Painting a Monterey Cypress

Monterey Cypress (c) Mary Hubley

Plein Air in California

I recently took a plein air painting holiday in California. What a concept.

I sat at the edge of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific ocean. Hard to get to the painting when I was overcome by the jagged rocks and dark Monterey Cypress trees hugging the rugged coastline. This is scenic to the max. A painter's dream.

 Painting Monterey Cypress

This small painting, called Monterey Cypress, was started somewhere between Pacific Grove and 17-mile-drive, in Monterey, California. The Monterey cypress is almost black. The tree-tops are often flat as a result of the strong winds in the area.


Genre: Landscape
Painting Name: Monterey Cypress
Size: 10" x 8"
Media: Acrylic on Canvas


-- Mary Hubley

Seashells and Beach Pebble Painting

"What's in My Pocket" (c) Mary Hubley

Seashells and pebbles

"What's in My Pocket" is what I find after a day at the beach. When I get home after beach combing, I eventually clear out my pocket... Wet and sandy pockets. What emerges is treasure.

Painting Sea Shells

Painting seashells takes patience. The good thing is, they are good models - they are obedient posers, are very relaxed, and take direction well. They don't mind sitting for hours and hours, and stay put when they're being rearranged when sorting out composition and lighting. What emerges just happens, from careful observation to quick brushstrokes.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: What's in My Pocket
Size: 7" x 5"
Media: Oil on Canvasboard


--Mary Hubley

Stone Beach Keepsake

"Stone Beach Keepsake"
(c) Mary Hubley

"Stone Beach Scallop"
(c) Mary Hubley

Stone Beach Keepsake and Stone Beach Scallop are close-ups of black beach stones laden with seashells and things. I have spent days along the Maine coastline looking for perfect round stones, and I've walked many beaches, from California to the U.K., looking for little shells and enjoying the mosaic of the seaside pebbles.

Genre: Still Life
Painting Name: Stone Beach Keepsake and Stone Beach Scallop
Size: 8" x 16"
Media: Oil on Canvas


--Mary Hubley

Rock Painting

"Origins of Earth" painting
12 x 36 on Canvas

Inspired by the incredible small stones I picked up around Lake Superior this summer, I'm expanding my series of rock paintings. This one, called "Origins of Earth," is fairly large (12 x 36") and shows quite a bit of detail in shadowing, coloration, and the little holes and stripes within each rock. Origins of Earth is swept with hints of red rocks and green, and a few shells and sea glass are sprinkled in. I'm planning on placing it in St. Augustine's GNG gallery in the next week or so.

When I was a child, I had an awesome rock collection - I'd pick up rocks around the neighborhood and take them home and identify them with my little "rocks and minerals" books, and catalog them. I even wrote to all the governers in the U.S. to ask them for samples of rocks from their state, and you know what? About half of them wrote back to me with something special - coal from Pennsylvania, a few fossils from the midwest, and even a tiny geode.

Please visit my website - www.maryhubley.com.

--Mary

Toescapes - Contemporary Paintings

I've recently been enjoying doing light contemporary toescapes -- and exploring the soft blue, green, and gray realms. A cooler palette, more modern lines, and much looser work. Very similar to my black rock series of the past, this series is another view of a toescape, those little stones you find on the beaches around the world, but in amazing colors, and swirling around the canvas. Check them out! This is my series of  four12 x 12 acrylic paintings called  "Early Tide".

In the Water

"In the Water" 11 x 14

Wading in the water -- that's where to get the best stuff! I love to walk the beach -- it's been a lot colder now, and don't see too many people who want to walk and beachcomb as it's cooling off. But there's still lots of wonderful stuff to find in the shallows. Some of my best subjects come from just down the end of my street, which is the beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Here's a new one!