Kathleen Elsey Workshop 2, Day 3, Sonoma, CA ~ Kunde Winery ~ Texas Daily Painter Nancy Standlee

"Kunde Winery"

9x12 acrylic on birch panel 

I'm back home in Texas writing around a mail cluttered kitchen table between a mix of California and Texas time and wanting to paint but know there are other agenda items. I'm not rushing into anything just going to gently ease back into the schedule.

So what do I think about plein air? It would certainly be a go if painting in beautiful Sonoma climate of 70 and 80 degrees with these magnificent pastoral scenes. As I examine the above painting I find the white rose bush is almost as large as the crepe myrtle tree and it will need a little "pruning". Each vineyard has an abundance of rose plants in every color protecting each row partly tradition and as an early disease warning. In humid areas the roses and vines are susceptible to certain mildew and fungal diseases with the rose being the more delicate and the disease will show up in the rose first. 

We painted at the Kunde Family Estate Winery and it was a pleasure and we were invited to the tasting room for a complementary wine tasting about noon. My turkey sandwich tasted pretty blah after wine and chocolate. 

To see more of Kathleen's work and workshop dates visit her website HERE. 

It can be very challenging to paint outdoors but when the weather cooperates and a few friends are in shouting distance it was a thrill and a treasured memory. 

Painting advice from Kathleen Elsey, our instructor. "Fix your biggest problem first." Also she likes to start with fresh colors each day. I didn't and loaded up my palette early back in the motel room before we went out and used off the same mixtures all three days. In fact, I had enough paint left over to tone extra boards late one night before I left. I wrapped each board with a piece of parchment paper so the gesso/or painted panels would not stick together. Kathleen advised  not to rush into our painting but bond with the land, walk around, look through view finders, take some photos, sketch thumbnails and value sketches.

Equipment:

I am using the EasyL Pro from Art Essentials. When I painted in Santa Fe with Niki Gulley she was using one and recommended it and the Masterson Sta Wet Palette sits on top.

Here is the22"  rolling back pack from Costco by Ful I used as a carry on and put the wooden box in it and carried the tripod in the checked luggage along with all the paints that I put in a Glad plastic storage bowl with more plastic. With a broken foot, I knew I'd want to sit a lot so I loved my new camp chair by GCI. 

I decided on 1/4" birch plywood panels, 4 x 8 sheets, for the support to paint on that Niki liked also as they are lightweight. My neighborhood Home Depot, N. Arlington #554, was so kind and cut them for me in 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, 12x16. I sanded the edges slightly and gessoed each one with the Utrecht's Pro gesso.
I also had a backpack as my "purse" with laptop and ticket, etc. in it and a 29" piece of luggage so I was so appreciative of the wheelchair help provided by American Airlines.

This is the easel Kathleen likes. It's a Soltek.

We painted at Oak Hill Farms on Sunday and I posted the painting on my blog. I wrote and asked the name of the magenta plant that was so beautiful.  Stacey Tuel replied it is amaranth as in the grain and they grow it as an ornamental. Check out their blog with my painting included. Thanks again for hosting our group.

On Monday we painted at the Matanzas Creek Winery and I think I failed to give the link. There are some lovely photos of the lavender on the link.

In the next post I'll try to add a slide show of some of the students paintings from the 3 days plein air. Thanks for visiting my blog and check out Sonoma wine country. It is a beautiful place with friendly people.

CONTEMPORARY FINE ART, ACRYLIC PAINTING. ARTISTS OF TEXAS BLOG, NANCY STANDLEE, CONTEMPORARY ABSTRACT ACRYLIC PAINTING, PAINTINGS FOR SALE, DAILY PAINTWORKS, FIGURATIVE PAINTING. MIXED MEDIA FIGURATIVE ABSTRACT, TEXAS DAILY PAINTER, MIXED MEDIA ABSTRACT PAINTING, PLEIN AIR, SONOMA, CA, KATHLEEN ELSEY
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