The Art of Glass: Kayaking with Google Glass

Kayaking Inverness with Google Glass from Colleen Proppé on Vimeo.

July 3-5th, 2013

I took a two day trip to Inverness to take my dog away from the fireworks.  She is terribly afraid of them, and I can't stand to see her suffer.  Good excuse to escape the 96 degrees it was in San Anselmo, and venture out to Inverness, where it was only 76 degrees with a great breeze off the water.  Tomales Bay Resort has wifi all over the large property, and they have several dog friendly rooms.  Mine had a kitchen too, all for less than you might pay for one night in the city.  You can use the money you save to reserve a kayak next door at Blue Waters.  Tomales Bay Resort will even book your kayak trip for you! A great escape from the hot suburbs of Marin during a heat wave.  If you have questions, ask me in the comments.  I've lived in Marin for 18 years now, and this is one of my favorite places to escape to.

Photo taken with Google Glass, beta.  July 4, 2013  Tomales Bay, Inverness

The Wreck of the Old Point Reyes, Inverness.   24" x 36" o/c available

Enjoy these other videos I created using Google Glass:

• Trail Running with Google Glass

• Mt. Biking with Google Glass

• Interview with Google Glass: 3 Ring Cycles, Bike Shop in San Anselmo

• Kids, Word on the Street, and Google Glass

• My San Francisco Adventure to Pick up Google Glass

In the Studio Today... The Art of Beach Plastic

Sunday, Feb 6, 2011

Today was a gorgeous, 73 degree day in February in Northern California. My family and I headed out to Kehoe Beach in Pt. Reyes National Seashore to take a nice hike, bring the dog, and enjoy the sand dunes. We had a plan to collect beach plastic, inspired by the work of friends from Woodacre, Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang. This couple is well-known in Marin and the Bay Area for collecting plastic washed up on Kehoe beach for 12 years now, and creating art from their collections. We set out to see what we could find today, and to our surprise... we found a rainbow of plastic in a very small area of the beach.  Here are two photographs of what we collected on the beach today....

Notice the American Airlines tag, a blue plastic flower, and some really unique shapes.  My sons were really excited to find the green, agricultural bands(lower left) that Judith and Richard talk about in their video, and I was amazed to find a toothbrush and toothpaste cap(upper right).

Here I am amazed at the full spectrum of color that is to be found in just a few hours on the beach:  We found 4 disposable lighters, and probably 30 or more bottle caps, a yellow "ant" from the game "Ants in the Pants"(we think) a comb, and a plastic "Army Man".  The army man became symbolic of one man's battle against this huge, alarming environmental issue we face, so I made a little poster that you will find below.  First, take a look at Judith Selby Lang and Richard Lang's video on this art they have been creating from this beach for over a decade.

Judith and Richard have been creating art from their finds, and educating the public with their work for many years.  Most recently, they have a display at SFMOMA in San Francisco.  This April, they will have work in the Marin Arts Council Gallery show, "Nature's Palette", where we hope to play a video you can watch online now.  Please take a moment to watch a film about one of their projects with ghost nets, here:

Each piece of plastic Richard and Judith pick up comes back to their house, where it gets cleaned, categorized and stored before being used for their art. The couple make sculptures, prints, jewelry and installations with the plastic they find washed up, raising a deeper concern with the problem of plastic pollution in our seas. To learn more about their work, visit: beachplastic.com and plasticforever.blogspot.com
and to learn more about the Gyre:
en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

The below image is a quick poster design I did, using the plastic "Army Man" we found today, looking as if he is fighting in the sea of plastic.  Do you think we can win this war on disposable plastic?

Beachplastic_poster_2011_25, originally uploaded by cproppe.

Blake made a list that he is holding, that itemizes the caps, toys, colors... of each piece collected today.

In the Studio Today... 3 Tiny Cow Paintings; Day 2

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"Solitude",  California Cow #4  6"x 6" o/c

 Finished 3 more of the "tiny cow painting" that was so loved at the Marin Arts Council, Small Wonders exhibit.  Two of these are promised to people.... one will be left over and available.  Notice how they are all different, even though I painted them from the same reference.  See- no two paintings are ever completely alike!

Tiny Cow Paintings, #4-#2.   All 6" x 6", o/c.

