a blog by Kim VanDerHoek

In my last post I wrote about how I had to throw my gear into my bag and run before the tide came in and I was forced to swim home. Here is my painting from that morning in Laguna Beach. I'm very happy with the loose brushwork and I think working quickly had a lot to do with it.

Also, I just found out The Laguna Plein Air Painters Assoc. just added me to their signature membership roster. I am completely honored and humbled. All the artists who applied were asked to submit 10 paintings (2 studio and 8 plein air) for judge Jean Stern, director of the Irvine Museum, to review and score. The 10 highest scores were then selected and given signature status. It is an amazing group of highly skilled painters and I am proud to now be a signature member. Wow. Click HERE to see their web site.

Sunday morning after attending two art shows in one night it was time to get back to the office and work! I made plans with coworkers Dori Dewberry and Greg LaRock to paint in Laguna beach at the tide pools. In order to get to this spot there has to be an extremely low tide. Sunday the tide was it's lowest at 6:00 a.m. The three of us agreed to meet at 6:30 a.m.

I thought, great, I'll get to do a beach painting just after the sun has risen. Yeah right! As you can see it was overcast. Not that I'm complaining, I mean my office for the morning was beach front property with a stunning view.

My painting was almost finished when the tide came back in and we had to scoot out of there before our exit was blocked by crashing waves. So we threw our gear back into our bags, scampered over slick rocks, dodged hermit crabs and climbed a lot of stairs to avoid swimming home.

My coworker Dori Dewberry working in oils by the tide pools. I am amazed that she is able to get her values right with those sunglasses on but, somehow she manages!

Greg LaRock looks like he is having WAY too much fun, doesn't he know this is serious business? Didn't he get the memo? Maybe I should report him to human resources....

Last night at the Laguna Plein Air Painters Assoc. Less is More show and sale my painting "At the Crest" received a 3rd place award. Jean Stern, director of the Irvine Museum, was the judge for the show.

The caliber of work in this show is amazing and I don't know how Jean Stern was able to pick just a few paintings to give awards to. It was a wonderful surprise having one of my paintings recognized! Below is a shot with my three paintings (on the left) hanging next to Paul Kratter's pieces (the center two) with Susan Jarecky's three paintings (on the right).

Below are the show details if you want to stop by. Many beautiful paintings are still available for sale.

Show Dates: April 27th - May 10th

Hours: Tues. - Fri. 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Randy Higbee Gallery

102 Kalmus

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

1-800-506-7624

This Saturday is going to be a busy night with two art show receptions in one evening. First, I'll be the the Laguna Plein Air Painters Less is More exhibit at Randy Higbee Gallery in Costa Mesa from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m.

Randy Higbee Gallery

102 Kalmus

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Then I'll be at the Viewpoints: Orange County All Media 2013 juried art show and sale. The show is hosted by Chemers Gallery in Tustin, California. I'll be there from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Chemers Gallery
17300 Seventeenth Street, Suite G

Tustin, CA 92780
714.731.5432

Both shows will be filled with Impressionist style landscapes created by some of the most talented painters in the area. I hope I'll see you at one of the shows!

"Backroad" | 9" x 12" | Oil on canvas panel.

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

While going through some paintings looking for work to post on my blog I realized that I'd never posted this one. About a year ago I participated in a plein air (outdoor) painting even put on by Segil Fine Art Gallery. Artists were invited to paint on the Falkner Winery property in Temecula, California for a weekend wine tasting celebration.

The event was in early spring when the vines were still bare which made painting the vineyards challenging. I found myself searching for views that didn't include the bare brown vines.

When I spotted this scene I felt it would make a strong composition because of the road, mountains and small hilltop house, however, the first time I saw it it was at noon and the light wasn't very good. I knew if I returned the following morning I would have better light to work with. So, I kept this location in mind for my second day of painting the area. When I returned the next morning the light was much better and I got to work.

This dirt road runs along the back of the parking lot behind the tasting room and restaurant. The fence you see on the left of the painting surrounds some of the Falkner vineyards while the hilltop house is, I believe, a private residence. I happened to have a toned canvas with me after wiping off a painting from a few weeks before this event and I decided to use it for this scene (in case you were wondering about the pops of Ochre that you see peeking between the paint here and there). Normally, I work on either a white canvas panel or a lightly gray toned panel. Every so often it's nice to mix things up and work with materials or techniques outside of my regular way of painting and I like the result.

Views like this always make me wonder what is just over the ridge and I would have really liked to walk the whole road to find out where it ends. Maybe next time....

"Quiet Day at the Cove" | 11" x 14" | Oil on canvas panel.

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

This painting was part of the Springtime Magic Show at the Crystal Cove Gallery which just ended. It was painted on location (en plein air) and I have to say that is was a beautiful day to be painting on the beach.

