American River

The American River, a hidden jewel in northern California, meanders through the Sacramento region.  The American River begins high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains, just west of Lake Tahoe in the Tahoe and El Dorado National Forets.  The River runs through the Sacramento region and then enters into the Sacramento River which then flows through the farm-rich delta and then out to the San Francisco Bay and into the Pacific Ocean.

There are wonderful trails in and around the American River as it makes it way through the Sacramento region.  Two of the three watercolor images are scenes discovered during early morning on walks along the American.  In painting these images, I was captivated by the early morning and mid-morning light reflected on the shrubs and river paths.

The third scene is of a pond discovered near the American River in full sunlight.  The deep blue of the pond beckoned to be studied and painted.

 The American River was called the Rio de los Americanos before 1846 during the time that Mexico ruled what we now call California.  The American River has been the site of Sutter's Mill, where gold was discovered in 1848, which lead to the California Gold Rush and the beginnings of the state that we now call California.

Avatar

This last week, we went to see the director James Cameron's new movie, Avatar.  The animation and special effects alone in this movie were something to experience.  The images of the forest and plant life were very realistic.  The story line, which was part science fiction and part commentary on how we are taking care of each other and the environment, was beautifully and strongly  told through the characters performance and animation created.  The design of the 3-D glasses that were given to view this movie also was far improved over the old 3-D glasses of old.

Art in the New Year

My husband, Gary, and I along with our friend, Betty, visited the Haggin Museum (Stockton, CA) yesterday to see the stellar plein air exhibit, "American Legacy; Our National Parks."  The beautiful paintings were created by artists who are members of the national artist group, Plein-Air Painters of America.

The 36 artists in this exhibit painted their unique vision of the national park that they visited.  During 2008-2009, these artists were given the opportunity to paint in a national park of their choosing.  The exhibit will be showing at the Haggin Museum through January 10, 2010 (http://www.hagginmuseum.org/).  The website also has links to the artists' individual websites.

Holiday Sharings

I celebrated the holidays and the new year at the same time Saturday morning, December 19th, with Mark and Maggie. We enjoyed our annual get together with Starbucks holiday offerings of morning roll, eggnog latte, americano, and peppermint frappacino. As we shared 2009's experiences with Maggie and I talking non-stop, Mark was quietly setting up a blog for me for 2010, thus the birth of a new way to communicate in 2010.

Maggie and I look forward to learning from Mark on how to design a blog and learning more about blogging in 2010. We wished each other peace and happiness, as we wish these same two wishes to everyone we meet during this holiday season.