Below are some paintings from the Central Coast of California over the last ten days. I was based in Carmel Valley, but moved down the coast quite a bit.
Green Valley, Cambria. 32 x 40 in.
Big Sur. 32 x 40 in., oil on linen.
These first two paintings were quite large so I tied the canvases to the ubiquitous barbed wire fences to keep them steady in the high winds. I picked up a lightweight rope-and-plastic-carabiner combo from Nite Ize at a local camping store and the system worked perfectly.
My set-up in Big Sur.
Rye Grass. 40 x 32 in., oil on linen.
One great thing about painting in the Monterey area is that there is a handful of world-class plein air artists who live there to paint with. On the above painting I worked with John Burton, and the sketch below is of Mark Farina, who we painted with one morning south of Carmel.
Mark Farina painting at Monastery Beach, Carmel. 8 x 12 in.
Hearst Castle Hills. 11 x 14 in., oil on linen.
San Carpoforo Beach. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Cows at Notleys Landing. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
I’ve always felt I became a landscape painter because of growing up surrounded by the beauty of California, so it’s great to get back there and paint when I can.
My Folk’s Patio. 8 x 12 in., oil on linen.
Update: We stopped and painted for a bit in Lake Tahoe on our way out of California. Here are a couple images:
Tahoe Princess. 8 x 12 in.
Street in South Lake Tahoe. 8 x 12 in.
Bravo Marc, beautiful paintings
You are a big inspiration to me, thanks for that. Any tips on taking decent photos of paintings?
Nice to see you update the blog so frequently, I have a hard time following anything via facebook.
Beautiful paintings, Marc. I paint in Cambria every Wednesday with the Wednesday Irregulars. There are quite a few memorable early California painters in their 80’s and 90’s that paint with our little group (mostly watercolor). After traveling this summer the central coast is the place for us to grow old!!
Your beautiful work was highly recommended by Tim Horn in a recent plein air workshop on Monhegan Island. So inspiring!!
Hello Marc,
Regarding the Big Sur 32×40 oil on linen at the top of the page….
What is depicted in the distance on the horizon? Is it a fog bank, or an island?
Thanks!
Cronin
Hi Cronin, it’s a fog bank. It’s very normal there to see the fog sitting just off of the shore.
Hello Marc,
Wonderful paintings!
Can you relay to me the mixture for the light yellow grass color in the middle ground of “Hearst Castle Hills”? Or maybe if you’ve the time, the pallet of colors you used for the painting? I’m struggling with a painting of Gaviota CA at the moment, and can’t quite finish without your help.
Many thanks!
Cronin
Hi Cronin, I wrote a previous post on my palette here: https://marcdalessio.com/my-palette/. Nothing has changed really. That grass would have probably been just a muddied-down ocher mixed with white? I find Old Holland’s gold ocher or Zecchi’s Roman ocher have the best hues.
My grandparents were CA sheep ranchers when I was a child. Your Green Valley painting makes me homesick. Is it available?
Thank you.
Susan Gendreau