Friday, October 26, 2012

Castle Green

The Castle Green Hotel is one of the oldest historical landmarks still standing in Los Angeles County.  Incredibly, by 1900 Pasadena, CA had 14 resort hotels and Castle Green (1887) is the last of the earlier resorts, and was one of the most popular.  Today the elegant hotel is divided up into condos.  Much of the original building connected to the old hotel is gone due to fire and earthquakes.  The two stunning 7 story cylindrical towers are still there for us artists to paint.  Happily, Central Park with lovely palms and roses is across the street so we can get a great view of the hotel.

It turned out that both of the plein air groups I go on paint-outs with were meeting at Castle Green in the same week!  OK, I would find plenty to paint.  The weather wasn't so cooperative.  On Thursday as I drove to the park, it was sprinkling.  The drizzle stopped but there wasn't any sun to paint that day.  Then on Saturday it was even more drizzle-y and didn't really stop.  My painting friends were going to stay and paint so I did as well.  I found a tree to paint under and changed my view from the one I painted on Thursday.  I like to let my first wash dry before continuing but it just wasn't going to happen that day.  I was also trying some new watercolor paper which seemed kind of "soft" to me so that was a challenge too.  I tried to continue with "dry brush" but I had to finish that piece at home.  So, here are my two watercolors of the Castle Green and the two photos of my views.  Always fun whatever the weather!    





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11 comments:

  1. KonstantinaPOctober 27, 2012 at 5:00 AM

    Very very beautiful both of them Sherry!! Have I ever told you that I like your greens? I was thinking the other day, that green is a difficult colour to make it look beautiful on the paper and you do so very easily, as it seems.
    Warm regards.

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    1. Sherry SchmidtOctober 27, 2012 at 2:52 PM

      Thank you Konstantina! Greens are troublesome it seems. I learned early on not to use straight from the tube. Mixing greens using blues and earth colors is nice sometimes.

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  2. AnonymousOctober 27, 2012 at 1:35 PM

    Both great, Sherry! You really convey a great sense of being there.

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    1. Sherry SchmidtOctober 27, 2012 at 2:54 PM

      Thanks Terry! That's an interesting comment...does plein air painting sort of help give that feeling I wonder.

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  3. Sherry SchmidtOctober 27, 2012 at 2:53 PM

    Thank you Ina for stopping by my blog and commenting!

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  4. Helen CooperOctober 28, 2012 at 4:29 AM

    These are both lovely paintings Sherry. Plein air is always such a challenge but can be such a great experience too!

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    1. Sherry SchmidtOctober 28, 2012 at 4:03 PM

      Hi Helen! Thank you for checking out my blog! I seem to be addicted to plein air, and the weather here is usually pretty cooperative.

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  5. SYLVIANEOctober 29, 2012 at 12:46 AM

    Your beautiful colors give a pleasant warmth to the architecture which needed it at this time. It's clever of you to show the picture of the places you are painting, it's so lively, and useful.
    Bravo.

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    1. Sherry SchmidtOctober 29, 2012 at 4:05 PM

      Hi Sylviane! Thank you for your nice comment. I always wonder if it's good or bad that I post a photo of what I'm trying to capture!

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  6. BridgetOctober 29, 2012 at 11:12 AM

    So loose and expressive! They are both lovely and I love seeing the photos of your plein air locations.

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    1. Sherry SchmidtOctober 29, 2012 at 4:07 PM

      Hi Bridget! Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting! I'm happy to hear you like the photos since I'm not sure...you see everything I changed for better or worse.

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