"Solitude",  California Cow #3  6"x 6" o/c

In the Studio Today... Tiny Cow Painting 6" x 6"

September 26, 2010

"Black and White Cow in the Red, Yellow, Blue Sunset", Pt. Reyes, CA 6" x 6" o/c

This is a small painting I did tonight.  I am working on some affordable works for the "Art on the Farm" show at Pt. Reyes Winery, October 24th.  I am going to be selling my older works from previous farm paint outs 2008-2009, at very discounted prices for originals.  The goal here is to have some of the art purchased with 50% going back to Marin Organic Farmers Loan fund.  This little one will be priced around $150., with half going to the cause, half to the artist.

In the Studio Today...Historic L Ranch Paint-out

Sunday, September 12, 2010

I had the privilege to visit a private beach today on Tomales Bay; a spot that is right across from Marshall, CA.  The beach is owed by the Doughty family, who run Pt. Reyes Winery, where we will be having our October 24, group show.

What a lovely spot it was today! Some of their extended family were there, celebrating a Birthday today, just enjoying the warmth of the sun and the beach views.  Two of the toddlers came up to me and wanted to paint.  I had some small, 4 x 4 and 6 x 6 canvases, so I let them each take one and paint some strokes.  It was really great how enthusiastic they were.  The little boy even painted on my painting, and it was no problem, as I was just getting started.  He really wanted to help me out!  I think it is wonderful how children have no fear of painting, and just burst right into it.  Had my sons been there, I'm sure they would have wanted to paint too.  I overheard the family saying how nice the kids canvases were and how that was such a great Birthday present for their mom.  Too cute.

I also was lucky enough to be able to bring my dog today!  Mesa loved it.  This painting of me with Mesa is by Kathy Kingston, who is doing a great job with PR for our next show.  I took a photo of her with her whippet, "Lyric"... below.  I will post my painting when I have some more time to work on it, but here are some photos of the beautiful day on Tomales Bay.

In the Studio Today... Art on the Farm Show

Friday, October 23, 2009
This weekend, Sunday, October 25th is the Annual Harvest Celebration of Art on the Farm at the Pt. Reyes Vineyards. This is the show were everyone involved, well over 100 artists, show up and share their art. Many of the paintings are hung on hay bales! It is really fun and festive to see. I hope we get a lovely day with warm sun shining on the vineyards. I may even paint on Sunday if the weather permits. Hope you will come! For more information, see the website for Art on the Farm at www.artonthefarm.org

In the Studio Today... Elephant Mt. Cyclist Final

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

"Dwarfed by Elephant Mountain".

Platform Bridge Road near Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road.
O/C 30" x 30", gallery wrap canvas, unframed.
Available at Mill Valley Depot show, September 1, 2009.
View painting in progress, in a previous post here.
DETAIL of above painting.

In the Studio Today...Elephant Mt. Cyclist; Day 1

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

"Dwarfed by Elephant Mt." 30" x 30", o/c, Day 1. Click Photo to enlarge.

Starting on my series of "Cycling Through Landscapes" for the Mill Valley Depot show, September 2009. I love this drive out towards Pt. Reyes, and the feeling of emense mountain awe you get when you round the bend on Platform Bridge Road headed towards Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road, and see Elephant Mt. (Black Mt.) for the first time. The day I was out there to take this photo, I had pulled my car over and was taking pictures from the side of the road when this cyclist came by. I knew I wanted to paint this image right away. More details to come...

In the Studio... Art on the Farm & Ralph Borge

Saturday, January 24, 2008
(click image below to enlarge)
I recently read of the passing of Ralph Borge, a West Marin artist who painted for MALT's Ranches and Rolling Hills Show for many years, along with his wife, Martha Borge. To read more about Ralph's life, please visit here. You may also read about his 38 year teaching career at California College of the Arts, here.I never had the pleasure of meeting this artistic couple, but I have visited their shows for the last several years, and admired their work immensely. Ralph's painting "Gathering Storm over Point Reyes" was the Marinscapes Poster for 1991. I have always been one of the silent admirers of these great artists, who have paved the way for myself and others who now seek to paint the land for it to be remembered and saved as we move into times of uncertain future for our earth's health and climate. In honor of Ralph and the others that have taught us to paint with the spirit of giving back, I would like to share an upcoming show of several Marin artists who also seek to paint the land and farms of Marin and Sonoma County, in order to honor the local farms and give back to the local growers with a percentage of sales from the paintings. I hope you will have an opportunity to visit the latest show of "Art on the Farm" at the Veteran's Memorial Auditorium Foyer. To visit Martha at her studio, you will find her Gallery at 221 B Street in Point Reyes Station.
Condolences may be sent to:
Mrs. Martha Borge
PO Box 118
Point Reyes Station CA 94956
Contributions in Ralph’s memory may be sent to:
The CCA Ralph Borge Scholarship Fund
CCA Advancement Office
5212 Broadway
Oakland CA 94618

At the Show Today.... Art on the Farm

October 19th, 2008
Some of my paintings at Art on the Farm today. The "Jurassic Truck" (below) sold to it's rightful owners, which makes me very happy. Please click here for more photos from the event at Point Reyes Vineyards.

