Plein Air Painting by Judith

Ghost Ranch - Oil on Muslin - 7.25" x 14"

2011-08-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

Went out recently to Ghost Ranch which is Georgia O'Keeffe country. What an inspiration! The land, cliffs, mountains and sky are amazing to behold and I worked hard at trying to capture it all in a few hours. Here was the result.

Pendaries 2 - Oil on Muslin - 5.75" x 11"

2010-10-31T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is an area I love to paint. It is getting too cold now to go up there and the leaves have already turned.

Desert Farming Fields - 10" x 13" - Oil on Muslin

2010-10-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting my photo taking set-up worked out and should be posting more work. The light is different in Santa Fe and the winds are gusty.

Laguna 4 - Oil on Canvas Board - 11" x 14"

2010-01-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

This study was done last week, just before the rains came. Laguna is a beautiful area and I love painting it.

Sunset Cliffs Study - Oil on Panel - 9" x 12"

2010-01-24T18:57:00.000-08:00

Sunset Cliffs is located in Ocean Beach, a great beach community with lots of surfers and many, many characters.

It had been raining for 5 days straight so after the rain stopped, I decided to go out and get some fresh air! This little

painting was done on site. The waves were spectacular that day.

DAgostino Fine Art

San Ysabel Northern Preserve - oil on canvas board - 9" x 12"

2009-12-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

This painting was done for a paint out competition in Julian and areas nearby. San Ysabel is just Northwest of Julian and a lovely area to paint. The hills appeared golden that day. The painting was one of those easy to do ones you know the kind that paints itself. Anyway, it was juried into the show!

Turquoise Door - oil on panel - 9" x 12"

2009-10-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

I was recently in Tubac, Arizona doing a plein air demonstration. Tubac is filled with old adobe houses like this one. The turquoise door was what attracted me to this scene and the fact that there was a shade tree across the street. It was about 104 that day.

Beach at Sea Ranch - Oil on Panel - 9" x 12"

2009-09-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

This painting was done in Northern California a few weeks ago. Sea Ranch is a architecturaly designed community about 2.5 hrs. driving time from San Francisco right off Route 1. It is absolutely beautiful there. I painting every day except for one very rainy day which fortunately was the last day I was there. I will be posting more.

Palms in the Distance - oil on muslin - 8" x 11.5"

2009-08-15T10:02:00.000-07:00

This small painting was painted in my neighborhood, North Park, San Diego. I feel so lucky to live here because the weather is beautiful and there is so much to paint. The light is amazing and now I know why there are so many plein air painters here!

Cell Phone Tower - Oil on Muslin - 11.5" x 19"

2009-08-11T13:07:00.001-07:00

This is a painting of what I thought was a beautiful bucolic scene of a farm house located just north of Escondido, CA. As I was painting it, a lady came by to check out what I was doing and when I asked her if she knew the owner of the farm house, she replied, "That isn't a farm house, it is a cell phone tower"! Well, I was flabbergasted. She pointed out the cell phone receivers and I finally saw them but they were very discreet. What will they think of next!

Eucalyptus - Oil on Muslin - 9.5" x 15.5"

2009-07-24T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is a plein air painting of a Eucalyptus grove near Torrey Pines. I love to work on this format which is basically a golden rectangle.

LaJolla Cove - oil on canvas board - 10" x 12"

2009-07-20T19:00:00.001-07:00

Every time I paint this area, I do it differently. So, not only do artists paint the same subject matter differently but we also paint it differently than we did before. The light changes, the atmosphere is different, the time of day and all those things that make you perceive a scene in your own special way are continually changing making every piece of art unique.

Penasco - oil on muslin - 6" x 11"

2009-07-18T23:06:00.000-07:00

I went to the Santa Fe area to paint with my friends. This day we drove toward Taos and went to an area called Penasco. It is gorgeous up there but it rained most of the time. This is what I managed to get before it started to pour.

2009-07-16T15:49:00.000-07:00

This is a field sketch done near a small town (forgot the name) but not too far North of San Francisco. I was headed for the beach but saw this and had to stop and paint it! It is 8" x 14" oil on muslin. If you are interested in purchasing this painting for $850.00 you can reach me at judith@judithdagostino.com

Art Exhibition "The Human Element" at the Tubac Art Center, Tubac, Arizona

2009-07-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

I will be jurying this exhibition in October. If you are interested in applying, please send an email to
Susannah@tubacarts.org and request a prospectus. If you have questions you can call: 520-398-2371.

The Human Element Exhibition
An exhibition that invites artists to explore figurative work within the context of place, real or imagined; the human being in all its glory, foibles, and fears. All media are welcome. Artists are invited to submit up to 4 entries. Entry must be original, entirely the work of the artist, executed within the last 24 months, and not have been previously shown in Tubac.

