Yosemite Falls- Studies

These are all small paintings in a 5x8 watercolor Moleskin pad.

Progression from Ink sketch to watercolor and final painting.

SIERRA TREES

Slice of Wawona Forest

Spring Color

Ode to Chiura Obata

 

July 4th 1927 WHITE WOLF - "I have tried hard, but it is impossible to paint the thousands of forms and shapes. Not only that, the air changes every day so that the colors of the sky, earth, and the different flowers are always changing! - Chiura Obata Taken from the book - "OBATA'S YOSEMITE'-

Obata is a master at drawing trees - I often try and follow his style or at least try and learn from it --- some of the paintings/woodblocks I particularly admire are - "Life and Death, Porcupine Flat" - "Eagle Peak Trail" - "Morning at Mono Lake" and "White Wolf Meadow"

Wawona Meadow

This is a 60 minute sketch of Wawona Meadow. It lies just before the Wawona Hotel on the road that leads to Badger Pass and Yosemite Valley. In the summer it is a gloriously quiet spot. I have a very fond memory of sitting under a beautiful old pine tree with my husband in August of last year. It was a special moment for me because my husband also sat down at the same time to sketch the scene in pen and ink. We then compared our work. We hope to do more of this in the future. If you ever visit Wawona - try the 'Meadow Loop"  - either hike, bike or horse ride - you will see butterflies and rattlesnakes!

Wawona Trees - 15 minute sketch

Alpine Trees

TAFT POINT 

On the trail to Taft Point

Taft Point located along the Glacier Point road in Yosemite offers wide views of the valley - Yosemite Falls and El Capitan. The main attraction though is the giant fissures in the mile high granite rock beneath. The fissures are breaks and cracks in the mountain that drops down directly to the valley floor below! There is only a thin metal railing on the highest fissure which makes Taft Point incredibly dangerous! - Whenever I grab the rail and look over I feel very dizzy and my hands start to sweat - my daughter who is afraid of heights will not even venture up to the rock or edge - she always has a major problem with this hike because she knows what is waiting at the end. 

The hike is about just over a mile and offers a lot of bang for your buck - it is awe inspiring and not too busy even in August - which is when we usually visit!

                            

                                     Taft Point

                                 

             Sketch on the trail.                  

        TAFT POINT

                            

                           

Sketches around Yosemite

These are small 20 minute/30 minute sketches - timed on purpose so that I don't try and overwork the subject matter. I learn a lot about using watercolor this way - especially how to use short cuts in mixing and applying the paint for different effects. - Some are more successful than others - but I enjoyed painting them all!

Wawona snow

Reflections

My Favorite tree

Swimming Hole

Reflections #2

New walk street sketch

Pen sketch

Witches walk street

Lemon house

Happy Mothers Day!

Half Dome Spring - Silver Birches

This is more like a poster design than a traditional watercolor - maybe a railway poster advertising trips to the valley? - I think you can see my training as a commercial artist in this painting. Again I was pleased with the silver birches - I used masking fluid - they look old,  gray and weather beaten!

Nevada Falls from the Panorama Trail

I am a great fan of Tom Killion - he does incredibly atmospheric woodcuts with beautiful detail - and a wonderful sense of design! Even though I am working in watercolor - I always consider the graphic quality of my work. I used masking fluid to create the clouds and water - thinking all the time of a small   woodcut study - keeping my color palette to a minimum. I think I created a watercolor with woodcut simplicity.....I recommend the Panorama Trail in Yosemite to see this beautiful view. We hiked the trail last August and it took all day from Glacier Point - truly memorable experience - couldn't walk the next day - my legs ached so much!

Nasturtium Flowers

Happy Mothers Day to all the 'Mums' in the UK - my Mum passed away 15 years ago - Nasturtiums were her favorite flower - she would plant them and then my Dad would pull them up proclaiming they were weeds! Happy Mothers Day Mum - I miss you every dayx

Yosemite Sketches 

Half Dome winter

JOHN MUIR – July 15^th 1869

The Yosemite

Followed the Mono Trail up the eastern rim of the basin nearly to its summit, then turned off southward to a small shallow valley that extends to the edge of the Yosemite, which we reached about noon, and encamped. After luncheon I made haste to high ground, and from the top of the ridge on the west side of Indian Canon gained the noblest view of the summit peaks I have ever yet enjoyed. Nearly all of the upper basin of the Merced was displayed, with its sublime domes and canons, dark unsweeping forests, and glorious array of white peaks deep in the sky, every feature glowing, radiating beauty that pours into our flesh and bones like heat rays from fire. Sunshine over all; no breath of wind to stir the brooding calm. 

Never before had I seen so glorious a landscape, so boundless an affluence of sublime mountain beauty. 

From My First Summer in the Sierra

There is no-one quite like Muir to explain the beauty of the High Sierra’s other than perhaps Ansel Adams!

Wawona Morning

                                         The view along the trail from the cabin in Wawona.

Ghost house

 I sat on a hot August morning and finished this in an hour or so. I was pleased with the trees.

Valley Winter
6 x10

These are the first  pieces of work on my new Blog I have chosen just a few of the  local scenes around Manhattan Beach my home town. I hope you like them. Luisa.

Up Hill Alley

All these color sketches are in a moleskin 5x7 sketch pad on watercolor paper. Light pencil underdrawing.

Marine and Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive

This is a favorite - color palette works - interesting sky - I used white masking fluid for the clouds. Masking fluid is a very handy substance - I use it throughout my watercolors to give a graphic quality - and I like white paper showing through the painting. A fine point pen was used to fill in the wires.

The Strand towards Santa Monica

Quick study - the shadows caught my eye and the beautiful Santa Monica mountains.

An Ocean walk street

The shadows and wires add interest to this walkstreet - quite simple composition - but it works!

Down Hill Alley

Possibly one of my more successful studies on this theme. I am pleased with the color palette, the pastels and strong shadows.

My desk and work station 

I sometimes do a black and white sketch - then xerox up or down and reproduce on watercolor paper - or just sketch straight in the book - as below.

A color sketch in My SketchBook with a 2'' sea urchin for scale.