Summer in the City

Summer. Summer is in full swing now. As in New Years' intentions, many of us have summer activity intentions, as well.  For instance, there is the summer reading list.   I am always on the look out for a good read.  My summer reading list may turn into my winter reading list.  I keep adding to it.  To complement my summer reading on the French Impressionist movement of the late 1800's, I had the good fortune to see the Impressionist Exhibit at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco two weeks ago.  The exhibit includes many of the French Impressionist painters including Monet, Degas, Manet and Cezanne.  These paintings are on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, while the Musee galleries are closed and being renovated.  The DeYoung was one of the museums worldwide that was fortunate to have this exhibit.

So my summer travel plans became more likely and affordable.  I did not have to fly to France to see these wonderful artworks, I only had to travel to the bay area to see them.  The exhibit is on through 9/6/10 in case you would like to travel to Paris via San Francisco this summer.  http://deyoung.famsf.org/  There is a wonderful companion show at the Legion of Honor, "Impressionist Paris, City of Light."

For another summer trip here in northern California, the Sierra Nevada mountains are not too far away either.  Attached is a watercolor of a sugar pine that I discovered on a trip into the Sierras near Mammoth Lakes area.  These pines are such a study in strength to paint and the day that this pine was discovered, the sun was in full gear and the sky was a brilliant cerulean blue that contrasted beautifully with the dark green of the sugar pines.

I would love to hear about your summer reading list and travel adventures far and near.

Spring Painting in Winters

On March 26th and March 27th, I spent two wonderful Spring days with my husband and our  good friend, Betty,  photographing and painting Spring in the Winter's area.

Briggs and Company, an  art gallery in Winters, CA, is the home of the annual "Paint The Town" plein-air art painting festival.  For a week, March 26th through April 3rd, artists painted within a fifteen mile radius of the town of Winters.  There was much to paint, including the interesting architecture of the town center that dates back to the late 1880's; the agricultural land that surrounds the town of Winters; reflections of the water at Putah Creek; the beautiful deep blue Lake Berryessa surrounded by mauve pink hills, and interesting vintage farm equipment and cars.

Winters is situated in an agricultural area west of Sacramento and Davis.

Attached are two paintings that I painted during the plein air festival and that are being shown at the Briggs & Company gallery for the months of April and part of May. 

As I painted, there was great enjoyment in experiencing the cool breezes, the changing bird formations in the sky, the changing light and a horse was naying occasionally  in the background.  I realized that morning of painting that only when spending time in nature, can one experience these elements fully. 

Wishing everyone special moments and new discoveries this Spring.

Spring

Winter is giving way to Spring.  Last weekend as I was out running weekend errands driving east on a major road near our home, I could see the snowcapped peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains set agains a bright cerulean blue sky.  The previous Friday's rain had cleared the air so that the sunlight hitting the snowcapped mountains was spectacular.  All around town the trees are beginning to bloom.  Spring is coming.  I spotted the first rose of the season on my noon time walk.   This particular rose is one of my seasonal favorites because of its subtle hues of soft orange peach color.  This was another reminder of the upcoming change of season.

The roses shown here are watercolor and color pencil study sketches that I did of the roses in our garden.  I love to study the subtle shapes, patterns and colors of the roses.  As I study and sketch the garden roses, I am reminded of a quote from one of my favorite artists, Georgia O'Keefe, "Nobody sees a Flower-really.  It is so small.  We haven't time-and to see takes time.  Like to have a friend takes time."  That is why I like to sketch and draw.  It helps to slow contemporary life down briefly for me so that I do not miss the subtle beauty and strength in nature.

Wishing everyone who reads this a little happiness and beauty as
spring unfolds.

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.