Painting in the Rain(bow)

Santa Barbara was treated to a fantastic rainbow show this afternoon.

It was a wet and wild painting afternoon. Fun!

Kate's Panoramic

Caroline's kind-of panoramic.

 

Looking for the pot of gold in San Roque.

Happy Anniversary Palmers!

My good friend Lisa recently gave this painting to her hubby for their 22nd wedding anniversary. I was honored to have a part in their celebration. This location has meaning for the couple and it is easy to see why. Under the full moon it has a special romantic glow that one only experiences in the Santa Ynez Valley. Steve and Lisa are great people; and they are raising a trio of terrific young men. I wish them 22 more adventurous years together. And then 22 more after that!

Unlikely Subject

Not every full moon delivers an opportunity to paint. As a busy mom sometimes it's impossible to find the time to set up in the foothills or the beach to catch the moonrise. This one is from my street in San Roque. The neighbors thought me a bit odd. Oh well. I got to get out and have some fun.

This painting along with others are now on view at 33 Jewels:

Cynthia Burt

Urban and Trail Vistas

November 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013

33 Jewels at El Paseo

814 State St., Santa Barbara

805.957.9100

Moon Track, 9 x 12, Oil.

5:00 Shadows

As a Valley Girl (San Fernando Valley that is), I grew up spending summer afternoons in Malibu. What a treat to get to go paint at the lagoon. My old stomping grounds. This painting along with others are now on view at 33 Jewels:

Cynthia Burt

Urban and Trail Vistas

November 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013

33 Jewels at El Paseo

814 State St., Santa Barbara

805.957.9100

5:00 Shadows, 9 x 12, Oil.

Moon Glow

During the waxing crescent moon, the reflection of the earth illuminating the moon's shadow can sometimes be seen.
If it is a super clear night, watch for it as it as the moon sets in the early evening western sky just a few days after the new moon. I rely on my trusty Moon Phase iPhone App to find the perfect day.
If the weather is clear where you are on Saturday night, the 15th, watch for it.
The lunar rhythm never ceases to have a magnetic pull, drawing me outside to paint. 

Moon Glow, 10 x 10 inches. On display now:

Cynthia Burt

Urban and Trail Vistas

November 1, 2012 – January 31, 2013

33 Jewels at El Paseo

814 State St., Santa Barbara

805.957.9100 

First Thursday: December 6

1 AM Glow, Oil, 6 x 8"

Black Friday, Cyber Monday. How about relax-and-enjoy-Santa-Barbara First Thursday! Hope to see you all on Thursday, December 6. Lets enjoy the holiday season together.

Cynthia Burt

Urban and Trail Vistas

From the sidewalk pathways of the city, to the

natural pathways of mountain and foothill trails

First Thursday Reception 

December 6, 5 - 8

wine and nibbles served

33 Jewels at El Paseo

814 State St., Santa Barbara

805.957.9100

Happy Thanksgiving

Fall Farm Day, 9 x 12, Oil on Linen Board

This guy is glad he is a goat not a turkey

I wish you and yours blessed Thanksgiving. 

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~ Emerson

Fall Magic

Autumn Path, 10 x 10, oil on linen board

Happy Thanksgiving week! The warm colors of fall are hard to come by in So Cal. This painting is from a park in the foothills. Thank you Thomas Van Stein for pointing out the scene to several of us at one of his recent classes.
The fall term is over, but I look forward to the winter session and painting with my fellow paint-mates. Among my many blessings, I am grateful for the Continuing Education Program. Lets hope the classes stick around. I don't know what I would do without my painting buddies!

I suggest getting out there and seeing the trails in their fall colors: Santa Barbara Hikes

Carpinteria Bluffs and Blooms

Blooming in Carpinteria, 9 x 12, oil on linen board

Out of curiosity I googled Carpinteria Bluffs. A top hit: Yelp review " Heaven on earth! This is a GORGEOUS place to walk your dogs or go for a jog. I especially ..." I couldn't agree more. 

Venturing out on the bluffs offers something new each time: falcons, bunnies, falcons pursuing bunnies. When our daughters were little we used to love to watch the seal rookery from atop the bluffs. I think Caroline and Kate still like to walk out there, but probably wouldn't admit it.

I didn't realize until recently that there are flower fields right next to the trails. This painting is from a recent class taught by Thomas Van Stein. We wheeled our gear out to the end of the bluffs and set up in the shade. With so much gorgeous scenery, it was tough for me to settle on a subject. With my back to the ocean (weird) I picked these flowers as my main event. I am glad to have captured the scene, by now these flowers a long gone.

Learn more about the Carpinteria Bluffs: http://www.carpinteriabluffs.org/wp/

Running with Deer

Great night painting under the nearly full moon in the Santa Ynez Valley. Some pictures of my experience in the field last night...

Painting in the alfalfa field (photo by Lisa Palmer)

sweet!

Hip high alfafa

My companions

Views all around

Sublime

Thank you Lisa, Steve and Mark for allowing me to play in the field!

Resolute. Why I love these trees...

Resolute, 14 x 11, oil on board, available at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum Art Walk Sept 28 - 30

Five reasons why I love these trees:
1. They survived the Tea Fire
2. They are located at the site where I painted outdoors for the very first time several years ago
3. I walk by them with my good friend, Fer, on Saturday mornings when we aren't too tired to exercise (ok, we hardly ever walk on Saturday mornings, but we think about it a lot)
4. They catch the afternoon light just right
5. The are the subject of this painting which is on view this weekend at the ArtWalk, Natural History Museum

The ArtWalk is a great opportunity to see some 

amazing art, and enjoy nature, live music, food, and wine. 

