“On the beach at Carmel-by-the-sea”
by Murray Wagnon
18″ x 12″
Oil
My friend Sibyl Johnson and I spent the morning here, on the beach at the foot of Ocean Avenue in Carmel. It was one of those days with an almost timeless quality.
“Ocean View at 9th Street, Pacific Grove”
by Murray Wagnon
24″ x 12″
Oil
Pacific Grove has a Coastal pathway that runs along the coast from the harbor in Monterey, to the beach at Asilomar. There is not an inch along this path that doesn’t offer a spectacular view, and an immense variety of coastal wildlife.
From time to time, [...]
“R.L.Stevenson House, Monterey”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 16″
Oil
Due to the flagging economy, the Park Management has been forced to close many of the historic buildings in Monterey. The gardens however, which fall under a different management category, are open to the public. This painting is an amalgamation of an ‘on scene’ image, and an old black [...]
“Almaden Valley, Fall”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 16″
Oil
I joined up with some painters from the Los Gatos Art Association one day. They had chosen this site which was only a mile or so from my house. This group of trees were in the Los Alamitos Creek, about seventy five yards from McKean Road, in the Almaden [...]
“Moss Landing Power”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 16″
Oil
I was painting with MBPAPA at Moss Landing. When I got there, I wanted to do this painting, but opted for a view of the boats in the harbor. . .it was OK. . .but I scrubbed it off, and did this painting of the power plant. . . [...]
“The Silo Barn, Hollister”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 16″
Oil
My eye was captured by this structure as I was driving up to paint at the “Pietra Santa Winery” in the hills south of Hollister. It went to the top of my mental list of “things I have to paint”.
I went back a few weeks later, and had [...]
“Elkhorn Slough”
by Murray Wagnon
24″ x 10″
Oil
I had about an hour or so one morning, before the MBPAPA Board meeting, and managed to get this view of Elkhorn Slough, looking in a northwesterly direction.
“Half Dome”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
I have always loved this classic view of Half Dome from the Sentinel drive bridge, reflected in the Merced River. It began to snow again, as I was capturing this image, and, having no chains, I had to retreat from the valley or be stranded. . .should have stayed. . [...]
“Odd Fellows, Big Oak Flat”
by Murray Wagnon
10″ x 8″
Oil
Typical of most Gold Rush era mining camps, Big Oak Flat closes tightly around route 120 as it winds it’s way up to the Yosemite Valley. As you enter Big Oak Flat, The left shoulder of the Highway is crowded by some typical ‘mining camp’ buildings, made [...]
“Monitor Pass”
by Murray Wagnon
24” x 12″
Oil
As I was driving up through the canyon into Monitor Pass, I was entranced by the ’splash of color’ amongst the darker trees and rocks across the creek from the road.
“Forrest and Lighthouse”
by Murray Wagnon
20” x 16″
Oil
This is a rainy day view of Pacific Grove as seen from the front of Robert Lewis’ Le Beau Soleil gallery where I was showing my work. I was fascinated by the urban scene, with the sun trying to break through the clouds, and the dramatic rocks of Lover’s [...]
“Rain in Castroville””
by Murray Wagnon
18” x 14″
Oil
A view of the main street of Castroville in the rain. I was on my way to Moss Landing, driving through Castroville, “The Artichoke Capitol of the World”.
“Spanish Bay”
by Murray Wagnon
18” x 10″
Oil
I had about an hour and a half before the MBPAPA board meeting. so I pulled over by the tide pools at Asilomar, and did this painting looking over towards Spanish Bay.
“Bottom’s Up””
by Murray Wagnon
18” x 14″
Oil
This scene is reminiscent of my childhood living in San Luis Obispo. I was visiting my cousin and her husband at their house on Chorro Street during the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Event.
I lived in San Luis Obispo as a child, and again as a student at Cal Poly.
