J U S T I N P A S T O R E S

I carpooled with Yvonne. They gave us a map with popular locations and we decided to visit the marina featuring all the boats. I was torn between a few spots. First painting I did was a view of water tanks, boats, and the bridge in the background. It came out alright. I struggled a bit on the tanks and I overworked the foreground. It was a bit unsettling. Maybe I shouldn't have picked such a crowded spot that required a lot of drawing for my first painting.

The juror was artist John Finger. The Mayor of Benicia was also there to hand out awards. It's really pleasant to see the Mayor be involved with the arts and community. I didn't place, but I managed to snag an honorable mention! I didn't get all the names of the other winners, but a couple of them were familiar faces from the Frank Bette Paint Out.

​1st place: Cleo Vilett
2nd place: Nancy (last name?)
3rd place: Clark Mitchell
Honorable Mention #1: Chris (last name?)
Honorable Mention #2: Mark Monsarat
Honorable Mention #3: Me

Cash prizes were given to the 1st-3rd place winners. All award winners also get a pick from the stash of art supplies. There were panels, oil paints, sketchbooks, inks, so a wide variety of things to choose from. I was last to pick and whattya know, no one selected this beauty! It's a metal tri-fold palette with 12 half pans by Shmincke. It came in a leather case with a pencil and a brush! I say I came out with a pretty cool prize. Another one added to the collection.

Overall I had a cool experience. A little flustered in the beginning, but I pulled through. I definitley would've explored the area beforehand and will do so for any future plein air events. One day events are a little hectic, but they force you to make something solid. I hope the Benicia plein air gallery will continue to do this cause I'll be returning! On to the next! Actually, this may be the end of plein air events for the year, so....maybe next year? Anyway, on to the next art event! Next one should be in Oakland sometime in October and then Hawaii in January. Which reminds me to remind you....visit this link and help us (Epekto Art Projects) get there!!

https://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojects
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Hey all! What's exciting you say? Well, we (Epekto Art Projects) are invited to show in January at The Wailoa Center on the Big island of Hawaii! About 14 of us plus some local artists from the island will put up work carrying around the theme on Fauna/Flora. Not only that, but we will also host workshops, panel discussions, and connect with some of the students from University of Hawaii. Sounds like a fun trip right? Not only will we, a collective of filipino artists from the Bay Area get to show our work, but also share what we do, reach out to their community, and bring home new things to share inspired by the Big Island.

Now, here's the part where we need some of your help. We are asking for any donations to help fund this trip, mainly for our top priorities: installation fees, shipping works, and reception. Any extra money we earn will go to air fares and lodging. Again, anything helps! A few bucks-a few hundred bucks or even purchasing artwork from me or any one of from Epekto.  You can start by visiting this GoFundMe page that has alllll the deets. We truly appreciate it! There's lots of rewards back like art work, prints, and even a silkscreen workshop! You can learn how to make your own graphic printed on a T-shirt! or paper, or wherever you want to do it on. Anyways, again thank you so much!

​Just in case you got lost with all those words, here's that link to the Go Fund Me to bring Epekto Across the Pacific! 
https://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojectshttps://www.gofundme.com/epektoartprojects

Also, I've added some new plein airs to the watercolor page. so check that out too! Here's a few samples!

Today was Pistahan Parade and Festivial at the Yuerba Buena Gardens. Our art collective Epekto Art Projects had a booth with coordinators Austin and Ben at the Art Pavillion side. We took part in a live painting, working on a mural on Balikbayan boxes provided by LBC Express. We invited the public to come and make their mark and asking for donations to help raise funds for our show in Hawaii happening in January.

i want this.

Also, we and other artists are selling work. Works range from prints, paintings, drawings, and mixed media pieces. Pistahan is a 2 day event over the weekend. On Sunday, Epekto team #2 will continue to work on the boxes, invite you to participate, and ask for your generous donations to help reach our goal to show in Hawaii! Stop by, paint, have some sisig, enjoy the shows, and support your local artists!

