A California Buckeye tree gestures along a dirt pathway was my subject on last Sunday's outing. I am trying out a canvas panel that you can do watercolors and gouache on. It is very tricky as the watercolor brushes seem to be wasted by the thirsty surface of the canvas but offered some nice dry brushing transitions that I enjoy when I oil paint. This area also happens to be one of the only leash free dog trails in the county, so my luck would have it, every dog came by and sniffed my palette, studied my alien set up and sauntered along their with way with master at side. It's better though than the bee sting I got a couple weeks before in a similar spot.

The additional study is an invented doodle painting. I sort of do these to relax after painting outside. Gouache on a vellum finish bristol 4 ply card. The more reduced the color palette the more you can dance around with the density of the pigment and explore the dialog between paper and brush, something sorely lacking in digital painting.

I wanted to share some recent field studies in watercolor and gouache. The large rock formation is just outside of the Golden Gate bridge area. The cliffs had so many variations of color in the light brown palette - interesting to dive into that. All of these pieces were painted in one session from life. Extreme wind by the ocean, and a lovely bee sting at the end of the oak tree study are all part of the fun when you are outside, but I would not trade it for anything.