Here comes summer to the West Coast, and such fun – painting wise. The painter can utilize the warmer colors of yellow, ochre, and orange.

These will create a fine contrast to the usual cool colors of sky, distance, and sea. In other words, here is our chance to paint with the entire spectrum of hues- a rainbow season if you will.

The choice of medium does not really matter, though all of the mediums like watercolor for example, may dry much faster in the heat of a summer day- it still is fun to splash around.

And oil paints are always the good "study medium" in that one can paint in a sky cloud, then decide that it is too much and paint blue over it and paint it out. Later deciding the cloud is needed after all , composition-wise, and the painter can just paint it back in again, opaque- something the transparent watercolor cannot do.

Then there is drawing, try making a nice shaded-in drawing, and similarly with colored pastel sticks. Acrylics run a similar risk of drying too rapidly in the heat, still there are ways to slow the evaporation rate.

Anyway, pack a small kit together- and with sketchbook in hand take off on a trail or country road to celebrate the warm and cool paintings of their brand new summer season!