Original Impressionist Seascape by JC Strong

"Rock and Roll"

This is my latest painting. I paint close to home and it's usually the landscape or seascape in my friendly town. This is what I call my memory walk along the trail from the San Clemente Pier to North Beach...

Original Painting Alla Prima Landscape by JC Strong

"Canyon Abstraction"

We've had a little bit of "June Gloom" in California and I decided to go in another direction. This small format painting is a vivid memory of the mountains and canyons of Utah...

Original Impressionist Seascape by JC Strong

"Nancy's Walk"

I’m grateful for my friends. I’m not sure about other artists but for me painting is a solitary endeavor. I’m mainly alone when I paint and research my artwork. It’s so nice when my friends take me out of my cocoon. My little habitat is fun and filled with paints and brushes but nevertheless its still a little “arty” envelope . . .

So my friend and I took a walk out to San Onofre State Beach. The walk is filled with native plants and at the end of the trail and cliffs below you see the ocean. Well I didn’t have any paints and forgot my camera at home but thought the scene was the beginning of a painting.

My same friend went out again on a nature walk. She remembered how much I liked the cliffs and ocean and sent me some reference photos. So this painting is a combination of memory, imagination and a friend’s thoughtfulness. “It can’t get better then that.”

Finishing an Impressionist Painting

The painting process for this work continued today.

The shadows in the street became a little more subtle, and I strengthened the color of the orange walls. Now, I think I'll stop and consider this work finished.

Shop Updates and Highlights:
"Girlie pinks for you a girlfriend or daughter..." by ArtdeJoie a nice Etsy collection of jewelry, fashion, and art in pink.

Original Impressionist Painting and Art Ideas by JC Strong

This new painting is my effort to capture a street in Mexico and embrace the pallette of colors used by Rembrandt.

Rembrandt used a five-color pallette of yellow ochre, burnt sienna, burnt umber, black, cadmium red and white. All I can say, bless the old masters . . . They are able to create vibrant masterpieces in chiaroscuro with just a few colors and even ground charcoal into white in order to make a blue grey. Old masters make fine art look effortless . . .
It was a great exercise but to tell the whole truth I added a couple of additional colors and lots of light. It turned out to be an impressionist landscape. I just couldn’t stay out of my “Art Bin.”

The key thing was to remind me a limited pallette is a valuable exercise. It gave me a connection to the past and of course I'll keep trying . . . After studying this painting, I'm going to try to take it a little further. I'll post the outcome in the near future.

Shop Update and Treasury Highlights:

"There's more to paper then planes" by TripleJPendants has curated a treasury. The focus is paper creations of art and accessories.

Original Acrylic California Impressionist Painting

The colors of fall have been on my mind. This small format landscape is filled with orange and autumn neutrals. The punch of color is in the red door and violet floral’s.

This house is in Los Rios Historic District in San Juan Capistrano, California. This street has a wealth of very inviting cottages and historic homes.

This particular property caught my eye and I made up a little story of what I saw. The house is modest, proud and aging. It’s giving back to the neighborhood with its beautiful gardens filled with herbs and flowers. I always feel like little gardens give a community hope.

See this original painting and others in my Etsy Shop.

Original Acrylic California Seascape

Some days, riding along Pacific Coast Highway from Laguna Beach to San Clemente, California, you see beautiful coastlines. I always wonder, what did the coastline look like fifty years ago? (One of my favorite places in Laguna Beach is the Laguna Art Museum... (The museum has a breathtaking exhibit of early 20th Century artists. These early artists documented the coast line of long ago.)


So, today the sky is blue and the waves are aqua green and smooth. I’ve enjoyed a walk to the San Clemente Pier. It was easy to imagine a “Retro Summer."

Shop Talk, New Curated Etsy Treasury, and New Team:
See more details regarding this work and other paintings in my Etsy Shop.

I've stepped out of my comfort zone and made a sale to an international buyer... It was scary new territory. The scary part was international shipping but it went well. Thanks so much!

MysticSilks has curated a colorful Treasury it has a great selection of fine art, ceramics, and fashion, take a look:
The Autumn Leaves Drift By My Window

Scarfooldesigns has curated an homage to the season with fine art in different mediums called:
Black with a Pop of Orange for Halloween Season

I'm a new member of the Etsy Group AWE Team, looking forward to their "first Friday art walk" events...

Original California Fall Landscape and Art Ideas

I was in San Juan Capistrano looking just enjoying a meal with friends and found this tree with personality. Some trees send out good vibes. It was almost saying “look at me, look at me . . . ” I stood back, it reminded me of one of Charles Burchfield’s trees . . . Mr. Burchfield’s work is amazing it has a “haunting” quality . . .

Is my tree haunted? I don’t think so but it had the ability to stand out. I love trees with "pizazz" and the tree had "it" in the little parking lot behind the Italian Restaurant.

Do icons of art and art history stay in our memory to become artworks at a later date? Do certain trees, flowers, and people have attributes that compel us to put them on paper or canvas? I think they do but I’ll keep thinking about these questions as I continue with my work...

See this work and others in my Etsy Shop....

Original Acrylic Walking Landscape in Corona Del Mar

Walking in Corona Del Mar and caught this scene. I didn’t paint it on the spot. I did my usual took notes and digital photos and reinvented the design and composition later. Trees are great to paint they have spirit...

It’s wonderful it can be a grey day outside (not complaining) but I can paint a bright sunny day and invent my own colors. I’d been painting with ink the last few days. This high key painting was a nice change. This painting was done with acrylics and something new for me a RayMar "Plein Aire Panel."