“A Cottage in Medan”
by Murray Wagnon
12” x 10″
Oil
This cottage is across the street from the Chateau in Medan, near the former home of Emile Zola.
“Fisherman’s Wharf Cove””
by Murray Wagnon
30” x 12″
Oil
This painting of the cove behind Fisherman’s Wharf was done as part of the “Art of the Adobes” event held at the Custom House Plaza, and on the main pier.
“Lover’s Point”
by Murray Wagnon
30” x 12″
Oil
I met up with some friends from MBPAPA at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. We had the typical Summer atmospherics of morning coastal fog. This view is from the rocks looking toward the Hopkins Research Facility at China Point.
“Monastery Beach in Fog”
by Murray Wagnon
9” x 12″
Oil
Another painting done on a “beautiful sunny day” in Carmel with my friend Sibyl Johnson.
“Monastery Beach in Fog”
by Murray Wagnon
12” x 9″
My friend Sibyl Johnson said it was a beautiful morning in Carmel, so I joined her to paint at Monastery Beach. It was a beautiful sunny day in Carmel, but there was an unrelenting pocket of fog a mile south at Monastery Beach. The sun kept teasing us [...]
“Mormon Station, Genoa Nevada””
by Murray Wagnon
12” x 9″
Oil
While I was staying at my brother’s house in Glenbrook, they dropped me off in Genoa while they went for a bike ride.
I spent two more days painting in this old mining town, the oldest settlement in the Utah Territory.
“Title”
by Murray Wagnon
24” x 30″
Oil
I did this painting as a demonstration for the Saratoga Contemporary Artists group. It was done from a plein air painting I had done along the slopes of Jack’s Peak on a rainy day.
The demonstration was titled, “How to keep the Spontaneity of a plein air painting alive in the [...]
“Jack’s Peak III”
by Murray Wagnon
24” x 18″
Oil
This is an enlargement of a plein air painting I had done on a rainy day along the slopes of Jack’s Peak, in Monterey.
“Cypress at Lover’s Point”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
This was the second painting I did one morning while painting with some friends at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove. The other painting, “Springtime, Pacific Grove” depicted the Magenta blossoms of the Ice plant along Ocean View Drive.
“Coastal Forest, Morning Fog”
by Murray Wagnon
80” x 30″
Oil
I painted this from a color sketch I did one morning on my way to the gallery in Pacific Grove. The trees were just beginning to break through the morning fog hanging on the slopes above the 17 Mile Drive.
“Cherries”
by Murray Wagnon
20” x 16″
Oil
This fruit stand along Highway 152 in Gilroy Made a delightful, cheery scene as you head toward Pacheco Pass on the way to the Central Valley.
“The Southern Pacific Line”
by Murray Wagnon
15″ x 15″
Oil
This old grain loader is along the Southern Pacific Tracks between Gilroy and San Juan Bautista.
“Time Out”
by Murray Wagnon
11″ x 14″
Oil
The boat yard at the Coast Guard Pier in Monterey.
“Eucalyptus Grove, Toro Park”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
Toro Park is on Highway 68 between Salinas and Monterey.
“Barn on the Wattsonville Road””
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
This great old barn is on the road from San Juan to Watsonville. The day after I painted it one of the Pepper Trees was chopped down.
I’ve learned that , with old barns, if you want to do a painting of one, you better do it [...]
“Reflections, Gallery Saratoga “
by Murray Wagnon
7″ x 24″
Oil
This painting is on Masonite, with Mat board glued on in relief
“The Livery Stables””
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
This is the alley behind the Livery Stables in San Juan, as seen from the park across the street with rose bushes espalierd on the picket fence
“The Mission Bell”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
The entrance to the Mission at San Juan Bautista
“El Camino Real, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
This view is from the old Spanish El Camino Real, which runs along the San Andreas Fault Escarpment next to the Mission.
This painting was in the Galeria Tonantzin show leading up to the “MBPAPA Paints San Juan Bautista” plein air event in 2011.
