Echoes block-in

Blocking in the underpainting for 'Echos'. The inspiration photo for this painting was taken at the Sweetsprings Reserve in Los Osos, in California's Central Coast. I love the way the trees reflect on the water.

UnderStory

'Understory' 20 x 24, oil on canvas

I took the photo for this painting in the Elfin Forest of Los Osos, in California's Central Coast. It is all pretty much flat ground there, but I added a slope & exaggerated the light coming through the trees.

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On the Easel This Morning

Took a couple days off after the 30 day challenge. This morning I worked on an under painting for a large abstract, 20 x 24. I was just laying in the values, this will not be the final color scheme.

30 x 30 Collage

Day #30 - Fractured II

'Fractured II' 11 x 14 oil on canvas

Day 30 in the 30 in 30 Challenge, thank you Leslie Saeta for hosting. I learned so much & had allot of fun. It got me back to the canvas & dusting off my palette knives & brushes. I have had fun experimenting with abstracts & I think this is a theme I will stay on for awhile. This painting is an abstraction of light coming through fall leaves.

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Day #29 - Looking Through

Looking Through, 8 x 10 oil on panel

One more to go in the 30 in 30 Challenge! The inspiration photo for this painting came from a photo I took while visiting Orcas Island in the beautiful San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington. The sun was shining through the Madrone trees as we were standing on our deck looking out on the sound.

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Day # 28 - Undergrowth II

'Undergrowth II' 12 x 12 oil on canvas 

Still having fun with abstract...

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Day #27 - Undergrowth

'Undergrowth' 12 x 12 oil on canvas

I am just loving these abstractions! The inspiration photo for this painting was taken in the Elfin Forest in California's Central Coast. It is a preserve on the edge of  Morro Bay with stunted oak trees & all kinds of fauna & flora. Raised boardwalks protect the undergrowth & allow visitors to be immersed in its beauty

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Day #26 - Fractured

'Fractured' 8 x 8 oil on canvas

Keeping with the abstract theme & playing with leaf patterns. Fun, Fun. Fun, I am loving these abstracts. A great opportunity to let loose & play with color, composition & pattern.

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Day # 25 - Reflecting

'Reflecting' - 8 x 8 oil on canvas

Continuing the abstract theme, I love water reflections & tried to emulate that here. Having fun just playing with paint & focusing on composition. FIVE days left in the 30 day Challenge!

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Day # 24 - Visual

'Visual', 8 x 10 oil on canvas

Playing with an abstracted leaf pattern today. This was fun, I may do abstracts for the rest of the 30 in 30 challenge.

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Day # 23 - Sweetsprings Morning

Sweetsprings Morning, 11 x 14 oil on canvas

Sweetsprings Nature Preserve is  maintained by the Morro Coast Audubon Society in Los Osos, CA. It is a quiet with trails throughout & spots to reflect & watch nature.

30 in 30 challenge

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Day # 22 - Autumn's Arrival

'Autumn's Arrival', 6 x 6 gallery wrap canvas

A quick little study of a local stream bed in Malibu Canyon with the hills behind. 

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Day #21 - 'Approaching Storm'

'Approaching Storm' 8 x 10 oil on canvas

The inspiration photo for this painting was taken on a fall trip to Colorado. This tree grows out of a rock next to the historic & beautiful St. Malo's Catholic Chrurch. I so hope it wasn't damaged in the recent flooding.

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Day #20 - 'Winter Color'

'Winter Color' 8 x 10 oil on canvas

My sister has a beautiful waterway with walking paths by her home. She took the inspiration photo for me bare trees with winter color all around.

Day #19 - 'Through the Trees'

'Through the Trees' 6 x 6 oil on canvas

I still have my mind on all of our Colorado family. If you have ever stood in an Aspen grove you know how magical it is. As we stood here, a light breeze blew & the aspen leaves started raining down, decorating us, the fir trees & the forest floor.

Days # 17 & 18, Memories of Colorado

'Memories of Colorado' 6 x 6, oil on panel

Still playing catch up from my little road trip to N. California. While I was gone, the awful rain & flooding was falling upon our friends in Colorado. When I got back home, I pulled out my photos of past Octobers when we visited Rocky Mountain National Park in the peak of fall color.

'Memories of Colorado, abstracted' 6 x 6, oil on panel

Day's # 14, 15 & 16

'Orcas Island Sunset' 8 x 10, oil on canvas

'Cayucos Sunset' 8 x 10, oil on canvas

'Off Sunset Cliffs' 5 x 7, oil on canvas

I was out of town over the weekend & am playing catch up for my 30 day challenge. 2 more tomorrow!

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Day #13 - Distant Glow

'Distant Glow' - 5x7 oil on canvas

I have had fun painting the last few sunsets for the 30 in 30 challenge, & decided to explore them further over the next few days. I took the inspiration photo for this painting on a hilltop close to our house where you can watch the sun sink into the ocean 20 miles away.
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Day #12 - Silver Sunset

'Silver Sunset' 5 x 7 oil on canvas

We stopped along Highway 1 just north of Cayucos on our way to Cambria to take the photo for this painting. One of the prettiest sections of coastline in California.

