Painting Month: Day 3 Recap

This is a recap of the third day of my self-made artist residency.

For day 3 of my painting month, I planned to paint at Sycamore Grove Park and Lake Del Valle, both in Livermore, CA.

Sycamore Grove Park

Sycamore Grove Park is an incredible park. It was my first time going and I’ll definitely be going back.

I arrived around 8:30am and moved quickly so I could take advantage of the morning light. The following view caught my eye and I decided this is what I would paint:

I was particularly drawn to the shadows on that far set of hills. After sketching out the composition in my sketchbook, I redrew it on the canvas:

I was right on the walking path so I enjoyed talking to many different passers-by about their love of the park, what they thought about my painting, and various small talk. I ended the day with the painting mostly finished, but I want to add some final details at home.

I’m excited to share that one of the local residents liked my painting so much they offered to buy it. This painting will be living right at home in Livermore!

(The Road To) Lake Del Valle

As I was in the final stretch before getting to Lake Del Valle, I came upon this view and I couldn’t help but pull over. I felt like I could paint in any direction and have a beautiful scene to paint. These pictures don’t even do the scene justice: