Thomas Jefferson Kitts | Blog

Spent the day at Point Lobos, a nature preserve south of Carmel, California. A place well painted by the northern Californian Impressionists during the '20's and '30's. Google Guy Rose to see some of the best.

Here is my morning painting at the north end. I'll probably work it a bit when I get home. A tepid Guy Rose:

And here is the afternoon painting, at China Cove:

Not crazy about it but the water did captivate me. It was so aquamarine. I thought there was enough there to build a painting out of but came to the conclusion there was not. So I stopped working on it. As Greg LaRock has been known to say, "Sure it's pretty, but is it a painting?" My wife says something similar to me all the time.

"Ooooh, look, shiny!" (And I start another painting without asking myself that important question)

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Tomorrow I go up to Moss Landing, north of Carmel, to paint commercial fishing boats at dock in the morning. Then I meet my hostess for the Los Gatos plein air festival, which begins next Wednesday. Next time I pull out the easel I 'll try to remember to ask myself if what I am looking at really is a painting . . .

Thomas