Day #11 - 'Oceanside Sunset'

'Oceanside Sunset' 5 x 7 oil on canvas

Just a quick little study for day 11 in my 30 in 30 Challenge for a possible larger painting later.My daughter took the inspiration photo for this painting while watching the sunset in Oceanside, CA. 

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Day #10 - 'Breaking Through'

'Breaking Through' 14 x 18 oil on canvas

Wow, I got a little too ambitious today, doing a larger canvas. I really was planning on just doing 30 quick studies. This is another view of the the Baywood part of Morro Bay in California's Central Coast. It was a foggy morning with the sun just breaking through. The photo was really lacking color, so I pumped it up a bit, all the while using my leftover 'gray' from yesterday's paint.
30 in 30 Challenge

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Day #9 - 'Bayside Sunset'

'Bayside Sunset' 9x12 oil on panel

I took the photo for this painting last spring while visiting my son in the Central Coast. We walked to watch the sunset on the bay, what a treat. I used a pre-primed Ampersand Gesso board for this painting using only a palette knife to paint it.
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Day #8 - Dappled Light

'Dappled Light' 12 x 16 oil on canvas

Wow, day #8 already! Back to oils, I love the feel of the oil paint under my palette knife, fun delving into acrylics on the last few paintings & I'll probably play them again, but for now I'm back to oil paint. This scene is painted from a photo that I took through my windshield...I was not driving. On the road to Montana de Oro State Beach in San Luis Obispo County, CA, you drive through this spectacular grove of Eucalyptus trees. These groves in the Central Coast are the winter home & mating area for the migrating Monarch butterfly.
I laid in the under paint with a thin turp wash. Over the past days, I have been saving my oil paint scraping & mixing anything leftover on my palette into a lovely gray. This gray was used here to neutralize the limited palette of color that I use. I think it also brings the last 7 days full circle into this painting.
Thank you Leslie Saeta for posting this 30 day challenge, I am having so much fun!
This painting is available for purchase on my Esty site, Susan Ciufo Fine Art

Day #7 - 'Morning Reflections'

This is a quick little study of the 'Morning Reflections' of Morro Rock. 8x10 acrylic on canvas. Back to oils tomorrow!

Day #6 - Vibrant

I decided to take the 30 day challenge as a way to have fun, experiment & stretch my creativity. Normally I paint in oils, but decided to have a little fun with acrylics & do a total abstraction. Of course, I could not leave it be & decided to turn it into a 'Vibrant' landscape, 12x12 acrylic on canvas panel.

Painting #5 - 'Winter Willows'

Day 5 of Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge, I am struggling to go more abstract. This scene was from a photo taken along Turri Road in California's beautiful Central Coast, just outside San Luis Obispo late last winter when the willows still had color. Working in simple shapes & electrifying the colors a bit. 'Winter Willows' is 8x10 acrylic on canvas.
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Painting # 4 - 'Early Morning'

This is an early morning scene of the Morro Bay Estuary. The water is ever changing with the tides & a great spot for bird watching. 9x11 oil on panel, 'Early Morning'

Painting # 3 - Don't Touch

'Don't Touch' 8x10 oil on panel

So, lesson learned, I love using the palette knife, but with this painting I got too much paint on too fast & struggled thru it. Thankfully I had defined my lights & darks early on. Was able to scrape back some of the areas & finish it up. Be sure to check out the other 300+ artists doing the 30 day challenge at Leslie Saeta's blog Slices of Life
The prickly pears were so beautiful on the hillsides around us a couple years back & I took a bunch of photos. Here is an award winning painting I did on the same subject in 2011. In this I used brush & palette knife.

'Spring Glow' 11x14 oil on canvas

Painting #2 - Spooner's Cove

Keeping with the coastline theme, this painting was from a photo I took at Spooner's Cove a beautiful beach at Montana de Oro State Park in California's Central Coast. If you haven't been there, what a treat for hikers, bikers & sightseers. This is an 8x10 oil on canvas board, I used brushwork & palette knife. Please check out the other amazing painters taking this challenge at Leslie Saeta's 30 Day Chalenge

Painting # 1 - BIG SUR COASTLINE

Painting # 1, Big Sur Coastline, 8x10 oil, all done with the palette knife. I took this photo several years ago on a solo trip up Highway 1, you can't beat the breathtaking scenery.

30 Paintings in 30 Days....am I crazy?

This is the last painting I painted this year: Tidal Waters, a 12" x 36" oil painting of the Morro Bay Estuary.

I needed a kick in the pants to dust off the brushes & get back painting. So, I decided to take up the challenge posed by artist Leslie Saeta to paint 30 paintings n 30 days! Leslie Saeta Fine Art

So I am joining over 300 artists from across the country in this challenge. I am planning on focusing obviously on painting, but also exploring a new medium, experimenting with new techniques, following some fellow painters & having fun. Follow along & I will post my daily attempts through