Monday, March 31, 2008

Fog at Trinidad Bay


Light and shadow are normally my best tools when I am painting. But on this trip to northern California I was hoping for something else: fog.
My daughters were studying in Arcata, at Humboldt University at the time and they had told me that on most days it was either raining or foggy. Well, it looked like it would not be either during my visit. However, as the last day approached, I had my wish granted. My painting buddy and I set out for Trinidad beach early in the morning and put on all the clothes we had - it was cold, the ocean agitated and the fog thick. After hiking north along the beach, looking for the ideal spot, visibility started getting better and we set up our easels and painted two pictures each.
I worked with a very limited palette, just white, cad yellow pale, alizarin crimson, ultramarine blue and green. It´s the ideal set up for traveling, less bulk, light and really all you need.