Monday, January 28, 2013

La Casita del Arroyo

This was my second plein air painting day at La Casita del Arroyo in Pasadena.  I posted my first painting in August in my post titled "La Casita".  The beautiful building was designed by Myron Hunt and built in 1933.  Boulders and stones from the arroyo below were used as well as wood from the 1932 Olympic Velodrome which was in the Rose Bowl, just to the north.  

It seems this small building gets more beautiful with every visit.  There is a fantastic view of the famous Colorado Street Bridge from La Casita but I just didn't feel up to trying the bridge.  It has lots of arches and shadows and I'll have to give it a try sometime.  I decided on another view of the distinctive structure.  There was a city meeting going on inside so the parking lot was full of cars which kind of blocked some views.  I think I changed my position at least four times.  To me the large chimney really gives the building its distinctive style.  It's always a challenge to try to capture the characteristics of the place.





8 comments:

  1. The green with the purple for shadows in this piece Sherry are great, I feel the more I see of your buildings in your paintings I am getting an insight into your local scenery from my lounge room right here in South Australia

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    1. Hi Lorraine, what a neat observation! And so true too!

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  2. And the touches of blue you did on the building are so nice. Painting plein air has become a history lesson, too! Well done, as always, Sherry.

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    1. Hi Terry. Thank you! So nice of you to take the time to comment!

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  3. You have such a wonderful handle on watercolour technique, love this piece!

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    1. Hi Darryl, thank you for such a nice comment! This is a difficult building to paint, at least when I try it.

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