California

Hidden House Coffee, 7 x 9½" watercolor

It was my second day in California. Just, the day before, I had been introduced to California freeways when I’d dropped my second cousin off at John Wayne Airport, just south of L.A.  It was a good introduction, still dark out, the rush traffic had just begun to build.

It was also my second day to head for San Juan Capistrano, not so very far from where I was staying in Laguna Niguel. There was a parking lot there near the Amtrak station that allowed five hours free parking. I’d been given rave reviews of nearby Hidden House Coffee, and it was my intent to paint it. Between coats of paint, I could slip in and grab a coffee. This style of watercolor requires two coats, a very loose wet coat, which, when totally dry, is followed by a second coat of calligraphic brushstrokes that define the details.