Laguna Palm Tree, 12×16 original oil painting

laguna palms

Available oil painting

This palm tree painting has thick paint and a pastel color palette.  Impressionist painting of Laguna Beach, California. I painted this on location, plein air, at noon-ish. The texture of the paint makes the palm trees look like they are moving in the wind. Impressionist in style allows room for loose, juicy paint. I like to get the gist of the scene and let the viewers finish the painting with their own eyes. When I first started out painting, one of my favorite books was Oil Painting Workshop by Ted Goeshner. The author instructs how we should not paint down to the viewer. Everyone knows what a tree looks like. We don’t need to paint every leaf. I like this approach because it gives more room to focus on atmosphere, mood, and texture. Laguna Beach is gorgeous 365 days a year, even on the gloomy days. With palm trees everywhere swaying in the wind and the sounds of the surf pounding the shore one feels (if you’re a local like me) as if you are on a mini vacation.

Palm trees grace landscape                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Burst of pink laughter invades                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Blue sky and water

Dorothy (Alves) Holmes   #192 Haiku Palm Trees