High Sierra Painting.

Meadow Path-Yosemite Valley

Me
Some sketches from my week in the High Sierra's! ---- I found painting in watercolor quite demanding this time, mainly because the temperatures were so high and the paint would dry instantly, leaving no room for moving the paint around the paper, doing a successful wash or even sitting for very long without feeling really uncomfortable.
We did have a wonderful time as always - some beautiful hikes with stunning views - and swimming in lakes and rivers which I think as I get older is one of the most liberating and enjoyable ways to enjoy nature! - The snow pack must have been less this past winter because the Merced was low enough for us to hop the rocks at the swimming hole. My son and daughters favorite rocks to sit on were exposed once again. When ever I visit our favorite swimming hole I am aware of the passage of time - my children couldn't even swim when we first arrived in Yosemite - now they snorkel,  duck and dive and jump the rocks. My daughter will have one last summer with us next year! - How time flies - but Yosemite will always be the same......

My sketchbooks!

                                                      Half Dome from Sentinal Dome.

Me at Taft Point

Tenaya Lake 

A COUPLE MORE SKETCHES  

Yosemite Falls from Valley Chapel

Finishing a sketchbook is a really rewarding experience for me! - Just finished my 36 page Moleskin - with the two sketches below.... Will be purchasing another for my trip into the High Sierras in August.  - There is a real sense of accomplishment for any artist when you see a pile of finished work in front of you. My sketchbooks are dear to me and are like photo albums of my life.....

A pile of sketchbooks on my desk

Dusk at the Beach - Looking North to Rosecrans

A Street Corner

RED WHITE AND BLUE

Ocean Drive Summer Afternoon

Old Glory! say, who,
By the ships and the crew,
And the long, blended ranks of the gray and the blue,
Who gave you, Old Glory, the name that you bear
With such pride everywhere
As you cast yourself free to the rapturous air
And leap out full-length, as we're wanting you to?
Your stripes stroked in ripples of white and red,
With your stars at their glittering best overhead
By day or by night
Their delightfulest light
Laughing down from their little square heaven of blue!
Who gave you the name of Old Glory? - say, who
Who gave you the name of Old Glory?
The old banner lifted, and faltering then
In vague lisps and whispers fell silent again.

The Name of Old Glory - verse 1 by James Whitcomb Riley

Between Buildings

STREET SCENES

Dusk- Looking North

North Bay View - Near 30th Place

A quote I rather like.

“This twinned twinkle was delightful but not completely satisfying; or rather it only sharpened my appetite for other tidbits of light and shade, and I walked on in a state of raw awareness that seemed to transform the whole of my being into one big eyeball rolling in the world’s socket. Through peacocked lashed I saw the dazzling diamond reflection of the low sun on the round back of a parked automobile. To all kinds of things a vivid pictorial sense had been restored. Water in overlapping festoons flowed down one sloping street and turned gracefully into another. With ever so slight a note of meretricious appeal, narrow passages between buildings revealed treasures of brick and purple. I remarked for the first time the humble fluting – last echoes of grooves on the shafts of columns – ornamenting a garbage can, and I also saw the rippling upon its lid – circles diverging from a fantastically ancient center.

I walked up, and I walked down, and I walked straight into a delicately dying sky.”

 “The Vane Sisters” – Vladimir Nabokov – American Fantastic Tales.  

The Strand House

Sketches

Some quick sketches in Yosemite and Palm Springs. These are small paintings and have taken me about 20 to 30 minutes.

Wawona Meadow

Wawona Dome

Palm Springs - San Jacinto Mts

Up Hill -  Down Hill

16th Street

I don't think I will ever get tired of painting these streets down to the ocean --- maybe it is because they lead to the beach and Pacific. The childlike joy of seeing the waves always makes me happy - I'm guessing it's the same for most of us who have childhood memories of happy days spent playing in the sand and waves!

I particularly like 16th Street for it's beachy colors. I have painted it a few times - playing around with lose and tighter painting techniques - also the shadows on the road. - The streets in Manhattan Beach have been constantly changing over the years with a large amount of construction work. The houses are an eclectic mix of old beach cottages and 3 story modern town homes.

Older Sketch

Study

El Porto uphill

Sidewalk Sketches

Morningside Parking Lot

Side walk sketches in my small 8x5 Moleskin watercolor sketch book.  The parking structure on Morningside is really interesting if you ever bother to look up and see the patterns of the iron or steel supports - painted in this case a lovely turquoise to go with the beach side theme. Looking up is always a good idea - people miss so much by just looking ahead. I guess I am used to doing this especially coming from London where there is so much fantastic architecture to look at. When I visit with my kids I am constantly telling them "look up".

Painting in progress.

Sketch

Downtown -Manhattan Beach blvd

I thought the shadow on the street was really interesting - and then all the colors of the different restaurants and bars makes for a colorful little sketch. Some great eateries along this little parade - "Rock n Fish" a family favorite - and the great beach bar "Shellbecks" on the corner.