Thursday, December 20, 2012

 MIRROR LAKE AT CHRISTMAS 

Mirror Lake Yosemite 


This is my last post for 2012 - I will begin again in January! -- I wanted to share with you a very special place we always visit in December in Yosemite - Mirror Lake! --- We have hiked to this magical place either at Christmas or Easter. - In December we always start our hike from the Ahwahnee Hotel parking lot. Basically if you stand on the red carpet of the entrance and head for the furthest right hand corner of the parking lot you will hit a trail that takes you all along the bottom of the granite cliffs to Mirror Lake. It is quiet in winter,  icy and snowy with plenty of deer! - The reason we always walk from the Ahwahnee is so that we can get some refreshment in the hotel bar after the walk back. The Ahwahnee Hotel is beautiful at Christmas time - decorated with multiple trees and pine cones. A great place to end up after a walk in the snow.... This will take you a couple of hours round trip, so be sure to give yourself enough time to get back before darkness falls. I have supplied another route below if you decide to hike the trail another way.....


Yosemite Valley Winter


Mirror Lake


Yosemite Valley Overlook.


Ahwahnee Hotel



On the Trail


Mirror Lake

Mirror Lake is a small, seasonal lake located on Tenaya Creek in Yosemite National Park. Situated in Tenaya Canyon directly between North Dome and Half Dome, it is the last remnant of a large glacial lake that once filled most of Yosemite Valley at the end of the last Ice Age, and is close to disappearing due to sediment accumulation!

View of Half  Dome from the Lake.


Maple Leaf



Saturday, December 15, 2012

END OF THE YEAR...




As we come to the end of 2012 I am finishing up another Moleskin with another              
35 watercolor sketches in. All of the work ends up on this blog. Next year I am hoping to 
get another website up and running - a place where I can hopefully start to sell my work. I 
have enjoyed posting my work on this site. It is truly inspiring to get my Twitter followers 
feedback! - Thanks to you all for being so supportive....
I will be posting one last blog for this year. 

~

The watercolor and ink drawing below is by my 16 year old daughter 
Caroline for the Twitter Art Exhibit. I am proud that we both can take part 
in this wonderful charity exhibition. Caroline will be off to Art College in a
year or so. We have been creating together since she was old enough
to hold a crayon in her tiny hand - may there be many more hours of 
happy creative collaboration to come! - I am truly blessed to be able 
to share the gift of art with my daughter....

Mingo and Frog- By Caroline Millicent
pen and ink with collage

WINTER SILENCE


Dusk Manhattan Beach Pier


A certain kind of quiet always falls over the beach at this time of year - 

especially at Christmas! 

The summer crowds have gone - 

the Seagulls and Sandpipers sit on the sand watching the sunsets. 

We enjoy the silence and light... 


Winter Light

16th Street

9th of December Christmas Fireworks over the Pier


Tuesday, December 4, 2012

DECEMBER RAIN

Wet Morning 23rd Place


Its been a wet start to December this year - which I don't mind as it always reminds me of home! - The temperatures are mild around 65 degrees - and the rain has been fine and showery - perfect.... This is winter weather in California the kind of weather you'd experience around September or even June in England.We are so lucky - and the sunsets are beautiful by the beach!


Soggy morning

Santa Monica Incline

Valley Floor Autumn Morning

Maple Leaf

THE TWITTER ART EXHIBIT

These are my two submissions for the Twitter art Exhibit

Down Hill to the Beach

Patterns - Ragged Point - Big Sur
Twitter Art Exhibit: Los Angeles
Exhale Unlimited (E.U.) Gallery is proud to present Twitter Art Exhibit: Los Angeles, an international exhibition of original postcard art, benefiting Art Division, a nonprofit program for underserved youth (ages 18 – 25) showing commitment and passion for the visual arts. An opening reception will be held from 7-10 PM on SaturdayJanuary 12, 2013 at E.U. Gallery, in Chinatown’s Arts District.
Twitter Art Exhibit: Los Angeles is the third installment of an open international exhibition of handmade postcard art donated by hundreds of artists from around the globe.


Read more: http://www.finearttips.com/2012/10/twitter-art-exhibit-worldwide-call-for-artists/#ixzz2E90emt6f

PAINTINGS FOR FRIENDS


A couple of paintings  recently commissioned for friends. 

Lake District House

Different View

Downtown Alley