In the Studio Today... Poster for Art on the Farm

Thursday, September 4, 2008
This is a mock-up of a poster design for the Art on the Farm group show of paintings and photography, that will take place in a little over a month in West Marin, at the Pt. Reyes Winery. For more information, please visit the website. I maintain a blog for this group that talks about our trips to the different Marin Organic farms.

In the Studio Today... Oyster Photography

Oyster Shell Shadow 02, originally uploaded by cproppe.

I bumped into the Art on the Farm group of painters on Sunday, while picking up oysters at Drake's Bay Family Farms, to celebrate a friend's birthday in Marin. Kevin Lunny gave a talk and tour to the painters, and they were welcome to paint at the oyster farm or on his ranch. I was able to take some photos of a few of the left-over oysters I had from after the party here at home today, and perhaps a painting or two will come from these intimate, oyster portraits. The cherry tomatoes are from our backyard garden, as well as the Common Blue Borage flower, an edible and medicinal plant, most uniquely known for curing hangovers in Roman times. To view more of the photos from today, click on the photo, above.

In the Studio Today... Limantour Moon Photo

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Moon Rakers (Limantour Moon), originally uploaded by cproppe.

This photo was selected today by the Marin IJ as one of the two winners of their "Summer Fun in Marin County" reader photo contest. I won two seats behind home plate at an upcoming Giants and Rockies game in San Francisco. What makes this even more memorable is that this photo was taken on the weekend of my 40th Birthday. Thank you, Marin IJ!
-Colleen

In the Studio Today...Inverness Sky; Day #2

Monday, October 1, 2007
"Inverness Sky" 24"x 36" o/c
Day two on this large painting of Inverness and the old Pt. Reyes boat.

In the Studio Today... Inverness Sky #1

Friday, September 28, 2007
"Inverness Sky" 24" x 36" o/c
I started blocking out the colors and shapes in this painting today. I did another painting of this boat this spring for my show at the Two Bird Cafe, but that painting was a close up of the boat. This one is much more of a landscape that happens to have the boat as one of it's elements.

In the Studio Today... Black Mt. Session #4

Monday, May 7, 2007
"Black Mt. June Colors" 24" x 36"
(View from Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Rd. as you are headed towards Pt. Reyes Station, just before Bob Gallagher's Bridge.) I spent another 2 plus hours on this today, as I just didn't feel it was quite there yet. Now, I think it is acceptable to hang in the show today. It is hard to feel rushed to finish paintings for a deadline, but deadlines make us produce work. April has been a really tough month with both my boys having more than one major cold and being home from school, so I had less time to paint than I'd hoped to. I still would like to finish a couple more small paintings before the actual opening on May 19th.

In the Studio Today... Black Mt. Session #3

Sunday, May 6, 2007
"Black Mt. June Colors" 24" x 48"
I am most likely going to have to call this "done" as it will need to dry before being hung tomorrow afternoon. The photo of this is not be quite the right colors, and the focus is not great, as I just took this photo indoors in unnatural lighting. I will take a clear photo of this outdoors tomorrow and re-post.

In the Studio Today... Black Mt. Session #2

Sunday, May 6, 2007
I am working to finish this large painting to hang tomorrow afternoon. I am using "liquin" as my medium, which helps to dry the oil paint very quickly. I usually use a combination of liquin and linseed oil, but I am not using any linseed oil today, hoping this will be dry enough to get up with the other paintings tomorrow afternoon. This is a large painting, 2 feet by 4 feet, and there is still much detail to do before tomorrow.

In the Studio Today... Black Mt. Session #1

Saturday, May 5, 2007
"Black Mountain_June Colors" 24" x 48"
This is the first session, blocking out the colors and shapes for this large painting that will hang at the end of the bar in the Two Bird Cafe. This is Black Mt. from Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road, headed towards Pt. Reyes Station, just before Bob Gallagher's property(I believe?). In the summer, the colors in the warm grasses on the hills provide a strong contrast to the dark, green trees. I wanted to do at least one painting in my show which portrayed this effect in the West Marin landscape.

In the Studio Today... Limantour Kite; Session #2

Thursday, May 3, 2007
"The Dragon Kite" Limantour Beach, Pt. Reyes 6" x 6"
This is the second session on this little canvas, adding the subject to the beach scene.