Friday, April 26.
On Friday, I started the day with Marketing Boot Camp again, followed by Keiko Tanabe's demo. She painted a scene of San Francisco's Japantown, and it was great to watch her loose, spontaneous watercolor technique.

The highlight of the morning was a panel on plein air painting and the movie industry. I sat in just to rest for a bit but was absolutely blown away by the artists (Mike Hernandez of Dreamworks; Sharon Calahan and Bill Cone of Pixar). Their plein air work (especially in gouache) was amazing, and it was fascinating to learn how their fine art informs the scenery and lighting in animated movies. Many of their paintings rely on high-contrast juxtapositions -- brilliant lights next to the darks -- to create dramatic atmosphere.

In the afternoon, I sketched while watching Marc Dalessio's lesson on glazing techniques.



Friday's paint-out was at Golden Gate Park. It's one of those places that I kept meaning to return to but, well, hadn't. I walked down to Market Street and hopped on the 5R bus to go to the Conservatory of Flowers. It was chilly and overcast, but I was able to do a quick sketch of the palm trees and the building in between helping other convention attendees with their own paintings.



Saturday, April 27.
Last day of bootcamp! Eric asked us to write down our commitments, as usual. What could we be doing to further our business, to sell more art?

A little while later, we found out that next year's Plein Air Convention would be in Colorado! Excited to share my love of Denver, Boulder, and the surrounding area with next year's attendees.

After the closing ceremony, we all went out to Land's End to paint. Again, it was foggy and overcast, but I still managed to do a watercolor of Baker Beach while chatting with some new friends from AZ. This is probably my favorite of all the paintings I did during the convention.



The last order of the day was a hippie-themed party. A San Francisco cliche, yes, but it was still fun to dance to all the oldies!

Sunday, April 28.
We had the whole day to paint at Viansa Sonoma, a winery with absolutely stunning views. I wasn't happy with the oil painting I started, but I did manage a few sketches.





Till next year! Can't wait to see everyone in the Rockies!