Sketchbook

September, 2018 Update:  I’ve finished my painting from these studies.  “Indian Ladder Falls” is an 11″ x 14″ oil painting.

I’ve brought some of the beauty of Indian Ladder Falls back in my sketchbook and in my heart. My plan is to use the drawings above, the watercolor I recently posted and the gouache painting below as references for a studio oil painting.

I’ve already decided that the studio painting will be from more of an angled vantage point. My first watercolor of Indian Ladder Falls (painted onsite) has a composition that feels to head on and blocky.

This is a challenging project for me … how to thoughtfully plan the painting while keeping it fresh.

 

I’ll admit some bias. When I hear “The Poconos” I think dingy hotels with heart-shaped tubs. One week at the incredibly beautiful Skytop Lodge had me fantasizing about future visits.

I painted every day.

Skytop Lodge is a stunning property consisting of 5,500+ acres, a grand old stone hotel from the 1920’s, a couple of swimming pools, beautiful gardens and excellent gardens. The property includes a charming lake, the lovely Leavitt Branch River and three waterfalls. All I can say is Wow!

 

One of the fun things about working with watercolor is the way colors can be integrated wet-in-wet. I painted this quickly with rain approaching.

My favorite thing about the day painting in San Juan Bautista was the great lunch with painting buddies that followed. There is no better combination than good conversation, an umbrella-shaded outdoor patio and guacamole. Margaritas would have been a good addition if not for the drive.

Seven years ago I planted two Asian Pear trees after being captivated by the small impeccably tended tanashitate orchards near Nagoya Japan.  My visit to Nagoya was not tied to agriculture or tourism or skiing. At the time I was immersed in topics related to the semiconductor supply chain.

The Japanese tanashitate method constrains the height of the pear trees with bamboo poles and the fruit is given the protection of individual paper wraps.

While my Asian Pear trees are Nagoya inspired, my small garden uses the space-saving espalier method favored by medieval European monastaries.

 

This farmhouse in the Almaden Valley section of San Jose feels worlds away from the hustle and bustle of the tech world. This painting was done by the side of a rural road. I was happy that the rain that was threatening heald off until later in the day.

Delighted to see the signs of spring in the nearby foothills. In this watercolor, I tried to capture the sense that these Indian Warrior Flowers were glowing as they were caught in shafts of late afternoon light.

The Sawyer Camp Trail surrounds Crystal Springs Reservoir. While I’ve been there many times, it is always new.

I love painting outside with my plein air buddies. Sometimes though it’s just not meant to be. Still, this day turned out to be a treasured experience as we painted from the warmth of the glassed-in breezeway of an extraordinary Spanish Colonial home. Our host, David, set up a still life of freshly blooming quince in an antique chines vase sitting on an antique French child’s church chair. The painting below is looking from the windows to a particularly curvaceous outdoor light.

I am surely hoping for an invitation back. I’m just not sure if I’m hoping for sunshine to paint the pond … or … if another rainy day would suit just as well.

I’ve painted at Quail Hollow Ranch several times. It’s a sunny charming rural spot tucked away in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It’s a property that had once belonged to the creators of Sunset Magazine.

 

My favorite place to stay in San Francisco these days isn’t in San Francisco. It’s across the Golden Gate Bridge in Tiburon. I painted the sketch of boats at the Corinthian Yacht Club from the deck of the Water’s Edge Hotel. The location of the hotel is pretty much perfection. It’s steps away from restaurants and the ferry that heads over to Angel Island State Park.

The ferry arrives on Angel Island at Ayala Cove. This is also where thousands of Asian immigrants arrived in the early 1900s. There are exhibits on the island that speak to the difficulties they endured. I painted this view from one of the picnic tables overlooking the cove and Tiburon.

My favorite spot on the island is on the western side past the Civil War Era Camp Reynolds. There used to be heavy gun batteries here. What remains are concrete forms and a breathtaking view of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Sausalito and Tiburon.

These watercolor sketches were made with very limited gear … just a water pen and a few colors. I can’t wait to head back.