A bit late posting the day of the plein air show . I don't have many pictures of the event, but it was a great show with many artists, some new and some returning. I wish I went around and took pictures of everyone's booth. I was preoccupied with manning my own, and when I did go around I was more in the moment and didn't think about whipping out my phone to take pics. Wished I did cause some paintings I really liked were sold and went home to their new owners.

I stayed up until 2am framing everything the night before installation. Got there at 9am to install and had to get everything up in time before the juror Tim Horn started making his rounds at 10am. I was indeed in panic, hands shaking, mind racing, "gotta get everything up, tie this here, there, is it high enough? Too low, wait, the first time was better. Aw crap just leave it and worry about it later. What time is it?" I also had 2 cups of coffee. I rarely drink the stuff.

The 5 days of painting and staying up til 2am framing paid off. I walked out selling five works and winning the Artist choice award and Frank Bette award for the painting, Webster & Santa Clara. It was the painting I did for the quick draw. Surprisingly, it was a hit amongst my peers and also for the juror. Looking forward to next years paint out.

Tonight (Friday the 12th) was the plein air opening reception and grand re-opening of the Frank Bette Center. Works that didn't sell at the outdoor event will be shown here until October 1st. The Bette Center is located off Lincoln and Paru in Alameda. There's still one more award to be handed out: People's choice! So come on in and vote for your favorite painting. There's clearly too much to choose. It's a hard one. It was Very nice chatting with everyone and I couldn't do it without the help of our trusted friend, red red 🍷.

and here's Jason being sassy.

Last day. What I anticipated to be relaxing turned out to be the most stressful day. Leave it up to an artist and a natural born procrastinator (see K-12 records) to save the framing on the day before installation. Not even donuts saved me. This morning I had a chocolate glaze and part of a cinnamon roll. I use to like that one as a kid. Not so much as an adult. Chocolate glaze still "lit" though. Had a few hiccups, stalls, along with a heavy work load SLS suggested that I go out to paint. You crazy!? I have a million things to do! Well I only took one look at the monstrous hell hole I put myself in and took her advice. Also, I cut my finger. Peanuts gang helped, Snoops not so much.

last painting of the paint out. The Mcgees building has been on my list for a while. Never got around to it outside the event. I'm fairly satisfied with it. It was a bit empty, so I threw in some figures. Damn figures! My crutch! I spent some time on this. More than normal. I just remember thinking that I should have packed my sweater. Oh god it's 2:22am. Ya, as soon as I got back i spent the whole time framing, but with a couple breaks in between. Made banana bread with SLS. Gonna pack that for tomorrow. Oh crap I need to get up by 8am to install. Info on the show below!

yesterday started right with a gift in the mail from Joan. She's a recent grad with amazing art skills. She focuses on VD and illustrations. I've been following her on IG for a while and I asked if she wanted to trade works. I really envy folks who paint with gouache. I can't seem to find the right method for myself, so I tend to collect gouache works from other artists. Give her a follow @joanwirolinggo.

i had work until 5, so there was only a handful of places that I had my eye on during this time of day. For this location I think the light in the morning would make a better composition rather than late afternoon. The intricate details on the tower was tough to paint. Wasn't sure which temperature to go with that.Another subject added to my list of revisits.

i really enjoyed this area as well even though it smelled like poop. I was satisfied with the foliage and palette. The cold and damp weather helped a lot, but it didn't help my hands keep warm. I should remember to bring gloves. This comp. isn't my favorite, but I'm still cool with the results.

oh boy. The main event. Sorry, no good pictures cause I was preoccupied with devouring this beauty. SLS's idea. We've been on this health conscious diet by reducing carbs and sugars and increasing intake on greens and veggies. However, last night SLS had one of those cravings that I couldn't ignore. It was a magnificent carne asada burrito with beans, cheese, sour cream and rice of course. We also ordered tacos. We were eating with our eyes. I managed to finish the burrito, however the tacos got the best of me. I think the last time I had a taco truck was a little over a year ago. Too long. Probably won't have it for another year as well. Wish they gave us more sauce. Oh and lime. If only I had a beer to go with this. Honestly, I struggled eating this. The 17 year old me would look down in disappointment. Just can't pound them down like I use to. Unless it's pizza. See ya next year burrito.

