Sketchbook

Today was an absolutely beautiful day for plein air watercolor sketching at Filoli.

These potted tulips are early arrivals. In a couple of weeks there will be tulips everywhere at Filoli. With all of the rain we’ve had, Filoli and the bucolic landscape around it, are wearing bright spring green. It is so wonderful to enjoy the sunshine and no-jacket weather.

I’ve visited Filoli many times and it’s an absolute treasure. I’ve written about Filoli and posted pictures over on the Arid Gardening website here.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is always beautiful but I think I like the town the most in the winter. Fewer tourists. Less fog. The sunset view above is painted from a perfect spot on Scenic Avenue at 8th where the view is framed by an old cypress and the surf sounds serve as a backdrop. Here are a few other Carmel views from the trip.

My husband and I enjoyed a recent trip to Carmel which included opportunities for plein air painting. Sometimes, plein air painting involves some degree of discomfort … cold, heat, glare, wind. This time early morning and sunset views of the town of Carmel with the pacific ocean in the background were painted from the balcony of our hotel room. Such luxury!

This phrase comes to us from John Muir who is forever linked with Yosemite. After several winter snows, the park is dressed in white as the snow is melting into the Merced.

This view of Half Dome is from a spot adjacent to Sentinel Bridge. Most of the 4 million visitors who come to Yosemite each year see the Merced River and Half Dome from this spot.

Yosemite is a quiet place in winter. There have been 137 Christmases celebrated at Yosemite Valley Chapel. It was built in 1879 and it is the oldest structure in Yosemite National Park.

Happy Holidays

 

A couple of weeks ago I was able to spend time with friends in Southern California. Here are a few pages from my sketchbook.

 

I was also able to view the National Watercolor Society 2016 Exhibition which is on view at the NWS Gallery in San Pedro. This year’s work is amazingly impressive. The exhibit will be up in San Pedro through December 18. It will be traveling to other locations after that. The exhibition can also be viewed online here.

 

The foothills near our home include many treasured spaces. After a casual lunch at Alice’s Restaurant (the one from the Arlo Guthrie song) we spent the afternoon at the David C. Daniels Nature Center.

We had the pond and surrounding trails to ourselves as Mark took photos and I painted. The Daniels Nature Center is adjacent to Russian Ridge which is at the junction of Page Mill/Alpine Road and Skyline (Highway 35). So close … but … so far from the hustle of Silicon Valley.

I will likely add some of the foreground reeds to the painting. If you look closely, you’ll see that I’ve just started to sketch them in. I planned to add them at the time but needed to wait for the paper to dry to enable me to paint the crisp sword-shaped spikes.

Rylan turned 3 today. It was fun to paint this small watercolor to mark the occasion. Just wish we lived closer to this amazing guy and his terrific parents!

I was struck by the positioning and reflections of these two small row boats cozied up next to the fish buyers’ pier inside Pillar Point Harbor. It was a bright afternoon with the sun breaking through the large large red bins that are at the ready for the unloading of the catch from commercial fishing boats that pull up to the pier.

I’ve enjoyed sketching and painting Half Moon Bay scenes and look forward to painting there more.

We spent a week enjoying beautiful early fall weather in the Asheville, North Carolina area earlier this month. The rural scenery in the area is really special. Here are sketchbook pages from the trip …

Room 362 at the Grove Park Inn provided a perfect spot to take in the landscape with the Smokey Mountains as a backdrop. Their Sunset Terrace Restaurant provided beautiful evening views along with excellent food.

Our drives along the Blue Ridge Parkway took my husband and me back to the Penland area. We met at the Penland School when he was teaching a summer session in metals years ago. We also enjoyed the views from Mount Mitchell and our hike in the Mount Pisgah area.

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!