The Yellow House

I hadn't been painting for almost two weeks but got back to it on Thursday.  The plein air group met at Westminster Gardens in Duarte, CA on Historic Route 66.  It's a "senior community" on 32 acres and is a beautiful location.  Some of the residences are small cottages situated along pathways through trees and gardens.  There is also a lovely pond with a bridge and koi fish.  

The first time I was at a paint-out there I tried to paint the pond area which is very pretty with many trees over-hanging the water and fountain.  It was last year and one of my first tries at plein air painting.  Oh my, what an awful painting I did!  It showcased one of my initial bad habits...too many brushstrokes.  I painted way too many tree branches, pond ripples, and splashes.  I would add the piece here as a bad example but I either painted over it with gouache or used the back for something else.  On my recent visit I looked briefly at the pond and kept walking.  I ran across a sweet little tile-roofed yellow brick home.  I was late arriving so I went with that view.  Some residents stopped by to chat, and lots of squirrels and lizards were fun to watch.  The piece went OK and it was great to get back to painting.