Tag: California

Land’s End, SF

I love San Francisco, like so many people. And, like so many people, I am sad to see how challenging it has become as a city in a lot of ways – homelessness, cost of living, among other things. Still, it has a lot to offer, and Land’s End is one of them. Part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, it is a beautiful bit of nature on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

There are paths within Land’s End, and this row of trees on a bluff is a signature landmark of the area itself. Golden Gate National Recreation Area is wonderful, and I have spent time here, and in the city and around the Bay Area often, more so when I was younger. I had friends who lived in the city itself and have great memories of all it has to offer.

This painting was a bit of a challenge. The tree trunks are bright and clear in the foreground and sharply contrast the foliage of the trees and undergrowth. In the distance, the shapes of the trees and their leaves merge into fascinating shapes. What I find so interesting about these trees – I believe they are Monterrey Cypress – is the trunks and branches seem to vanish within the leafy canopy. The hillside is variegated in vegetation, and while I caught some of the bright green and dark browns, the lights and darks were evident.

I tried to paint as directly as possible, putting paint down and then, while it was wet, varying colors within the shapes. The foliage was a good example of this, as was the hillside below the trees. The sky was painted first and brought down between the trunks near, leaving the trunks to be painted later. Bushes were also painted this way. Finally, trunks and foliage, near and far, and final touches such as a bit of titanium white gouache and a few dots and lines here and there.

Watercolor, unlimited palette, Arches 140# CP, 10×14.

Days of Fire

Fires are raging to the south of us, in Los Angeles county. I am in the county just north, Ventura. We had fires here that burnt out a lot of the areas with which I am familiar. Several years ago my in-laws were evacuated and showed up on our doorstep at 1:00 a.m. Josh’s brother’s family were evacuated from their canyon and are now back home, but areas around them are devastated and many people they know are homeless, having lost everything. If we didn’t have family here, or Josh wasn’t restricted by work where he can live, we would be long gone as I am so sick of this. It is only going to get worse, IMO.

That said, the local electric company, SCE, turned off our electricity to help prevent downed power lines – if they happen – from sparking and setting off fires. These are called “PSPS” shut-offs – public safety power shut-off or shutdown.

It’s a smart thing to do as down lines in a dry, dry area are often responsible for fires. One of our current fires is apparently the work of an arsonist – beyond my comprehension.

We had no electricity for 2 days, and while it wasn’t especially hard on me as there is a lot I do without the need of electricity except for light, Josh wasn’t able to work or play very much. Sleep from stress is difficult for all of us – the back of the brain and the ear are tuned to hear alarms of all sorts. The electricity was shut off in the middle of the night, and last night turned back on.

This was a bit of a financial loss in terms of food. 2 days without electricity means lost frozen food and fresh. Luckily, food is still in the area – we have 6 grocery stores nearby – and roads and transport are not down or blocked. Hot water continued throughout the 2 days. Gas for cooking and heating water, thankfully, but not for heat as the furnace requires electricity to start up. Here in CA where we are, cold nights exist but are not as if we were in upstate NY without electricity or oil to burn in the dead of a winter’s blizzard.

The winds are expected to pick up again, and I expect fires are going to continue to start or burn unabated. We are going to find a generator so we can have some electricity to keep from losing perishables and have access to phones and such in times of emergency. Meanwhile, all we can do is hunker down, or when in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. Or:

What else can you do? Life is so fragile but in times of safety and comfort, we forget it so easily.

Impressions of San Gregorio State Beach

Scanning – sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. It is usually better than trying to take a photo of a painting though . . . .

I used Epson V600 Epson Scan on one of these; VueScan on the other.

Above was done using VueScan. It captures the colors better but is a bit dark. Below, the greens of the trees and bushes are better captured.

More of the colors show up using Epson Scan, but they are a little too intense.

Sigh.

The fact is that scanning and post-production can really influence how a painting looks. This goes whether the painting is scanned and interpreted using software, or photographed, and then interpreted and adjusted using software. If you look up a painting on the internet and then look at all the images of it, you know what I mean – colors can vary dramatically.