“Reception at Rappa’s, Fisherman’s Wharf”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
“Blue Heron Drive”
by Murray Wagnon
169″ x 20″
Oil
This country dirt road is the way to my Sister’s house in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains
“Thumb Rock on Little Sandy Creek”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
This unusual rock is in my Sister’s back yard in Auberry, California
SOLD
“Old Pepper Tree, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
These ancient Pepper Trees were beginning to disapear from the streets of San Juan, so I thought I had better capture this one sooner than later.
“Heaven’s Gate, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
36″ x 27″
Oil
This is a studio enlargement from a 9×12 plein air painting. It was done for the “small to LARGE” show at the Pacific Grove Art Center
“Winter Blossoms, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
27″ x 36″
Oil
This is an studio enlargement done from a 9×12 Plein air painting I had done in January
SOLD
“Springtime, Pacific Grove”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 12″
Oil
This is the coast in Pacific Grove between Lover’s Point, and Esplinade Park, with the ice-plant in bloom.
“The Bamboo Vase”
by Murray Wagnon
14″ x 18″
Oil
I was going to clean my pallette, but didn’t want to waste the paint, so I did this quick study of some flowers, in a vase I keep in my studio for still life paintings
“Garapata Coast”
by Murray Wagnon
18″ x 24″
Oil
This is the view, looking north towards Carmel Highlands from a point near the Bixby Creek Bridge north of Big Sur
“Monterey Bay, from Jack’s Peak”
by Murray Wagnon
8″ x 10″
Oil
This is the companion piece to “Through the Trees at Jack’s Peak”. I painted the simultaneously, mounted side-by-side on a piece of Masonite, during a light rain.
“Through the Trees at Jack’s Peak””
by Murray Wagnon
8″ x 10″
Oil
I did this, and a companion piece, on a rainy day on the upper slopes of Jack’ Peak in Monterey. I seemed to be pretty well protected from the rain, until I got in the car for the trip home. I was so wet that the [...]
“the Pathway at Toro Park”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
This is the view of a pathway through the trees along Highway 68 near Toro Park in Salinas
“The Rocks at Point Pinos”
by Murray Wagnon
8″ x 10″
Oil
This is the view towards Moss Landing, as seen from the rocks near the Point Pinos Lighthouse
“Dampierre Park, Carmel Valley”
by Murray Wagnon
8″ x 10″
Oil
This is the view of a little pathway through the shrubs and trees, leading down to the Carmel River in Carmel Valley Village.
“Winter, Cherbourg”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
A cold, snowy morning in the harbor at Cherbourg
“Blossoms”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
These were the winter blossoms on an old fruit tree growing by the road in San Juan Bautista.
“Carmel Mission Ranch”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil
This is the view of Point Lobos as seen from the Carmel Mission Ranch
“Country Lane, San JUan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
A view of the blossoms of an old fruit tree in February, on a country lane in San Juan Bautista.
I painted 4 or 5 views of this tree in a three day time span.
“Winter Blossoms, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
An old fruit tree on a little country road in San Juan Bautista.
SOLD
“Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
A plein air painting of an old fruit tree I found on a little country road in San Juan Bautista.
“The Cove at Fisherman’s Wharf”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
This painting of the cove behind Fishermans Wharf, was done on a paint-out with MBPAPA
“The Cliffs at Capitola”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 10″
Oil
This painting was done on a Saturday during the Capitola Art & Wine Festival.
SOLD
“The Entry Courtyard at Mission Carmel”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil
This painting was the second version of the same scene, painted on a Saturday paint-out with MBPAPA (Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association).
“Rocks and Waves at Asilomar”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 6″
Oil
A study of the dynamics of the waves breaking on the rocks along the coast at Pacific Grove.
“Rocky Point”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
These are the cliffs at Rocky Point, south of Carmel Highlands.
