The Arroyo Seco Bridge

I began painting with oil a little over a year ago, starting with a class at Art Center At Night. Anne Seitzyk was a wonderful first teacher. We moved through all the stages of starting with oils, from materials to set-up, equipment to color mixing. We painted still-lifes, portraits, figures, and plein air.

Our first plein air class was at the Arroyo. Although I did not paint the bridge during class, I was motivated to go back and try it on my own. Here is the result:

I was pretty pleased with the result. It looks like a bridge, for one thing. And I will always remember the process of painting it because my daughter went into labor about halfway through the painting. As the phone calls went back and forth between us (...headed to the hospital... measuring contractions... going to be admitted...) I painted faster and faster just to get this little 9x12 covered.

I made it to the hospital in time to see my granddaughter's birth :)!

That granddaughter just celebrated her first birthday. Our Thursday En Plein Air group was scheduled to go to the Arroyo last week. So, once again, I set up and painted the bridge. Here is the result from this year:

I felt much more confident. I believe I chose a more interesting composition. I have better equipment so that I can go farther from my car. And I felt confident that I knew how to approach the whole process of creating a plein air painting. To the jaded artists and viewers who make a reference to how many paintings there are of this bridge, I say that it is a necessary rite of passage.

How many times did Monet paint his bridge?