During the opening reception for the show at Crystal Cove there were many artists, collectors and art supporters in attendance. John Stern the director of the Irvine Museum was there and he made his way over to tell me that he really liked "Quiet Day at the Cove" (pictured above). He went on to say that he would have given mine an award if the show had been juried and he was the judge.

Needless to say, his words were award enough and put me on cloud nine. Many of the artists in the gallery are painters I've looked up to over the years and there are some truly beautiful pieces of art in the show. I am happy to be part of such a good group and even more thrilled that Mr. Stern liked my painting. He is an expert in the field of impressionist landscape painting and has seen hundreds of works through the years so, I was very honored.

"Seeing Dots" | 8" x 8" | Oil on canvas panel.

Available at www.KimVanDerHoek.com

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

In my Monday night oil painting class I often have students set up a still life to paint from. It gives them an opportunity to both paint from life and also to be creative in their selection of subject matter so that their final painting is uniquely their own. For this particular class I asked everyone to bring in candy.

It was a nice change of pace from landscape painting because all of us got to use bright color combinations.

For my painting I chose to bring in Dots which I had to hide from my family for a whole week before class. If the bright yellow packaging had been spotted in our pantry then all the candy inside would have been gone in a day and I wouldn't have had a still life to work from.

Strangely, when I brought this painting home my son asked me, "You painted Dots? Why?"

I would have thought the reason would be perfectly obvious to an 8 year old but then, he's seen me bring home a lot of landscapes over the years. Maybe he was surprised that I would pick a subject he actually found interesting.

Either way, he made like a magician and the Dots promptly disappeared and then he asked, "So, what are you painting next week?"

"Morning Walkers" | 11" x 14" | Oil on canvas panel.

Available at the Crystal Cove Store

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

My birthday was in February. A few weeks before the date my thoughtful husband asked what I wanted as a gift. As a mom there are all sorts of things I want and need - new clothes, socks that match, towels that aren't frayed at the edges, a date with a manicurist, a date with my husband, wine, lots of wine and tequila .... you get the idea. After he asked I took my time answering. Even though I could have recited a whole list of things, what I truly wanted in my heart of hearts was a day outside painting with my friends.

Photo of Kim VanDerHoek © 2013 by Dori Dewberry

My significant other got off easy, right? Needless to say, he was totally on board with my plan because all he needed to do was watch our kids while I dragged my gear out the door at dawn on a chilly Sunday morning.

Philippe Gandiol and Greg LaRock at work.

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

Several of my painter friends and I met on the beach at Crystal Cove. We caught up with each other, prowled the shore looking for the best painting spots, took photos and then set up our easels and got to work. The clouds kept blowing in and out that morning which meant our light wasn't consistent and near noon a very chilly wind began to gust. All of us were able to finish our paintings even though our fingers were going numb from the cold, our noses were running and our eyes were tearing up from the wind.

Dori Dewberry at work.

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

Yeah, it was awesome. The perfect way to celebrate my birthday.

My painting "Morning Walkers" will be available at the Crystal Cove Store for their spring art show and sale on March 16th through April 1st.

Also you can check out the work of my very talented friends by clicking their names here - Philippe Gandiol - Dori Dewberry - Greg LaRock

"Winging It" | 8" x 16" | Oil on canvas panel.

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

While out scouting painting locations for my outdoor painting class, I came across this stretch of beach in Laguna Beach, California that I hadn't painted before.

There were two views I was interested in painting. The tide was coming in that day and my first choice of painting locations could have left me stranded on the side of a bluff once the tide had reached it's crest. As a result, I decided to paint this view and I happened to have a long canvas with me which fit the bluff perfectly.

©2013 by Kim VanDerHoek

The photo you see above shows the view with the water just after the waves have crashed and the it is about to rush back out to sea. This is a good example of why it's so important to paint from life as well as from photos. If I had painted the scene as you see it in the photo above I would have missed to opportunity to add movement to the painting with the waves crashing against the rocks. Since I was on location and could both see and hear the waves crash I decided to put them into the painting to add drama and movement to an otherwise static composition. Before I included the birds I had a large expanse of sky that needed something and though you don't see them in the photo while I was there a bird happened to fly in the direction of the bluff and I knew what would make it complete at that point.

Photos are fine to use as reference but, sometimes life provides the best inspiration.

For my Monday night oil painting class I had my students bring in a gift wrapped box to paint. I do my best to have them paint a wide variety of subjects and it's absolutely essential to paint from life. A camera simply can't capture the true spectrum of color we are able to see with our eyes and it also can't show you how light behaves when it encounters an object. Often, a painting created from a photograph will look a bit flat. The best way to combat that flatness is to study light in real life and learn to translate it's effect onto your canvas.