Post Impressionists Show at San Francisco De Young Museum

I got out tot the post-impressionist show at the De Young museum yesterday and really enjoyed myself.  The show really concentrates on the period after impressionism, and had few works by artists like Monet.  It did have a nice collection of Van Gough, but what struck me most was a Sargent piece (left) and this work by Albert Besnard (right):

 

As if often the case, neither of these images do the originals justice - in both cases fabric of the dresses just shimmered with light.

What really made the show for me was going late in the day midweek and then doubling back to the beginning of the show about 30 minutes prior to it closing.  At this point they haven't been letting people in for about an hour and I got to spend big chunks of time in the galleries all by myself (well, and a security guard too).  It's really so much more enjoyable then navigating crowds.  Both of these pieces are really large and should be appreciated from 20+ feet away which just can't be done in the normal course of these shows.

San Luis Obispo Plein Air - The Work

I’ve just gotten back from dropping my paintings at the museum for the San Luis Obispo Plein Air.  I’ve had a blast all week painting dawn to dusk through a crazy heat wave.  To survive the heat I painted out by the coast the entire week where it was a cool 85 vs. the 105 degrees in town.

I’ve been painting like a madman doing 15 paintings Sunday through Thursday.   Back when I started plein air painting I was having back problems and I couldn’t envision standing for a whole painting.  I swear painting plein air has helped my health.  Testament to this greater stamina is that I did 5 complete paintings on Tuesday. It also helps that I’m getting better at pacing myself.  Even when doing 5 paintings in a day I took time to take a nap midday when the light was flat.

Now I need to take a long hot shower, get my act together and head back over to the museum for the first of the weekend's events.  The ticketed opening starts at 4pm tonight, and the show then opens to the general public at 6pm.

Here are a few of the paintings I framed and delivered ...

 "Le Cove", 8x10, Pastel (sold)

"Morning's Mystery", 12x16, Pastel

 "Three Groves", 9x12, Pastel (sold)

 "The Tales They Could Tell", 12x16, Pastel

 "Morning Magic", 9x12, Pastel