meh. And here's a couple from today. After that discussion of the burrito I can care less about these paintings. Tomorrow is the last day of painting. I got a few frames left, so I need to paint asap. Full commitment tomorrow. Crunch time. I still haven't prepped my frames. I plan to float all these works, so I need to modify the frames. Cut up and glue a bunch of crap. Crap. Why did I decide to do this? Help.

Day 2 of the event. From 9-11:30am was the quick draw for artists to paint on The strip of Webster and even out to the crab cove estuary. It was overcast the first hour, so I had some trouble finding a spot to work. Spent maybe 30 min walking up and down Webster until I decided to paint what I originally wanted to paint. Light was coming in about 10:30, so luck was on my side after all!

Finished up around 11am and was starving. Snacked on peanut butter sandwich and semi struggled framing the piece. Delivered the work on time and met up with the other artists at Genies. They had lunch for us. I should have had seconds. Voting for artist choice award started at 1pm. Hard to choose. Heard there was a big prize. Kinda sorta anxious. We'll find out the winner of that on Saturday.

First big painting of the event. Not too big. I think it was 11x14. Big compared to the plein airs I've been doing the past 6 months. Painted on hot press. I think I'm starting to not like it as much as I did the first time. Maybe just not for plein air.

Painted the Keener's house. The Keener's commissioned me for portraits earlier in the year. Told them I was participating and they wanted their house done. Came out alright. I should've payed more attention to warm and cool contrasts, but hey whatevs.

Really wanted to paint more things, but had to run back to Genies to pick up the quick draw painting. I got my eye on a few spots but they're all areas that have good light at the same time. Need to strategize. I'm suppose to be prepping my frames, but I'm too lazy and hungry to think about it.

Tomorrows spots.
-St Joes
-Dog Park
-B.V. And Grand
-Otis and Shoreline
-Park and Central

​lets see if I can stick to this.

Had a bit of a late start today, but I whipped out 3 paintings. Not a bad day. Had errands during the first half, running around Berkeley grabbing stuff for frames and resisting to purchase things I want. Got all my papers stamped for the PAPO (plein air paint out), so I wouldn't have to come back during the week. I think I have over 30 sheets I plan to work on. We'll see if I can even reach half that.

Had a rough start. Wasn't too thrilled about how I handled the foliage, but I like the format. I was attracted to this massive tree every time I pass through this street. Definitely will be approaching this street corner in the future to get a better painting from it. For now, it is what it is.

I actually like the values in this photo. The real painting has more color. Maybe I should just kill color and work more with tone. I was feeling hesitant with this just cause there was another spot near here that I wanted to paint. Save for next time I guess. There were so many people walking through and playing Pokemon Go. Also I met up with Yvonne. She painted in the perfect sketchbook b5 on the first page! Breaking it iiiinnnn. We'll meet again soon crab cove.

it was around 7:30pm and I decided to bust out one more. This time in the car. I was actually waiting for the sun to set so I can get that blue/pink/purple wash of the sky, but after this I was feeling a bit hungry and decided to stay in, eat green curry, Thai sasauge, and watch a few episodes of Criminal Minds with SLS. I'll save that dusky twilight sky for tomorrow.

Bonus: here's a line drawing of a dude finishing up his dinner at Monkey Thai.
Another day of painting tomorrow. Might hit up the base and paint some ships. Also got that quick draw on Webster st. Let's see what happens. As always, find me on IG @j_pastores

yo! It's been a while. Another year painting at the plein air event in Alameda starts next week! Exhibition at South Shore Center next Saturday, Aug. 6th. Not gonna lie, I've been practicing! Finding new spots around town and revisiting familiar ones. Check out my Instagram for instant updates next week.