Our group "Thursdays en Plein Air" met recently at the Cobb Estate in Altadena. I hadn't been there before so I was looking forward to it. I heard from fellow painters that the once grand Spanish style mansion is gone. All that's left is some of the foundation and a few stairs. The Cobbs built the home in 1918 with money from the lumber business. The internet says that after several owners the Marx Brothers bought the mansion in 1956. But it was neglected, and the remnants of its former greatness were eventually removed. It's also a supposedly ghostly place and is sometimes known as the Haunted Forest.
A disintegrating driveway leads into the area, which is gorgeous, with lots of trees and greenery. The estate is at the foot of the mountains so there were many hikers and dog walkers out on the hiking trails. Since I wasn't planning to paint any structures in the area I brought my gouache to practice with. I was going to try two small 5"x7" pieces but I measured and taped my paper incorrectly. So, I painted one larger piece and guessed at the dimensions for two smaller ACEOs or ATCs, 2.5"x3.5". I had a lot of fun that day and I'm enjoying my gouache experiments.
 |
| 5x7" gouache |
Good work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for signing onto my blog!
Joyce Washor
Hi Joyce! Thank you for visiting here. I've loved your work for a long time.
DeleteSherry, I think you captured the feeling of being there. I can feel your excitement when you painted this. Beautiful use of cobalt violet (?), and your shading is spot on. How lucky are you to live near such an abundance of beautiful landscapes. Gouache and you definitely agree!
ReplyDeleteThanks Terry! Using the gouache is usually a stretch for my brain since it's kind of opposite to the way I use the transparent paints.
DeleteYour use of colours is perfect. Not many people use gauche. You certainly use well. Great pics
ReplyDeleteThanks Polly! I'm still learning to use gouache and it's interesting.
DeleteYes Sherry lovely work. Your larger painting has such lovely distance and the light captured on the hills is wonderful
ReplyDeleteHi Lorraine, thank you. It was a lovely day to paint at that location.
Delete