We had a great time on our most recent trip to Kauai. Staying in a place with a terrific balcony view provided ample opportunity for watching (and painting) crashing waves and surfers from a comfortable spot in the shade. Here are sketchbook pages from the trip …
We also enjoyed spending time in the Waimea Canyon area. The views from the Phiea trail amaze. And … you’ve got to love the colorful Kauai chickens!
My husband and I spent a great day yesterday at Mount Diablo State Park. I was able to paint from a lovely spot under an oak tree at Lookout Point. I painted this 12″ x 16″ study in about an hour … squinting in the sun and waving off yellow jackets.
Apparently there are more than 7 million of us who live in the 9 counties that make up the San Francisco. We’re fortunate to have access to nature nearby at places like Mount Diablo. The park is home to varied natural habitats … oak trees, grassland and chaparral. Geologically speaking, the rocks in the park are very old but the mountain (3,849 feet) is thought to be very young in geologic time. Views after a rainstorms from Mount Diablo offer glimpses of distant sierra peaks. Summer days like yesterday have their give us the vistas California golden hills.
11″ x 14″ watercolor
The wharf and cannery building in Princeton-by-the-Sea is a lovely mess in a very scenic Half Moon Bay spot. This summer afternoon watercolor captures active sanderlings feeding along a shore with gently lapping waves. The old Romeo Pier is in the Pillar Point Harbor Harbor area in a spot that is terrific for a coastside walk.
This painting will be on view as part of a show sponsored by the Los Gatos Art Association from beginning on Friday April 13 through June 5.
There are many wonderful places to sketch and paint along the San Francisco Bay Trail. I recently completed a painting of Matadero Creek which is located is at the southern end of San Francisco Bay.
I’m fortunate to live within 10 minutes (or a long bike ride) of the wetlands that border the southwestern reach of San Francisco Bay. I particularly enjoy the quiet of the mornings beautiful light, not too much heat and lots of active shorebirds.
We visit the Half Moon Bay region frequently. It is a beautiful area for taking in the scenery and listening to crashing waves. I recently completed a painting of the rugged Pillar Point cliff and Air Station at the point.
I find it challenging to distill the movement of waves onto the shore and I have been busy with shoreline studies.
11″ x 14″ (private collection)
In this watercolor I am trying to catch vibration created by late afternoon light on the young cottonwood on the bank of the Merced River in Yosemite Valley.
Yosemite has always been a special place to me. There is, of course, the absolute grandeur of the place. There is intimacy also. I remember specific small rock formations from childhood visits. Continue reading “Yosemite Sketchbook”
I love that my husband and I live close to Shoreline Park. Now that I no longer have a sixty hour high technology workweek, we’re able to enjoy it on laid-back weekday afternoons.
I’ve enjoyed filling sketchbooks with people learning to sail and playing kayak water polo. Shoreline Park Lake is also a rich environment for birds including geese, white cranes and avocets.