See you there!

More info:

Varmints, Critters and Rodentia

Tonight at Cold Spring Tavern: Ocean All Star Band. Awesome. Roger House and Larry Iwerks. Yay!


Here are some bits:

Bliss

Seriously gritty from a day at the beach and later traipsing about looking for the right view to paint. Hot, sweaty and dirty, but happy.  

 A beautiful day, gorgeous scenery and good start on a painting. My happy place.
The fact that I got to meet some great people that are passionately committed to growing organic veggies and bringing to the public made it all that much more interesting. And a guy suggested I paint his mangos. What?

It needs some work. 

Pelicans, Briefly

Goleta Beach is a wonderful painting spot, especially near the slough. But today, the beach belonged to the birds: a squadron of pelicans, a colony of seagulls, a gulp of cormorants.

I'll never cease to be amazed by the sight of dozens of pelicans. They were almost nonexistent in the early 70s. Growing up in California, I don't think I ever saw a pelican until I was in college. It was discovered that due to DDT poising pelican chicks were not hatching successfully due to a major thinning of their egg shells (falcons and eagles have also been affected). The public reacted quickly. Pollutants were dealt with and the pelican populations have rebounded. In 2009 the brown pelican was delisted from the endangered list.  Today the pelicans outnumbered the people on the beach. 

I was inspired today to take photos and generally harass the prehistoric looking birds. I think we all had fun.

Going Once, Going Twice! Sold!

I was asked by a good friend to participate in the fundraising effort for the Los Olivos School Foundation. I was delighted. I was given access to the Historic Montanaro Farm, met some great people and hung out with some friendly deer. 

The event was this past Saturday night and it was a great success. Money was raised to bring quality education to their students.  

And both paintings found new homes!

Thank you Lisa, for asking me to participate.    

Sold!

Equinox Sunset, 9 x 12

Its a great pleasure to receive a phone call that a painting has sold. This one just sold at the California Art Club Summer Escapes Exhibition at the Altadena Town & Country Club in Los Angeles. After spending the better part of 2012 developing my commercial art business I am inspired to get out there and create more art! I hear that Indian Summer calling my name!

Girl Time

I haven't been out much due to a tremendous commercial art workload. Today I did get to beautiful location with my beautiful daughter Kate. While I set up to paint she took off and explored the beach. She disappeared around the point for over an hour. When she returned, her long curls tangled and cheeks flushed, she had stories of an adventure involving a turkey vulture, a perilous creek crossing and the gorgeous scenery that 'I just had to see'. What a delight to see my daughter who is usually not far from her cell phone, her friends or computer have such an adventure on her own - out in nature. Beautiful.

Waxing Moon and Tropical Sky

Congratulations Kate!

My Subject

Looking West

Perfect V of Pelicans

Light Waves

Second Wave, 18 x 24, acrylic on canvas

Last weekend I had the privilege to participate in a painting workshop with the remarkable Marcia Burtt (no relation, count the t's). I stretched my painting muscle with a new medium. It was a fun adventure to paint in acrylic. The workshop was great, the participants were very talented, and the scenery beautifully beguiling.
Painting waves in a new medium was definitely a challenge. Acrylics forced me to paint fast and keep it light. Three days at Goleta Beach in the gray mornings and halcyon afternoons was magical. Thanks Marcia!

visit marciaburtt.com

Super Size Me

Super moonset this morning. I am glad the hype gave me the motivation to get out of bed and painting at 5 am. The view is from the Santa Barbara foothills overlooking the Good Land.  Super!
I hope you too got a good look at that moon this weekend.

May Super Moonset, 8 x 10", oil on panel

En plein air and en le soup

What a great idea... take the kayak out... get some exercise, sun, and do a quick watercolor sketch. With a swell and a breeze it was chaos. But fun!

And there was a really big boat!

Love the Grit

Rosslyn, 12 x 9, oil

I love LA. Our daughter Caroline is considering going to college in Los Angeles. If she decides on the southland, then I'll be happy to pay her many visits, and paint little-known scenes. Like this atop the Rosslyn Hotel in Downtown LA. Skid Row never looked so great to me. 
Thanks to Steve Hoegerman for this great photo of the Rosslyn (below). He saw my painting hanging in Gallery 113. And, after we swapped downtown stories (his were more interesting than mine), sent me this photo.

©Steve Hoegerman, www.frenchfestival.com, www.hiddenprovence.com

Beautiful Skies

Generating Dreams, 16 x 20"

Besides the myriad of reasons to love living in Santa Barbara; one that tops my list is the drive home from Los Angeles. I have been visiting LA to occasionally paint urban scenes over the past 8 months. And as much as I love the energy that LA delivers, it's with a sigh of relief I round the bend just north of Ventura and get a glimpse of Santa Barbara in the distance. And if I am lucky enough to get to see a winter sunset, wow. Happy!

This painting along with a few others are now on display at Gallery 113, La Arcada, 1114 State Street, Santa Barbara.

Thank You

Thanks to all that visited me last night at Gallery 113. It was a fabulous evening. I've nearly lost my voice from some much conversation. Notice the blurry photo. I was a bit nervous before guests arrived, my hand was shaky. My first visitors calmed me. Thanks Leigh, Meggi and Lori!! You're the best.