Thursday mornings I make it a point to get out and go plein air painting with a group of artists from the Pasadena area.  I didn't even know about the Los Angeles Arboretum in Arcadia and was pleased to discover this lovely 127 acre jewel. I painted the stand pond that was formed naturally by an earthquake.

       For this painting, I decided to experiment with a few unorthodox ideas. I have been watching Passports and Palettes on KCOP which has highlighted several plein air painters. During one show featuring Kevin MacPherson, he mentioned that he will take off his glasses to block in the initial colors. I am pretty blind but thought I would give this a try. I also wanted to do most of the painting using a palette knife.

       Without my glasses, the dark shadows were easy to see and I placed those in using a large brush. Who needs to squint? Using my palette knife, I then added the water and sky. At this point, I thought that maybe I should put my glasses back on to add details and refine the water. While painting, I used the palette knife to emphasize texture in the palm trees, shrubs and water reflections. 

       At noon, all the artists met for lunch where a mini art show was on display of our mornings work.

       If you are interested in owning this painting, contact me through Sharon's Email or take a look at more of my paintings at SharonWeaver.com