tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-353692822024-03-06T01:05:53.900-08:00Rebeca Garcia-GonzalezThoughts of a San Francisco Bay Area artist.East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-87516793362654820162013-11-03T19:48:00.000-08:002013-11-03T20:07:06.378-08:00More Easel HacksI wanted to replace my old W&N Dart field easel with something more durable. Don't get me wrong, the Dart served me well for about four years. It was the right size, the right price (about $40) and quite versatile. But the difficult to replace carriage bolt threads wore out quickly and I have hands that start hurting quickly. I continue using wooden easels because sand jams aluminum East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-91673621853928488992013-04-29T12:29:00.000-07:002013-04-29T12:29:15.737-07:00Open Studios InformationOpen Studios is on the first two weekends of June!
Join us for an informal opportunity to see my work and the work of my friend and printmaker Carmen Melendez. There will be music and refreshments. A map to my studio is available in the Pro Arts directory.
The studio is wheelchair accessible and there is ample parking. I cannot publish the address here, but I can assure you you won't be able East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-10673170611779969652012-05-01T10:11:00.002-07:002012-05-01T10:11:32.684-07:00Watercolor Portraits
These are my better watercolor portraits this month, even though I used pen to draw with and not pencil. You can see the corrections I made, on the whole body figure. I got back into watercolor after a period of no action in that medium. They were done at the Firehouse Gallery, at night, on 12 x 12" Lanaquarelle Cold pressed 140 lb. paper.East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-47311411803494513472012-04-30T12:13:00.000-07:002012-04-30T21:01:57.155-07:00Cart for Mabef Giant Easel: Finished!East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-12801853506612668362012-03-09T08:47:00.001-08:002012-03-09T08:47:14.236-08:00Sketching on the Ipad
I don't have the newest Ipad. I have the first one that came out. Still, I have managed to amass a collection of apps for drawing, painting and sketching. I've found them super-convenient substitutes for the real thing during my travels. This one started out as a doodle, and I added elements during subsequent sessions. I used an app called Art Set. I fell in love with it because its creators East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-49140750598066123762012-02-16T20:03:00.000-08:002012-02-18T16:16:51.489-08:00Cart For Mabef Giant Easel Part IV
Here is a "semi-exploded" diagram of such a handcart. I did write 39" but it is really 40" long. I am thinking of building it out of wood.
I do not, however, have a drill press. So I am unable to drill holes at the end of a 15"x 1/2" axle shaft to attach cotter pins. I could always order a custom length axle shaft from one of those internet companies. But the prices are outrageous.
Some of East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-71591023665988791982012-02-16T19:53:00.000-08:002012-02-16T20:06:59.533-08:00Cart for Mabef Giant Easel Part III
After I decided that a handcart, and not a wagon, was what I needed, the question became what shape, and how deep. I took the measurements you see here and discovered that when I placed the chair on top of the easel, the total height is a bit more than 5 inches. And the width of the two arranged in this way is 12".
I reasoned that the cart would need to be about six inches deep for the chair East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-85621603337717218272012-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:002012-02-15T19:55:42.587-08:00Cart For Mabef Giant Easel Part II
There is something else I consistently carry to the field besides the backpack that holds my paints. This child-sized steel folding chair is surprisingly lightweight and actually small, 33" long by 12" wide. I usually strap it to a handcart without any problem.
I decided that If I am going to go through the trouble of creating a custom cart, that this cart should also carry the chair. The East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-15043997964345007962012-02-15T19:35:00.000-08:002012-02-15T19:35:52.000-08:00Cart for Mabef's Giant Easel Part I
I paint outdoors on "big" canvases. Since size is relative, let's say that for me, big is around 2' x 3', with a width of 2". Not only are big canvases hard to haul around, they behave like a sail under windy conditions. So it is important to work on a sturdy easel, made to accommodate the demands of larger sizes. I have tried several brands by now and have found Mabef easels to be East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-14788214340068697792012-02-01T10:38:00.000-08:002012-02-01T10:38:21.138-08:00Digital Learning In The ArtsBefore anyone thinks I am going to write about the many ways in which artists are using digital media to express their ideas, let me clarify that this post is simply about the way that digital learning has transformed our small community of painters.
We got together four years ago, one of many groups in the Bay Area that did so to support each other's development as artists. Karen and I startedEast Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-3161352887086474832011-08-22T15:40:00.000-07:002011-08-22T15:40:50.013-07:00What Does College and Career Readiness for ELs Look like?I revised the text on p. 7 of the Common Core Standards, to reflect our goals for English Learner college and career-readiness. I have marked the text I added in red.
