Today I spent the afternoon painting in the bright windy sunshine at Albany Bulb across the way from the Golden Gate Fields racetrack. I could hear the announcer calling the races while I painted. And I was visited by numerous dogs and curious children and the occasional art critic.
It felt so good to be out painting again–it had been too long. The only downside was that I was painting in the bright sun because I was too lazy to walk back to my car to get my umbrella. And it was so windy the umbrella probably would have blown away anyway. When the canvas and/or palette are in the bright sun it’s really easy to mix all the colors too dark.
So of course when I got home and took the painting out of its box everything was too dark. Although I’d taken photos, they were pretty boring so I mostly worked from my memory this evening to to make some corrections and add a bit of artistic license.
Jana Bouc, Artist 
11 replies on “Albany Bulb and Golden Gate Fields: Oil Plein Air Painting”
The luminosity of the water is incredible! Really, he way you paint light is amazing, Jana.
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As so often, the colors play off against each other so well, and the variation on one color or another are kind of bountiful and at once precise. The water is grand, but no grander than the dark of the vegetation. Interesting perspective, too.
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Thanks Chloe. I chuckled at “interesting perspective” since that’s so much nicer than saying “wrong” perspective, which it most certainly is! Jana
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Wow – I really like this view! Great work!
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Water…splendid.
Figures…make the painting!
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Thanks Ginny. I think the figures need to be a bit larger, but I’m going to wait until it’s dry and then see what I can do. Jana
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This is a lovely painting with a kind of freedom and freshness about it. It’s good you’re not an artist that overworks your paintings.
Wendy
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Wendy, that’s such a funny message. I’m glad it looks like I haven’t overworked the painting but doing so is the bane of my artistic existence. But I appreciate your vote of confidence! Jana
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Love the color variation in the greenery across the way, and that dash of purple on the shore! I think the figures look right, in scale with the grandstand and palm tree in the background. The perspective looks good, too!
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This one is lovely and I don’t think you should change a thing. Leave it as is and paint another one. It’s wonderful.
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Thanks Pat, I’m trying really hard not to mess with it, but I did find one thing it needs — a path through the horizontal pinkish strip 1/3 of the way down the page. Jana
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