Los Gatos Plein Air 2017

Friends –

I'm back in California – my kind of place. And to celebrate this return, I participated in the Los Gatos Plein Air invitational (LGPA). I'm lucky and honored to have been asked to be part of this event, which was extraordinary.

Limited plein air painting and travel from Utah left me rusty at first -- as well as a bit color-shocked with the extreme change in scenery. I was more than a bit blown away by GREEN. How could I forget? Bountiful rainfall resulted in a plentitude of that vibrant color -- a challenge to any artist. It definitely required a brain-synapse-reorg for someone like me who had been much more accustomed to painting red rocks!

But the South Bay of California is where I grew up, and thus I selected locations that were close to my heart. Three of them: Lexington Reservoir, Montalvo Art Center, and Los Gatos Creek resulted in paintings for the event. And there were so many more that I will go back and paint another time such as Novakavich Orchards and fruit stand, West Valley College, Saratoga City Center and the remaining orchards and farmlands the remind me of carefree days as a kid.

In the end I completed four, in this order: 'Lexington', 'Montalvo Morning', 'Under Main Street', and 'Hot Day at 3 Barns Ranch'. Of these, only 'Hot Day' was sold, thus the others are available for your donation to a worthwhile non-profit.

Keep cool. The summer of 2017 is going to be our challenge.

margie lopez read