San Diego - Land of Amazing Skies

It was about the middle of our week in San Diego and probably the hottest day there when we decided to hike the northern section of Torrey Pines.  It was a beautiful day that started with some excellent reference opportunities like this photo (one of many of pics I took as this boat tacked back and forth).

Which leads me to ask, "Can a boat of this type (using a motor) 'tack'?"  Anyway, this picture was taken from the balcony of BD and E's condo.  Then we went on our walk.

At first I thought I would concentrate on the flora we could see beside the trail.  Yellow and red is one of my favorite color combinations; throw in white and it's a ballet.

These two plants were all over this section.

Prickly pear again, and the blossoms were coming along at the rate of at least one a day.  Okay, that's a guess.  I looked at the spent blooms and extrapolated from there (I've always wanted an excuse to use that word!).

Pine cones; I love the shadows in these.  

Then there were these formations.  Again, absolutely wonderful shadows.  Both of these are interesting photographs and worth a lot when the right painting walks into my head.

But the next one is like the pictures I took at the beach.  

The beauty of rocks catches me every time - especially, as with these, when they have "arranged" themselves into a lovely still life.

So why "Land of Amazing Skies"?    Look at what we saw that afternoon:

Keep an eye on the clouds . . . 

Shooting off the trees . . . 

If I painted this one, no one would believe a cloud really seemed to curl around a tree like this.

And now, clouds like geese women in flight . . .

Here the vertical rays of the sun and the horizontal swoop of the geese clouds  . . . wow!

Do you believe this?  Stationary beetle-browed rock formation and fluttery clouds dancing above it and complete with the sun itself!

Finally, the sunset.  What a day!

Trip to Los Angeles - Quilt Inspirations

Tonight was Quilt Guild night so the entry will be short.  Fortunately, this is the day the four of us went to Los Angeles to visit the LA County Museum.  That being the case, and also because I opted to use my phone rather than carry the heavier camera, there aren't as many pictures as usual.

We traveled to LA by train which was a pleasure and then used a taxi (Uber car)  instead of using public transportation which saved us time.  A lot of time!

Quilts are where you find them.

Once at the LA train station while waiting for our Uber car, I found the ceiling fascinating and took some pictures of it.  Wouldn't this make an amazing quilt?  Ultra modern with the colors and angles as shown, it's a winner. 

Here's a close up for those of you who want to draft it immediately.  Challenging?  Yes, but worth trying?  Yes, again.

For those of you who prefer a more traditional approach, here's the tile floor of the station. Because of kiosks and crowds I was unable to get a complete picture, but there's enough here to work with.  I can't wait to try it - first with the obvious Stonehenge fabrics, and then something less predictable.  Someday.

Can you figure out what this is (besides another idea for a quilt)?  It is more stunning than this photo conveys, and yes, it is a reflective surface.  Okay, you may read the museum card below.

Were you right?  Have you ever seen anything like this before?  I hadn't!  

Believe me, there are many photographs from our day at this museum complex, but I am tired so I will leave it at these few.  

San Diego - Day 3 PM

Fooled you, didn't I!  You thought you'd finished with Day 3 yesterday, but I was being kind.  In the afternoon of that day, we went to Balboa Park so we could visit both the rose garden and the cactus garden - and things in between, too.  Lots and lots of photos, but I will try not to overload your senses!

The rose garden first. It had been cool in San Diego so the roses weren't as far along as we hoped.  Also because it was breezy, the fragrance of the blossoms eluded us.  But here are my three favorites.

Such a beautiful dusty pink that opened to a very unusual color.

A glorious yellow that reminds me of the sun.  

Finally, a red with just a few streaks of white.

Now three from the koi pond.

This is a photo I really like: colors, shapes, textures.  They all came together in this one.

My koi photos surprised me a lot.  When I took the pictures of these fish in somewhat murky water, I expected little to nothing.  But a quick click on a Picasa button, and the water cleared to magically reveal these fish.

The colors of these fish are remarkable, and I can't wait to use them in a painting.  Wonder if  I'll have to "murk" up the water I paint?

The cactus garden was my favorite of the areas in Balboa Park we visited that day.  The sculptural quality of cactus plants is always amazing and sometimes even bizarre.

This cactus looks like wired ribbon with fuzzy buttons on the edges to me.  It's quite tall, and as you can probably tell, impressive against the blue, blue sky.

When I said "bizarre" this plant's flower illustrates what I mean.  But I have to admit that I not sure if it's technically a cactus.  It's an agave which I think is its own family, but I didn't check that out.  Sorry.

Its flower looks so soft and fluffy, doesn't it?  I behaved myself and didn't touch it so I can't tell you if it is or not.

Cactus adrift in a sea of flowers.

These little guys look like pouting hedgehogs to me.  But they're not that little and they're quite spiney so I will behave when around them!  The yellow blossoms were just beginning to open when we were there.

We can't forget the trees!

The eucalyptus trees have a very distinctive profile and bark.  Great for sketches!

Lovely ornamental tree against that California blue sky!

A very unique shape on this tree, and I should know what it is, but I can't remember it.  Can you make out the red blooms?  Like a magnolia, this tree appears to flower before the leaves appear.

And here's the blossom.

Back to the cactus garden for a moment to view my favorite photo - the seed head of a plant silhouetted against some gray agave leaves.

San Diego - Day 3

On our third full day in southern California, the sun came out and lit up the sky (and our spirits!).  this becomes obvious as you view the best photographs I took that day.  You will also see some of the reasons we are so enthusiastic about this part of our country.  Do other places have sun, sea, and sky?  Yes, but to my mind no place with which I am familiar has as a topography as gorgeous, plant life as beautiful, or wildlife as interesting.  However, and here is the caveat I have to keep in mind whenever I start speaking in superlatives about anything;  my experience is limited.  

