Tag: rain

First, and Early

No April Fool’s. Three rainstorms this winter, and this is what we can expect – fires. Ten minutes down the road from me.

The state of California has hired 1400 more firefighters in anticipation of a long and horrible fire season. With the massive we burns we have had locally and in the mountains, there is some speculation that the fire season will not be as bad as the damage is already done, but it will occur nonetheless. And be fierce.

I keep thinking I need to move someplace else before all I see are cacti and dirt. California is not the only place suffering – drought is affecting our crops. In the midwest, the bread basket of the country, is losing top soil, is no longer the same environment it was 50 years ago. Everywhere, we need to learn to farm more strategically for dryer climes.

I hate to think what this summer will bring.

Last Spring

We live in an area with multiple mountain ranges, some which run parallel to the coast, and other which run perpendicular. As a result, the terrain and weather varies in each quite a lot. Here, a view of Mt. Boney in the spring, as a storm comes in. The wildflowers are in bloom and all is right with the world!

High Desert Rain

I have had a perfectly lovely day today! Went out on a short road trip, did some photography, ate a Croque Madame for lunch, and drove through beautiful back country here where I live. Josh came along, and we had a nice day out. Once home, a nap, some coffee, and then, at long last, the pastels came out from hibernation! The result is more rain (we get none, I want some!) as subject matter. As pastels lend themselves to blurring and blending, I decided to use a long stroke of a finger tip, moving at an angle from top to bottom, to suggest that fierce rain one sees in the high desert. Dark background and a sunlit foreground. So fun to do!

Storm Above the Pedernal

Another painting on the reverse of another, again employing dampening the paper before commencing. More hake brush wet-in-wet. I wanted to catch the brilliance of the land beneath the storm as spots of sunshine break through a fast moving storm. In the Southwest, this is common and exciting to see – sometimes the landscape shifts in seconds.