Four Days In Muphys - Day Three and Four

On the third day of our painting trip and Howard Rees Workshop (http://www.howardreesartist.com/) we traveled a few miles down the road to Columbia.  This amazing little gold rush town is now a State Park with shady streets, restored buildings and lots of charm everywhere.  There's no traffic allowed in town, so it's possible to set up the paint gear virtually anywhere.  However, we found ourselves there on a very hot day with hundreds and hundreds of tourists.  While there were many incredible old buildings to paint, it wasn't as easy as it seemed to get a good vantage point, find some shade and stay out of the way of everyone else.  Several of us found a shady little park at the end of the main street right across from this building.

Columbia Store  Oil on Canvas Panel  12" x 16"

I did a second painting in Columbia, but it isn't worth posting.  I went completely astray on that one!

Finally, on day four, our little group returned to Murphys.  We gathered together at a small town park with a stream running through it.  Kids played in the rapidly moving but very shallow water all day.  Inner tubes were the vehicle of choice.  It took me a long way back to some great summers on the  Yuba River near North San Juan California. 

Shady Spot by the Stream (Murphys CA)  Oil on Canvas Panel  12 x 16

I was in the sun (overcast most of the day) and looking into the shade while painting this.  When I got it home, I was taken back at how subdued and dark it was.  However, I've grown to like it quite a bit.  A different painting for me.  Thanks to Howard for several suggestions that got me unstuck as I painted along.  And thanks to Ray, who painted a scene with the underwater rocks first.  I stole his technique!

With reluctance, I left Murphys and the Gold Country in the late afternoon and headed for hot, hot Sacramento.  A great painting trip!  Thanks again to Howard and Janey Rees.

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Four Days In Murphys - Day One

On Sunday July 15 I drove to the Gold Rush town of Murphys, California to meet up with friends for a four day plein air painting workshop.  We gathered Sunday evening to discuss the upcoming itinerary and several of us wandered the little town to explore possible painting subjects.  The evening was exquisite.  Summer was full on and twilight lasted until after 9 PM.  Murphys is often called the Queen of the Sierra.  

Murphys Historic Hotel  

  Scenes like these old buildings were everywhere.  A plein air painters paradise. 

We stayed in Murphys Historic Hotel.  Previous guests include  Mark Twain, Horatio Algiers Jr., John Jacob Astor, Thomas J. Lipton, J.P. Morgan, and former President Ulysses S. Grant. It's been in continuous operation since 1856. 






The next morning I set out to paint.  I had spotted my first location the night before:  the side of the Murphys Hotel, right where I was staying!  I set up along the side street, only a few feet out of the traffic and painted happily away.

Murphys Historic Hotel   Oil on 12 x 16 Canvas Panel 

I spent longer on the painting than I realized, but I was very happy with the result.  I managed to stay loose and use expressive brush strokes. I interpreted rather than copied, changing the overall color from a washed out pink to this much warmer and more dramatic color.  Perhaps most importantly, I resisted coming back and "fixing" things!  hallelujah!!  I'm learning!  

After lunch, I wandered down main street to the Hovey Winery.  The owners were nice enough to allow us to use the grounds for our daily afternoon critiques.  And of course, we drank lots of their wine.  I set up on the walk just outside the grounds and painted a portion of their beautiful wine tasting room.  I like the sense of reflected light in this painting.  And the flag and hanging basket of flowers added just a touch of color.  I was pleased with the overall result.  The owners expressed interest in using my painting in their marketing.  We'll see.  That would be great. 

Hovey Wine Tasting Room at  Murphys   oil on 12 x 16 panel 

Our first full day in Murphys could hardly have been better.   I'll include pictures of the others who attended the workshop in the next post.