Knowing that, and knowing that my readers have very different experiences and different tastes, I will show you some photographs that explain why, in my estimation, southern California rates so highly.

The third day all four of us walked up to the Torrey Pines Preserve where, even though the air wasn't crystal clear, the sunshine on the plants, ocean, and rocks, made for a memorable time together.  

If you look at the first two pictures, you will realize they were taken from almost the same spot.  I find the second one a more interesting picture because of the yucca plant spiky against the yellow flowers in the foreground, the bushy mounds in the mid-ground, the dark hill and then the ocean in the distance.

In this one, the distant hill is now in the middle distance, and the waves draw one's attention.

But again, this one is better and is on my "to paint, maybe" list. 

You know I don't usually do this, but here are my companions from that day.  E, my very dear sister-in-law, BD my middle brother and good friend, and D, my love.

Can't resist a bird who's willing to sit for a portrait!

The flowering plants give us all such a lift at this time of year!

This cactus may not be flowering, but it certainly has it's own beauty.  And don't you just love that little white flower snuggling up to its more formidable neighbor?

Painters viewed from above as they work en plein air looking toward the north

And isn't this a lovely plant to end the day with!

Even though each one of my readers has her or his own special "most beautiful, special place on earth" perhaps each one can see why I respond so positively to this one.

San Diego - Day 2

Day two in San Diego saw all of us walking on the beach.  It was when what is called "Maritime Mist" (do I have this right, E?) had yet to burn off.  Surprisingly enough, I found the almost monochromatic and one value photographs very seductive.  It's surprising because I tend to paint and quilt with strong, bright colors.  Anyway, let me show you the pictures that call to me.

Having said what I did about the monochromatic, value static pictures, the first two you see are two that underwent some considerable saturation enhancement at my hands.  I forgot about changing them back to their original grayer look.  They were enhanced so I could actually see (for painting purposes) both the clouds and the rock surfaces.

The sky in this photo is really lovely, and the colors and texture of the cliff surface is highly visible and would be a pleasure to work on.  The fact that directly ahead of E and me are BD and D is super as well as the spots of color in the clothing of the others on the beach.  Even if I chose to render this in a more subdued palette this one would be fun.

While I don't think (at this point) that I would paint this pelican, I couldn't resist sharing this photo with you.  See what I mean about the colors and values?  But there is texture in those wonderful waves.  Makes a fun photo though.

And this fisherman absolutely has to be in a painting someday - that plaid shirt, those shadows, and the waves (note the ones far out?) . . . oh my.

Here he is again.  For a painting, I would probably combine these two pictures.  I love the way the fisherman is standing and how he is looking out to sea (probably really looking up at the top of his pole, but I'd alter the angle of his head if need be) in the first photo.  In the second one, I'd probably omit the second pole on the right as an unnecessary distraction from the distant cliff.  

You didn't get to see pretty, pretty pictures today, but I hope reading about how I think about the pictures I take was interesting.  You know I will show you some lovely views from San Diego later in the week.

San Diego 1

It has been a month since I wrote last; that's a first for me and not something about which I am very proud.  We traveled three out of the four weeks of March, but I made no attempt to get caught up on those few days we were home.  Well, I am back and have lots and lots of photos to share (several of which are being kept in my "Paint Worthy" folder as possible future subjects.  Others are in reference folders for times when I need to check exactly what a bobcat or a great horned owl or a tree with Spanish moss looks like.

Our photo tour will begin with San Diego where we stayed with brother D and his wife E.  Actually we were in Del Mar just across a few roads - but within sight of - both the ocean and Torrey Pines Preserve.  (I recommend that you click on the first photograph and scroll through all of them to get a better look at these pictures).

Almost every day, husband D and I joined brother D (hence forth referred to as BD) on his daily walk.  That was a pleasure as BD is both very knowledgeable about this area and its flora and fauna and a lot of fun to be with.

The first day we walked on the beach for a bit.  These are two photographs of the waves and the local pigeons. The composition of first one pleases me.  It's a bit stark, but the action of the waves, the spit of land with gulls in a social group, the inlet where the ocean water flows into a marshy area, and the simple palette all appeal to me.  Paint worthy?  Probably not, but I like it anyway.

Here is a close up of those gulls above; it's a reference photo.  I hope to paint an ocean-side scene, and if I want seagulls, well, here they are.

You may notice in the days that follow that I was enamored of anything green that was in bloom.  No wonder given what the weather was like where we live!  This is not only a photo of the yucca in bloom, but it is also a view from Torrey Pines (only about half-way up the road) looking back towards the beach and the hillside where BD and E were staying.  

I should apologize for this photo as it isn't much to look at, but there is a reason I took it.  This is an example of a Torrey pine and is a decent reference photo.  You can see how the wind (which is a nearly constant force where these trees live) has shaped the tree.  You'll be seeing more of them in subsequent photos.  Unfortunately, like many other trees, these are in trouble.  There is a serious problem with the bark beetle that is causing serious damage to trees that are weakened by the changing climate.  I may not have this exactly correct, but if you are interested, I suggest you check this site:

 http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-08/local/me-294_1_torrey-pine 

for a more accurate description of what is occurring.

"Should we go left or right?"

 The caption on this picture of BD and D says it all.

This is an opuntia, aka, prickly pear, which is getting ready to bloom.  Later in the San Diego series, you will see one with open blossoms.  

Here is a hummingbird perching on a palm frond.

Blue sky, sea, and sand.  What more could north-easterners want in March?

Oh, right, maybe a shrub in bloom.