Non-Refundable Entry Fee: Up to 2 entries $25 ($20/members). Up to 4 entries $35 ($30/members).

Oceanside Harbor

2009-05-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

This is my first painting a this kind of scene. I really enjoyed painting it and want to do more. I was painting with the California Art Club and Scott Prior of California was painting with us. He helped me understand what to do with background detail. I learned a lot that day.

Yogurt, North Park - oil on canvas panel - 12" x 9"

2009-05-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

The California Art Club and the San Diego Art Department sponsored a plein air paint out of North Park, San Diego where I live and I joined in on the fun. I did four paintings of which two I submitted to the competition. This one was one I didn't submit but had lots of fun doing. This is not typical for me. I normally paint landscapes not city scapes but I learned a lot along the way.

Benesquitos - Oil on Muslin - 8" x 14"

2009-04-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last week I painted at a place I have been driving by for several months now and didn't know how to get to because I only saw the area from the freeway. Fortunately, the San Diego Plein Air Painters picked this spot to paint on one of their Monday paint outs and this is what I did.

Hillcrest at Torrey Pines - Oil on Muslin - 10" x 10"

2009-04-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hillcrest is a great spot to paint. There are several compositions there and easy parking which is always an issue here in California. I completed this a few days ago.

Looking Down from Torrey Pines - Oil on Board - 8" x 15"

2009-03-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

This painting was painted from Torrey Pines looking down from a hill top at the ocean. I love painting in this area.

Mora - oil on board - 12" x 9"

2009-03-18T19:30:00.000-07:00

I went out to New Mexico and painting this painting. It was the first time I felt that I truly created a plein air painting that was "me". I love misty mountains and moody days. I love the tonalists and for me, this came close. I continue to try to achieve this look in my work which is not easy but I keep trying.

Palo Verde - Oil on Board - 8" x 10"

2009-03-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

This painting is of a Palo Verde at a nearby desert area where I use to live. These trees are all over the desert and in the spring they bloom beautiful yellow flowers. Not so good for allergies but a beautiful relief to the tan like landscape.

Alawaii Canal - Oil on Canvas Board - 9" x 12"

2009-02-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

This painting was done in Hawaii on the island of Oahu. I went to undergraduate school in Hawaii at UofH - the Manoa Campus. Luckily for me, later in life, my husband and I were able to purchase a property there. We love the location and usually rent our condo with long term leases so unfortunately, we haven't been there in awhile.

Columbus Park 2 - Oil on Canvas Board - 9" x 12"

2009-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

This painting was also done at Columbus Park only this time I turned away from the water. This one began to capture the essence of what I was trying to do. It occurred to me that I wanted my oil paintings to look more like my pastels. The pastels have a softness which I wanted to achieve in my oil paintings and this one seemed to do that very thing.

Study in Greens - Oil on Canvas Board - 8" x 10"

2009-02-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

I took a class with Scott Christenson in Montana. There were about 40 people in the class and even though it was large, it was very well organized. I took his class because many of the plein air painters I had talked to said it was a big turning point for them when they took his class and felt him to be an excellent teacher. Even though it was May, it snowed and rained and was somewhat inclement so we spent some days indoors in a large church hall and a day in his studio on invitation. I was invited to view his collection and study from it. This was one of the studies I did. Having an abstract background, I appreciated the loosness and the mark making I did in this piece. His paintings are beautiful but not necessarily the style I was after. I did learn a lot while I was there and I know that somewhere I would find my voice.

Columbus Park - Oil on Canvas Board - 8" x 10"

2009-02-05T20:00:00.000-08:00

Columbus Park is a small park near my home in Tucson, Arizona. I walk my dog there and watch people fish. It is a stocked pond and although I don't see many people catching fish, it is an oasis in the desert. This was a painting I did early on that was fairly successful but I feel that I have learned a great deal since then.

Bull Dog Canyon - Oil on Board - 8" x 10"

2009-02-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Bulldog Canyon was painted somewhere near Phoenix, Arizona. I had taken a workshop with John Budicin, a great plein air painter. This was the only satisfactory painting that came out of the workshop. Completely done by me....no help.

Desert Palo Verde - Oil on Board - 11" x 14"

2009-02-03T16:16:00.001-08:00

This was my first plein air painting. I didn't know what I was doing but it turned out OK. Then, I started to learn what plein air paintings was all about and began to make some really bad paintings. I was very self conscious and as a result the work just wasn't very good. In retrospect, I can edit out that work and only show you work that turned out OK. This painting was done in 2005.