plein air

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.