Light and Shadow- San Miguel

I found this neat picture of San Miguel in my files when I was looking for landscape photos. Unfortunately, it's not one that I took; it's probably from a travel magazine. I was captivated by the shadowy figure just on the edge of the light and I just had to paint it, for my own enjoyment. I loved the old walls with the cracked plaster and the bougainvillea hanging over the wall. Whoever photographed this really had an eye for the charm of the place. After the workshop with Don Andrews and his emphasis on the light and putting people in your paintings it was a perfect exercise.

Sunbathers 2

From the second day of the Don Andrew's workshop: this is the second attempt at the beach scene capturing the light without making everything else so dark. I'm happier with the beach being more consistently light with the lightest where the sunbather's are. The placement of the palms is OK but I liked the placement in the first picture better. I also like that a little bit of sky is showing at the top. When I am consentrating on one aspect of the painting, I tend to forget to do the other things that I know to do. It must be a workshop thing. I know not to let the building end behind the tree but I did it anyway. This picture may be a good one to do again, who knows, maybe I'll get it the way I really want it. The third day we worked on figures and putting figures in paintings. I have a start on a painting with figures which will be posted later, if and when it get finished. This is the season in FL for shows, a very busy time.