~ Joseph McGurl ~
“For the first few days at the LPAPA Invitational, I travelled around the area painting some of the local subject matter. Eventually, I came across some beautiful white cliffs and immediately knew they were something I would connect with. For the remainder of the week, I went to the same location and painted the cliffs at all times of day and in different weather conditions. It was truly satisfying because though the subject was the same, the changing light and atmosphere
created a different mood with every painting. When choosing paintings to enter into the show, these were the most meaningful to me. As it turned out, all of my entries sold and “Evening Peace” won Best of Show and Patrons’ Choice Awards. I tell this story to my workshop students to make the point that you have to paint what has meaning to you, which in turn will make the painting more successful. “The Pacific!” was painted from the plein air sketch. I was driving through the hills above the ocean and came across this view. I had to paint quickly as the sun was going down, and the light was changing fast. I was interested in recreating the effect of the glare upon the ocean contrasted with the dark landscape in the foreground. For the studio painting I added the 67 Corvette to give it a little interest and color. I also had Beach Boys song in my head as I painted.
2006 Invitational Best In Show ~ “Evening Peace”
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