“St. Francis Retreat”
by Murray Wagnon
24″ x 36″
Oil
This colorful Eucalyptus tree is on the grounds of the St. Francis Retreat in San Juan Bautista.
“Temple Emanuel from Lincoln Park”
by Murray Wagnon
30″ x 40″
Oil
This is the view from the legion of Honor Museum in Lincoln Park
SOLD
“The Arcade at Mission San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
You can just imagine what it would have been like to sit here, in the shade, looking out over the fields on a hot summer day. . . Just step back a hundred years. . .
“Heaven’s Gate, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
12” x 9″
Oil
This is the second time I’ve painted this gate. I did this one the day after I did “the Terra Cotta Arch” painting. It is the gate to the old Mission Cemetary, and is situated on the escarpment formed by the San Andreas Fault.
I love this view [...]
“The Mission at San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
This was my second painting of the day, following “the Terra Cotta Arch”.
“Terra Cotta Arch, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
I met up with a friend from MBPAPA one day, and this was my first painting of the morning. It is the arched entry to the ‘arcade’ at the Mission in San Juan Bautista.
“The Lagoon at Carmel River Beach”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
This plein air painting was done a week after the MBPAPA ‘paint-out’ at this location.
“Houses at Carmel River Beach”
by Murray Wagnon
17″ x 6″
Oil
I spent a couple of days painting at this beach with several other members of the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association.
SOLD
“Lover’s Point Cypress”
by Murray Wagnon
11″ x 14″
Oil
My friend from MBPAPA, Steve Maher and I painted together in the shade of this great old Cypress that sits in the park at Lover’s Point in Pacific Grove.
“Mmontmartre”
by Murray Wagnon
24″ x 18″
Oil
This painting was a study in ‘balanced tonal structuring’.
“St. Francis Retreat”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
MBPAPA did a ‘paint-out’ at St. Francis Retreat in San Juan Bautista on a chilly day in December. This was my second painting of the day.
“Mission, Carmel”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
This is the smaller of two plein air paintings I did on a Saturday morning with the Monterey Bay Plein Air Painters Association at the mission in Carmel.
“The Footbridge, Wildwood Park”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 12″
Oil
I did a sketch on this canvas on the day of the Saratoga Art & Wine Festival, but I didn’t get back to the park to paint it until a few weeks later.
“Surf, Pacific Grove”
by Murray Wagnon
14″ x 11″
Oil
This is the second painting of the surf on that morning. My feet were wet by the time I finished this one.
“Surf, Pacific Grove”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
My friend Robert and I were painting in Pacific Grove on a winter morning. He chose the trees, I chose the Surf. He didn’t get chased away by the rising tide and growing swells. I got two paintings done, but my feet were getting wet by the time I [...]
“Garland Ranch, Carmel Valley”
by Murray Wagnon
8″ x 10″
Oil
I painted this on a rainy day in Carmel Valley. “Paint a little. . .Move everything under a tree. . . paint a little. . . move everything under a tree. . . “
“The Gate, San Juan Bautista”
by Murray Wagnon
7″ x 5″
Oil
This is a little plein air painting of the gate to the graveyard at Mission San Juan Bautista, California”
“Paso Robles, 7 a.m.”
by Murray Wagnon
18″ x 14″
Oil
The sun was just beginning to hit the tops of the telephone poles when I found this dirt road off of Highway 46, north of Paso Robles, California.
“Las Ventannas Viejas, Asilomar”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil
Another painting of the old Villa on Asilomar Drive in Asilomar.
“The old King Adobe, Asilomar”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
This plein air painting is of the back view of an old estate in the dunes in Asilomar. I do enjoy painting this old place.
“Agave, Mission San Miguel”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil
This old Agave is at the main gate to the mission in San Miguel. This painting was in the MBPAPA show at Corral de Tierra in Monterey County.
“Paso Robles, R.F.D.”
by Murray Wagnon
30″ x 24″
Oil
This Old Barn is on the road from Paso Robles to Cambria.
