In the shadow of the great tree

"In the shadow of the great tree" watercolor on paper, 11" x 16" 2015

The weather has been really beautiful these last few days, and hardly feels like Thanksgiving is approaching.  I have set out to work on some studio projects, in the anticipation of some not-so-nice-weather, but that has not been the case.  So, I figure I will post the last of my beautiful weather/San Fran trip studies today, and then continue in my studio for today.  The plan is to enjoy the next day of weather, and do a little local plein air work.

This study was in the shadow of the great tree.  It was so very majestic, that it still takes my breath away, being in God's cathedral.  What a truly magnificent and humbling experience.  I can see now where Gaudi derived his natural inspirations for the columns in La Sagrada Familia.  Just a stunning connection to me, as if a lightbulb went off in my head, and I had that true "a-ha" moment.  So very very lovely....

Redwoods and admirers

"Redwoods and admirers in Muir" watercolor on paper, 11" x 16", 2015

A relaxing day after a whirlwind of activity this last week, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  I can see the huge, benign, billowing clouds drifting by on the currents here, and Huntington is quiet.  It's nice we had a cloudy, "East-like" day here.  Keeps things real.  

Here is a watercolor study I did of some of the ravishing redwoods in Muir Woods.  Of course, you can never really do justice to such a majestic sight...cameras do even less, as I looked through my photos today and saw with much disappointment how the charged atmosphere that throbbed with life there was reduced to flat, almost mosaic-like tiles.  Frustrating, but the real deal is captured in my mind forever, so that's what counts.  A painting can make an attempt to bridge the gap between the real and the impressed...how it left an impression.  And it certainly did.  I do wish I had my oils, as watercolors are so, well, watery!  I find them frustrating mostly, and end up looking like a kid in preschool with paint all over my hands after swiping at them in an attempt to somehow make them more versatile like oils.  Laying in washes, lifting out color, dry brush work consisting of lots of stabbing, scribbing and angst....that's my watercoloring haha.  But, in all, it wasn't bad for a quick study, if I do say so myself.

Enjoy!  

Abandoned tracks in Pottsville

Abandoned train tracks in Pottsville, 11" x 14"' watercolor on paper

Here is a watercolor I did yesterday waiting for Noelle while in Pottsville. It was a beautiful day, such nice and gentle weather after the storms of the day before. I found these Abandoned tracks, and just did a rapid watercolor sketch, less than an hour, but a little Longer to pause and feel the sunshine on my face, the breeze in my hair, and smell the damp, earthy odor of the fallen leaves. How beautiful is this natural world, where the ethereal seems to cross over into our earthly plane, and the two intersect and meet every now and again. Those are the invigorating moments that make me so grateful...the beauty of God's blessings in such a wonderfully timeless yet mundane moment.

Nauset lighthouse

"Nauset lighthouse, Cape Cod" watercolor on paper, 11" x 14"

The weather has been absolutely fantastic--what a lovely stretch of warm before the winter begins to creep up.

Here is a little study I did in the car while waiting for Noelle haha. Anthony says it's a new series of "car art" 😆😆. This is of Nauset lighthouse. Although the trip was a colossal fail, the moments on the beach were, as always, so beautiful, it was enough to make the rest of worth it. I saw a pod of whales in the distance, their spouts signaling their presence in the stormy blue green Atlantic, and then, the moment that momentarily transformed my trip into a happy one: two seals cavorting in the surf! I watched them as the happily moved through the breakers, oblivious to the ominous sign warning all that great whites patrol those waters. No, they seemed carefree to the point of ethereal. It was a few moments of bliss for me, until they returned to the mysterious regions only they are aware of.

Enjoy!!!!