another one from CArmel

Here's one more from the event, a 16 x 20 done out at Moss Landing. Moss Landing is a real mans marina. No pretty, shiny boats out there, but big ugly beat up smelly things that go out working everyday or are decaying and waiting for something up on land. It's a huge place that I go to at the beginning of every Carmel event because boats are my safety net, I like doing them and can place them in most galleries should they not sell in CA. The very specific California coast stuff is a tough sell here on the east coast, plus I just got word that I've been accepted as a signature member into the American Society of Marine Artists which is pretty cool and I can use any marine paintings I do up there at their annual members show.I went to my usual spot in Moss Landing to see what they had, and found nothing there of note so skooched over to the next boat place and found this scene. It's a lot to take in at one go but to keep the the composition in check I used this little view finder that Greg LaRock gave me with a grid in it. I used the grid as I looked through it to place the key elements. Sometimes it really helps, sometimes hinders, the creative impulse. I was drawn to the jagged, geometric foreground against the soft muted tones of the middle and distance. Plus I sometimes ask myself, what would Emile Gruppe do in this situation and he would opt for the more complicated scenes.I suppose I could ask myself what Jesus would do but he was a carpenter and would probably be working on the boats. I did have some luck with the light, the marine layer stuck around all morning and the wind stayed down. I did have two large tugs pull up to the foreground dock to fuel up but I just worked around them. On a sad note there was a sweet little seal pup asleep on the beach next to me who, on closer inspection wasn't sleeping. Very sad... almost couldn't paint after seeing t