Another class project was based on one of Ron's photos of the coast at Pacific Grove. The photo was of an overcast day, and a bit uninspiring, but it did show some nice rocks and waves. It was easy enough to make it a sunny day with a blue sky. Ron masked the white parts of the waves, but I just painted around them. It was fun to paint and I think mine came out pretty good.
On another rare nice day, I went hiking in Mt. Diablo State Park. I started at the Mitchell Canyon Entrance and went up the Mitchell Rock Trail. I took a bunch of photos. Many of them are spectacular distant views, but I wanted to paint something that was more close-up, a more intimate view. I chose one showing the rocky trail up the mountainside. I wanted to keep it fairly loose and impressionistic, but at least somewhat real, and it turned out to be quite a challenge. Without any easily recognizable shapes like buildings or figures, I found it hard to make it look like more than just abstract shapes and colors. It may not be one of my better paintings, but I feel that it is heading in the right direction, toward something that has more feeling than just a pretty picture.
