painter linda S. gunn
My Lovely Day at the Beach with Colour in Your Life Producer Graeme Stevenson

Meeting at Walker's Cafe

Just before heading out to Point Fermin Park above Cabrillo Beach, CA for my live performance, Graeme and I talked about my background in art for an hour, as a warmup, inside the cozy Walker's Cafe located across from the Point Fermin Lighthouse. I found Graeme to be a gentle and casual man with a lot of experience in putting nervous clients, like me, at ease with the scary notion of being interviewed while painting plein air and having a camera catch every word and brush stroke.

How CIYL was Arranged

It all began a couple months before with my responding to a Color In Your Life (CIYL) inquiry. Two weeks later, as I prepared the family Easter dinner, Graeme called to ask me if I would like to be the feature artist on his internationally broadcast show. He explained the process in great detail and the cost as well. Twenty minutes and a well done roast later, I promised to procure an accessible site for my interview and painting demonstration. In two months!

I used this time to prepare for five hours of filming by painting my favorite scenes from Cabrillo Beach and its tide pools. I chose a filming location that I thought was a perfect isolated spot for Graeme and his crew to set the stage. I was confident that my demonstration would be a breeze and everything would go smoothly —including a lunch break. NOT! My choice was upended by city regulations requiring a “video license” and having to pay insurance fees for all involved.

Momentary Horrification

Two weeks before filming, I was in a panic. I did find what I thought would be the perfect site and painted several practice paintings but when I escorted Graeme and his videographer to my chosen site they were horrified! I had failed to realize the amount of equipment which included numerous cameras and large screens for lighting. But videographer Sophia Stacey came to the rescue and, after twenty minutes of reconnoitering, helped me find a suitable location. One of several alcoves at the edge of the bluff containing a cement picnic table under a cement arbor.

Graeme to the Rescue

A new location meant that I had to start my painting by drawing a new scene instead of using the one I had prepared from my chosen site. Graeme put me at ease. As the camera started to roll, I sketched in my demonstration painting while Graeme asked questions about my techniques and materials. Everything went smoothly at first, though there were intermittent lighting problems due to shadows from the awning and a few passersby with questions. But then came the fire truck and rescue vehicles and noises from the Coast Guard and Rescue Boats 150 ft. below us on the water. Sophia had problems adjusting the sound so Graeme talked to me while I painted. He told me of his past life in Australia as a paramedic and a helicopter pilot! We assumed that a massive Emergency Practice Exercise was taking place. Sophia kept filming until a noisy helicopter arrived and chopped the air and dust low over our heads. By this time I had almost completed my painting. Graeme asked if I could add the finishing touches in my studio and send him a photo of the finished painting. When you see the attached video you will see my hair blowing as Graeme and I are saying our goodbyes. Sophia did such a great job of editing the final production that you cannot hear the surrounding noise.

Two months later, I have five DVDs and a link on Youtube. Imagine four hours of filming for a twenty two minute video. And the best outcome of my adventure? My online friendship with Graeme Stephenson and Sophia Stacey.


COLOUR IN YOUR LIFE
produced by Graeme Stevenson.
June 17, 2016 at Cabrillo Beach, CA

HOT SAND
The first plein air painting for my series of Cabrillo Beach. My family used to eat lunch on tables like this before hiking out to the tide pools.

FALLEN WALL
I sat on the rocks to paint what used to be the walls of a small building. Over time the walls have fallen and have been marked with graffiti. Note the tiny black birds in the dark craves.

BEACH WIND
A very windy day at the tide pools. For shelter, I nesteled against a small jetty next to a big rock. The red roofed building was once the Cabrillo Marine Museum. There was a whale fetus in a huge jar.

BEACH SUNSET
My favorite childhood haunt was imagining what was behind the old wooden door that once covered the doorway inside the hill.

OFFSHORE FROM CABRILLO
An ocean view of Cabrillo Beach, San Pedro. I painted this from my husband’s boat.

TIDEPOOLS
While I was painting, a couple wandered out onto the tide pools to watch the incoming surf.

REFERENCES SKETCH FOR
'FALLEN WALL'

Painted on a borrowed paper from the Marine Museum’s gift shop. I had left my watercolor paper at home. I used gouache an opaque watercolor that sat on the surface of the slick paper.

ABOVE THE TIDE POOLS
Painted at Point Fermin State Park. Note the man’s profile on the bluff. An unplanned happy accident.

POINT FERMIN BLUFF
A live demonstration for my Colour In Your Life video. After four hours of filming, an emergency rescue operation took place involving boats on the ocean below, firetrucks opposite us and a helicopter directly above. Due to the dust and noise, filming was cut short. Check out the attached UTUBE video to watch the drama.

lunch meeting
22" x 30"
watercolor

this painting is part of my cabrillo beach series. it was created in my studio.

standing wall
15" x 22"
acrylic on paper
this painting was referenced from photos and sketches that I made last year while preparing for my COLOUR IN YOUR LIFE live video. the painting depicts the rough trail of ruins leading from the tidepools at cabrillo beach in san pedro, ca.

surf at crystal cove
12" x 14"
watercolor

a painting of the beautiful beach at crystal cove, laguna ca

alley's end
22" x 15"
watercolor

a plein air painting. this alley at 4th and ocean in seal beach, ca is a favorite beach access for the local residents.

beach graffiti
15" x 22"
acrylic on paper

this painting depicts the remnents of a building that has been beaten down over decades by heavy surf. mother nature and urban nature combined.

alamittos bay jetty
22" x 15"
watercolor

a plein air painting of the long beach jetty on alamitos bay. this is the jetty where the famous SS MINNOW and it’s crew of five, set sail for a "three hour cruise".

beach palms
20" x 20"
watercolor

cabrillo beach palms surrounded by a heavy storm surge of rain, wind and surf.

three hours, laguna
11" x 15"
watercolor

a plein air painting painted on main beach in laguna during a 3 hour competition with the laguna plein air painters of america.