Other than a few short-lived heat waves, the weather's been terrific for outdoor painting. Here are four pastels I've done recently at locations not too far from home, three in Sonoma County and one in Marin County, northern California. I love heading out in the late afternoon to catch long cool shadows such as in Lower Slopes and Petaluma Wetlands. Stafford Lake, was done fairly early on a hot and hazy morning. Most exciting for me in this one was the flash of sunlight on the water.

Pastel Society of the West Coast

This past week I entered four pastels in this year's Pastels USA, Pastel Society of the West Coast 31st annual open exhibition to be held at the

A Sense of Place Gallery in Fresno in September. This show gets better every year. I'll keep you posted as to what (hopefully!) gets accepted. For more information visit: pswc.ws