been fun - we're meeting once a month at present but this could be increased .................