ELs can demonstrate independenceOver time and eventually without scaffolding, will be able to comprehend and evaluate increasingly complex texts across a range of types and disciplines. Given an appropriate time frame, they can East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-26774860689066144782011-03-19T17:57:00.000-07:002011-03-19T18:11:08.451-07:00Social Justice and the National Writing ProjectWhen I decided to become a teacher back in 1991, there was a figure from Puerto Rican education I was so inspired by, I must have read his biography about ten times before I got my teaching credential. When I think of him, I visualize the famous painting that shows Maestro Rafael Cordero teaching at his school. He started the island’s first public school in 1810, for Black children who had not East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-86214305984353020422011-02-05T13:02:00.000-08:002011-02-05T13:04:23.332-08:00OscarWhile at Nicholls Park (in Richmond) the other day, I met a younger man. He said his name was Oscar. After going through the usual questions most people ask of outdoor painters, he settled next to me and watched me paint for a while. Then Oscar said, half joking, "bet you wouldn't put me in your painting." "Why not?" I asked. "Can you stand for twenty minutes?" "Sure I can!," he responded. East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-11992695885701738752011-01-09T18:17:00.000-08:002011-01-09T18:17:43.075-08:00Moss Landing, CA
We took a short family vacation this winter. The three of us and our dog rented an RV, drove for two hours and stopped at the coastal village of Moss Landing. Every morning I would take the long walk through the estuary to find a spot where I could legally paint the Salinas River flowing out to sea. For some reason the Moss Landing harbor, though very charming, did not cast the same spell. You East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-90761382701413733842010-08-12T21:41:00.001-07:002010-08-12T21:42:17.794-07:00Latino View Show Opens Aug 28!East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-76737478387995687162010-05-27T17:39:00.000-07:002010-05-27T17:41:21.904-07:00More Pen and InkEast Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-5273589975824911092010-05-27T17:08:00.000-07:002010-05-27T17:36:28.818-07:00Last Painting Class at RACThese are pen and ink studies I did while teaching at the Richmond Art Center. Those are the students. I like drawing people the most when they are not posing. I used a drawing metal nib, a watercolor brush and india ink on 140 lb Cotman paper. The paper was roughly 8 x 10."East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-89402821409915389692010-05-10T10:53:00.000-07:002010-05-10T10:56:03.172-07:00Sausal Creek AbstractionI returned this Saturday determined to redo Sausal Creek in a different manner, with oils and a 20 x 20" canvas. I wasn't, however, planning to do an abstraction, it just came out like this. I begin all paintings with the spatula, and this one did not want me to pick up a brush. I meant to continue working on it, but after about an hour it was clear nothing else needed to be done. I East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-13007282327904621982010-05-03T18:57:00.000-07:002010-05-10T11:19:43.802-07:00Sausal Creek, Dimond Park, OaklandThis creek runs through the middle of Dimond Canyon and in some parts the children and adult visitors can access it. I sat on the edge of a retaining wall bordering the creek to paint this 20 x 16" acrylic. It was a challenge not because of the many children who stopped to give me compliments, but because I was sitting in full sun. The glare was hard to avoid. The sun dried up my acrylics in halfEast Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-1257686846153123962010-04-18T18:39:00.000-07:002010-04-18T18:39:09.894-07:00I Love "Ugly" Stuff
This trawler was getting maintenance at an Alameda boat yard. It was enormous! I arrived late because of traffic and painted this 18 x 24" acrylic for two hours before returning home and finishing from memory.East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-81446254161793079832010-04-13T15:06:00.000-07:002010-04-13T15:06:13.877-07:00Working SmallIn the end there is something to be said for small, intimate paintings. This one (11 x 14") was done by the morning light of a window, while teaching Basic Oil Painting at the Richmond Art Center.East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-5399331926131128762010-04-11T19:50:00.001-07:002010-04-11T19:57:02.619-07:00Sinking In The SandThe first half of this 18 x 24" oil was done on location in Alameda, CA. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and the waterfront had many visitors. It took me a long time to find a spot. I was interested in the pampas grass mounds I saw right after getting off the parking lot, but they were so big they covered the entire view. The upper part of the beach was flat so there was no vantage East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-41849534222814309142010-03-25T17:48:00.000-07:002010-03-25T17:51:09.896-07:0021st Century Still Life...at least in subject matter! This oil I started and finished at home, to make myself feel better after having a bad week. The canvas is slightly larger than the previous one, 16 x 12."East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-52190084887344168742010-03-25T17:44:00.001-07:002010-03-25T17:46:30.321-07:0019th Century Still LifeThis 11 x 14" oil on canvas was something I made while teaching the Beginning Oil class as a way to model some of the skills and approaches. I revised it at home.East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35369282.post-14971086678053348732010-03-23T15:27:00.001-07:002010-03-23T15:28:56.151-07:00Edna and the Cushion This is a model I had not painted at the Firehouse before. I used oil on a 20 x 20" canvas.East Bay Figure Paintershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14413334954654711190noreply@blogger.com0