“Skunk Harbor, Lake Tahoe”
by Murray Wagnon
“14 x 11″
Oil
This is a plein air painting of Skunk Harbor on the Northeast shore of Lake Tahoe. It is about a 4 mile hike in from the Highway to this old abandoned stone house that was built around the turn of the last century.
“Glenbrook, Nevada”
by Murray Wagnon
11″ x 14″
Oil
This is a plein air painting of Lake Tahoe from the picnic area at John’s house in Up Away, in Glenbrook, Nevada
“Fisherman’s Wharf, Monterey”
by Murray Wagnon
12″ x 9″
Oil
This is a plein air painting from the ‘whale watching pier’ at Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey.
“the Dunes at Sand City”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 12″
Oil
This is the view looking toward Moss Landing from the dunes north of Monterey
The house, perched on the small point of land, defying the forces of nature, to be the sole remaining house on the ocean side of the street.
“Morning Light on Camogli, Italy”
by Murray Wagnon
11″ x 14″
Oil
The morning light falling across the coastal village of Camogli, Italy.
SOLD
“The Golden Gate Bridge from Lincoln Park”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
As you leave the Legion of Honor Museum, you are confronted with this view of the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge, filtered through the trees of Lincoln Park.
“The Spreckles Bandshell”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
The Spreckles Bandshell in the park between the deYoung museum, and the Museum of Natural History, in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
“Ill du Cite from Pont Neuf”
by Murray Wagnon
18″ x 24″
Oil
This view of the Ille du Cite is done from the Quay at the base of Pont Neuf.
“The Gift”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
This painting is of a young family meeting at the park at Notre Dame for a celebration
A windy day in Pacific Grove, looking toward the Hopkins Marine Research Center at China Point.
“Iris II”
by Murray Wagnon
16″ x 20″
Oil
A cluster of Pale blue Irises surrounding a pair of Deep Purple or “Black” Irises.
““la Casa de la Torre”
by Murray Wagnon
9″ x 12″
Oil
A Plein air painting of the residence of Don Jose Joaquin de la Torre, one of the early Alcalde’s of “Old Monterey”.
This House is nestled in the shade of some old pepper trees on a quiet lane behind Colton Hall.
“Pigeon Point Lighthouse”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil on Board
This is a plein air painting of the Lighthouse at Pigeon Point, north of Santa Cruz, along the California Coast.
SOLD
“The Stone House, Bibemus”
by Murray Wagnon
11″ x 14″
Oil on Board
This painting is of an old Stone House near the Bibemus Quarry where Cezanne often painted.
“Spanish Bay, from Asilomar”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil on Board
My friend Robert Lewis and I ventured out to Asilomar for a little ‘plein aire exercise’. This is my effort for that day. It is a view towards Spanish Bay and the 17 mile drive from the sand dunes at Asilomar near the Lighthouse.
“Trees in the Park, Notre Dame”
by Murray Wagnon
14″ x 11″
Oil on Board
This is a Winter scene of trees in the park next to Notre Dame Cathedrial, along the Seine in Paris.
“Main Street, Santa Cruz”
by Murray Wagnon
20″ x 16″
Oil on Board
This view of Main Street is from the beach near the Municipal Pier.
“A Venerable old mountain orchard in Los Altos Hills”
The amazing patina on these vats caught my eye.
Coit Tower, with Treasure Island, and the Oakland Hills beyond.
An group of old barns alongside of Highway 1 in Carmel.
Wearing the colors of her Italian heritage. . .
Heading out into the fog of Monterey Bay. . .
Painting ‘en plein aire’ in the morning mist of Moss Landing.
“Cypress trees along the 17 Mile Drive.
“Along Scenic Drive, Carmel-by-the-Sea”
“the Old Cypress, Carmel-by-the-Sea”
“No. 59 Rue de Chevallier de la Barre”
“The Historic Coconut Grove Ballroom”
A great walk along the Seine River…
