Painting the American River

"River Trees" 9 x 12 Oil on Canvas by Terry d. Chacon

William B. Pond Park on the American River was named after the first director of the county of Sacramento Parks and Recreation Dept. in Sacramento, CA. His dream was to have parks along the American River for people to enjoy the great outdoors. See more about him and the parks at: Regional Parks Boy did I enjoy the park. If I lived in Sacramento it would be one of my favorite pass times. "River Trees" was completed on location on the first afternoon of my workshop.

I went to Sacramento to take another workshop with Susan Sarback, owner of the School of Color and Light in FairOaks, Ca. Susan Sarback, master painter of light and color, has distilled the essence of Monet's luminous approach to painting into a w... This workshop was more attention on color, composition and painting different times of the day and because of the weather we were also treated to different weather conditions. I first took a plein air workshop with Susan 6 years ago in Laguna, Ca. I had always loved Monet paintings and this is the closest I could ever come to learn this impressionistic technique. Susan studied with Henry Hensche who studied with Charles Hawthorne and later bought his school in Cape Cod. A Painter's Painter: Charles Webster Hawthorne; The Influence of Provincetown and Henry Hensche on Sammy Britt, Gerald DeLoac... Charles worked directly with Monet to bring back and teach his style of work in the US.


"The Morning After" 9 x 12 Oil on Canvas by Terry d. Chacon

On Sunday we all met at William B. Pond Park and started painting immediately upon arrival. I chose to paint the above painting as I loved the reflections in the water although they were not near as crystal clear as the day before. The day was very cold and windy and the wind proceeded to get stronger as the day went on.

"Distant Tree on a Windy Day" 9 x 12 oil on canvas by Terry d. Chacon

I was drawn to this sight because of the way the wind was ripping across the water, making the reflections not near as clear as the day before and the distant tree on the bank followed by the distant trees in the back ground. I liked the way the water swirled around. This painting ended up with quite a bit of sand, leaves and bugs before the days end. I was able to clean it off and it now looks terrific. I couldn't wait to get home and jump in the shower.

Judy Bloom lives in Sacramento and invited me to stay at her house if I would ever came up for a workshop with Susan. My friend Abbe and I drove up on Thursday, stopped to take my son out to lunch in Monterey and continued on to Sacramento. While there we got to visit with another dear friend Susie Daft. Always special to combine business with pleasure and boy did we have a great time together. Margaritas and Martini's, I have such wonderful friends.......


"Cloudy Day" 9 x 12 oil on canvas by Terry d. Chacon

The last day of the workshop I woke up to clouds, wind and the worry of rain. Oh boy, this was gonna be fun. We all met at Susan's studio in Fair Oaks before heading out to Nimbus Flats on the American River. Really famous area for their Aquatic Center, fishing, boating, hiking, trailing etc. Aquatic Center - Special Events We were warned that the weather would not be good and high winds were expected. I had 3 sweatshirts on when we arrived, several of the artist were wearing gloves and coats and it was really chilly. We parked the cars and hiked back to this large meadow that overlooked the river. Susan gave some instruction on what to look for on a cloudy day and some tips on how to get a true cloudy day painting. Funny thing about an hour into the painting, the sun started coming out. Thank goodness it would go in and out as I was confused when the light was hitting my subject and then dark. But kept concentrating on the overcast day. I was thrilled with the outcome. So wonderful to step out of my comfort zone and be pushed to the next level. I think I like painting moody overcast days!


Terry with finished painting after the sun came out.


Photo of the area when the sun was under clouds.



Photos of artist hiking to the meadow.

What a great experience. I hope you enjoy the paintings and one day will go to visit the places I painted. They were so beautiful and I definitely have to go back and paint at Nimbus Flats. You could paint every day there and never once be bored with the scenery.

Until next time, ENJOY THE ART! Terry d. Chacon

Please let me know if you are interested in any of the paintings First Come First Serve.