Month: May 2020

Malibu Creek State Park, I

Malibu State Park is a vast area that spreads out across bits of Ventura and Los Angeles Counties.  You can feel like you are lost in the wild west.  What is so enchanting about it is the land itself – hilly, flat, study with oak trees, a creek or two.  It’s a great place to hike, to explore,  to do photography, and to paint.  In spring it is stunning, and after a rainy season you can walk through fields of butterflies.  In fall, the sycamores change color, the grass is brown, but the hills can remain green.  Definitely a land of contrasts.

Les Fleurs Sont Belles

Hollyhocks! I have a few coming up, but not like these. There is a garden in our neighborhood which is one of my faves to visit when out on a walk. I spoke with the lady of the house about it one day, and she said, “I just throw extra seeds over the fence.” Well, she might, but whatever she does, it works!

Taken with a Trip 35 and Fuji Superia 200. And finally developed.

A Study from Vernon Nye

I decided to use a study by the watercolorist Vernon Nye.  He caught the back country of California perfectly – the hills and trees in particular.  It was a fun study and I liked it because it pointed out to me how deceptively simple the hills can seem, but they really are not.  The road, too, was another eye-catcher.  I have driven along a number of back-road highways throughout the state, and you feel like you are the only person in the world.  The perspective was a great challenge, too.  Altogether, a good study of something in my own back yard, and I can take what I learned into future paintings.

Wrecking the WRX

Hard to believe it has been nearly a month since my last post. Lots has been going on, and not going on. For one thing, the quarantine has been going on and on and on. Life continues despite it, and with a few rule bending days and outings. Fortunately, all is well in our neck of the woods, and because we are such boring people, not much in our lives has changed. We have been very fortunate. However, in the next day or two, a Major Change is a-comin’!

This is no longer a car. It is in bits and pieces, sawzalled into oblivion, dissected, sold, and scavenged. The WRX is now parts and pieces. Something is coming soon to replace it.

Ormond Beach

More water and reflections!

Ormond Beach is located on the coastal side of the county in a flat, rural area near two navy bases.  The sky is often dank and cloudy and it can seem like another world compared to my hot, dry corner.  Here, I wanted to catch the dreary grey sky along with the rows of palm trees on the horizon.  I think this one is one of my better ones of late.