All this techno speak aside, I like them both for different reasons. Both do capture the moodiness of the original watercolor, which I like. Perhaps that is the most important thing – the mood is caught?

Watercolor, Arches 140# CP, 10×14.

Sand Dunes in Death Valley

Death Valley is up and off Hwy 395 along the Eastern Sierra Mountains in California. It’s a strange and eerily beautiful place with a lot of surprises and history. It is preserved as Death Valley National Park. The website is filled with great information and it is one of the best places to visit – in the right season, and in the right weather. People die in the desert because they do not understand it, so if you go, be careful!

Sand dunes always amaze me. I am still stuck in my child’s view of the world that sand dunes exist only in the Sahara, and can only be found by riding a camel. Silly, yes!

There are sand dunes everywhere – beaches and deserts mostly, but sometimes in places you least expect. Their shifting shape in the wind and blowing away foot prints or burying ancient cities all lead to a fascination as they make everything seem so temporal.

Anyway . . . . this is an oil painting using a limited palette. Some of the goals in doing this painting included smooth, smooth brushwork for the dunes. I tried to catch the gradual gradations and color changes I saw. In the distance is the flat valley before the towering mountains. For each I used directional brushwork and a deliberate vagueness to create a surreal effect. The mountains, when I look at them afresh, can also be visualized as swirling clouds. Interpretation I will leave to your eye.

Oil on canvas panel; 16 x 20 inches.

On Gravelly Paths

Old age is not for sissies, so they say. I agree. Giving in to fear does not make for an enjoyable life. Falling and shattering my arm last year and smashing my heel bone in July have made me rather timid. It is very annoying. I have always had “sloppy joints” per the rogue orthopedist, and couple this with high arches and a tendency to supinate (turn my feet upwards on the inside), makes for high chances of a good tumble. And I have taken quite a few in my life time, but get back up and out. Now I do it with more conscientious feet movements after several rounds of occupational therapy and balancing instruction.

So, off to the local botanical garden to prowl along gravelly paths where stones easily skitter underfoot. (That reminds me I once had a cat I named Underfoot Ticklewhisker.) No dog, just me and a camera and a cell phone in my shoulder bag.

Come walk with me . . .

I keep thinking this may be a California Redwood, but I may be wrong. For some reason I really want to call it an ironwood, but, hell, I forgot to look at the tag! Nonetheless, it is a tree I always look at because of the deep red and shedding bark contrasted by bright green leaves. Today it was particularly delightful.

Not many flowers remain, and these California fuschias (again, “I think”!) were some of the few remaining flowers in bloom. Against the deep greens of rosemary, the pale green leaves and bright orange flowers are very attractive.

Oak trees fill the garden! Another perennial favorite of mine year round. There are a lot of them that I cannot help admire, and if I were a kid, I would be up in them, climbing as high as I dared.

At the far end of the garden is a path that leads around the hillside and down into the creek and woodlands. This is the beginning, but in my cautious state, I won’t do it alone. It is not a well traveled path and a fall could be very nasty. This also shows you how dry it gets here in SoCal in the fall before the rainy season begins.

One lovely part of the garden is the rare fruit orchard. Depending on where you live, these fruit trees could be common or rare. Here is a green sapote, in leaf and bearing fruit. It is a native to Mexico and is rather odd to my taste, but it is good. Also, there are signs to not pick the fruit, in part because of insecticide, but also to let others have a chance to enjoy the gardens. Locally there is a warning sign about invasive flies of some kind.

About here, I sat down. This is at the top of the hill and I was pretty pleased with my progress. A few stones underfoot, but I made it without a problem. Going downhill would be more precipitous, but I planned to return the same way I came up – the inclines are not steep and there are benches along the way.

Before descending, I had to get a view to the northeast, overlooking the city and into the mountains beyond. The sky was gorgeous with that deep autumnal blue as well as clouds – not a common site over our dry region!

And I made it to the bottom of the hill with rather irritated knees but not a fall at all. (Or perhaps, not an autumn at all?)