California Townscapes

"Sonoma Plaza"
9 x 12, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2016

During my recent time in California, I had many opportunities to paint the beautiful rolling hills and vineyards of wine country. But I was also drawn to urban scenes, particularly some street scenes that I saw every day coming to and from my friends' house. I was fortunate to be staying quite close to the historic central plaza in the town of Sonoma. I loved the old Sebastiani Theater building, especially in the late afternoon when it seemed to

bask in the light of the sun. So I chose late afternoon to paint the above painting of the Theater on the Plaza. I tried to "keep it simple". There is a lot of detail in this sort of scene, so simplification is key. 

"Straightaway"
7 x 14, Oil on Canvas
(c) Lesley Powell 2016

Another scene to which I was drawn was the view down France Street (above). I loved the sweep of the street, moving from wide to narrow as the distance increased, and the beautiful ranges of hills in the distance. But boy, was it hard to mix the color for those hills! It was such a subtle color, and it seemed to change from moment to moment. One minute it looked blueish, the next minute greenish, and then purplish. Yikes. I finally had to commit, but only after much back and forth.

"Clapboard Cottage"
12 x 9, Oil on Paper
(c) Lesley Powell, 2016

Last but not least, I painted a simple little white clapboard cottage nearby. The way the sun hit the porch columns in the afternoon was intriguing, and the huge mass of red geraniums was quite eye-catching. It made my day when a neighbor stopped to look at my painting and remarked, "I have always thought this house was very plain. I never saw it like you do, and now I will never see it the same way again." I took that as a high compliment. After all, isn't that what art is all about--causing us to see the world in a completely new way?!

PS: You can see many of my Sonoma paintings online here.