May 28, 2010

Down in Monterey, California . . .

No paintings to post yet. Just settling in and saying I'm here. Flew down to collect my jeep and painting gear in Santa Rosa, following last week in Sonoma, and now I am headed south to Garrapata, near Big Sur.



Rock and Ocean. The purity of paint. And of the light as it falls across them. Should be fun. I used to think ocean-scapes were maudlin, formulaic, and dull, but then I tried some. As a good friend says, 'that sh*t is hard to do'. Visit this guy's blog to see why. Stapleton is a good painter of the sea:

http://stapletonkearns.blogspot.com

I will try to get down in the hole, Stape'. I promise I will . . .

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, try to drive through the Santa Cruz mountains out of Los Gatos on a Friday afternoon on a Memorial Day. The road turns into a parking lot. If I'd had a thumb-pochade box I would have whipped it out, set it on the steering wheel, and knocked out a few paintings as everyone inched along.

But hey, I'm here now and in position to paint one of the most stunning places on the planet. The next couple of days are going to be awesome. Can't wait. Going to paint with some old friends, and perhaps meet some new ones as well: John Burton, Mark Farina, and maybe, if he shows, Brian Blood.

Stay tuned . . .

Thomas

3 reader comments:

G. Lindwood said...

I've enjoyed the posts from your trip and was pleased to see you had sales, although I'm not surprised, as your work is beautiful. "Jimena Dancing" is charming (and I think she charmed you!)

Celeste Bergin said...

I'm tuned.

Thomas Jefferson Kitts said...

Yes, she did charm me. Pretty much charmed everyone all round. I think it was her story, of dancing for the schools, and the fact she was doing her pose out in the park that created the buzz. I don't think I mentioned it, but on Saturday her entire family, aunt and uncles and cousins too, came out to the public exhibit to be photographed with the painting. Needless to say, that was sweet too. 9They made me stand in the pictures too.)

T