Chili Cook Off and Paint out in Locke

Back to Locke again!  This time, painting was a close second to the annual Chili Cook Off.  It was a beautiful summer day (incredibly, one of the very first of the year!), and the cook off and painting were both successful.  The chili was great, the beer better, the crowds fun but mellow.  All the Locke regulars were there, if not painting.

David Peterson giving a demo

Martha Esch had to 'man' the shop all day, so she didn't paint.  But she did manage to talk David Peterson into giving us a demo of his watercolor technique.  David's style is loose and colorful.  He's quite well known around the area and is one of the people who keeps the Sacramento Fine Arts Center running with his endless volunteer work. 

One of David's watercolors

Ning Hou stopped by to chat for a few moments.  Ning's gallery is in Locke, but we don't see a lot of him.  His work is internationally known and much in demand.  His work is in the permanent collection at the Crocker Museum and the Sacramento Conference Center, just to name two that I happen to be familiar with. 


I painted in the morning and had a fairly successful effort.  I've mentioned before what a challenge it is to paint in Locke plein air.  I'm beginning to figure out that the only hope is to paint an "impression" of Locke, otherwise, it is just overwhelming.  So here's my impression of Locke on Chili Cook Off day with main street closed off. 

"Chili Cook Off in Locke"   Oil on 16" x 12" canvas panel  Plein Air