RED DOT BABY!-"Corner of Oceanview & 15th"

Photo credit: Sibyl Johnson. -I'm standing next to my red dot painting, "Corner of Oceanview & 15th",Oil on Board.

Do I look happy or what?

My plein air oil painting, "Corner of Oceanview & 15" was sold on the opening night of the MBPAPA "Our Home Town" exhibit at the Pacific Grove Art Center (PGAC)!

I have to say it was very encouraging to see a red dot on my painting as soon as I entered the gallery. This is the same gallery I had my solo show in back in May 2009. Then, I had 38 acrylic abstract paintings up for about a month and half and there were no sales. Great exposure but no sales. I got a little burned out and started painting small realistic oil paintings in plein air just for a fun and challenging experience.

The "Our Home Town" competition was the motivator I needed to seriously commit to going out and setting up my paints and gear, finding paintable subject matter, battling the weather and entertaining the occasional curious observer on a regular basis so that I could have something to submit. This little painting, "Corner of Oceanview & 15th" is a product of that time. Pretty cool!

Fellow Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association (MBPAPA) member, Sibyl Johnson took this great shot (photo above). I met Sibyl at a MBPAPA sponsored paint-out at the local Carmel Mission Basilica during the 2009 Founder's Day Celebration. She was the first MBPAPA plein air painter that I met and she encouraged me to join the group and submit an entry to participate in this juried exhibition. Thank you Sibyl!

By the way, Siblyl also won the Artists Choice Award for one of her paintings.

To see her work, visit her website: www.sibyljohnson.com.