A California Artist Goes Cruising

Remember I said it was probably time for a break? I made a paper cutting mistake while working on The Cabins of Wilsonia. I painted an entire painting of the Kaweah Post Office upside down.

I wasn’t kidding. You thought I was just bravely soldiering on, pushing through the obstacles, keeping my nose to the grindstone, and blogging away.

Nope. I was on a cruise ship.

Heading under the Golden Gate Bridge
Heading under the Golden Gate Bridge

 Me on a cruise ship? Yep. With Trail Guy, my sisters and their husbands and my incredibly generous little mama.  

gg-bridge

Weird. I don’t even own a microwave or dishwasher, and we live without electricity at the cabin, cooking on a wood stove. Suddenly, there we were, immersed in a life of luxury, excess, ease, servants, entertainment, and with more people than live in Three Rivers. Mountain people on the ocean. Cabin people in an entirely different sort of cabin.

ship

I have a ton of thoughts about it all and haven’t decided if they belong on this blog. Guess I’ll go on about it for awhile, and if my readership plummets (if I can remember how to check the numbers), then I’ll shut up.

Here’s the deal: everyone needs to see and do new things to keep from becoming boring, stuck, stale, and same-ole-same-ole. So, I will share a bit of our trip with you on Tuesdays.

cruiseship

 

That’s it – Tuesdays will be Cruisedays, for awhile, at least until I run out of photos, ideas or readers, that is.

Anyone want to say something about this subject?

More Refreshment

When Sophie and Louise and I went to Sequoia National Park last week, we walked around Crescent Meadow and Tharp’s Log. Want to see?

That isn’t the meadow or the log or a big tree. It is mosses on a rock. I pet them. They didn’t purr, but I did.

This is the corral by Tharp’s Log. I’ve painted this scene several times, but now the tree is busted off. Whoa. When I talk like an idiot, you know I am tired. I meant the tree was broken. 😎 I’m not showing you the paintings because they are all sold and I don’t want you to feel sad.

However, I do accept commissions.

Both Sophie and Louise remember being able to go inside and see Hale Tharp’s stuff inside. I remember being allowed to go in, but no stuff was left. Now the visitors have to stay outside.

I don’t know these people,  but I took their photo so you can get an idea of how big The Big Trees aka redwoods aka sequoia gigantea really are.

 We had lunch at Wuksachi, which is a lodge without lodging but it does have a restaurant. Okay, it has lodging, but not in the same building.

I don’t get out much. Hence, I was so thrilled with the food (sweet potato fries are the ONLY fried food I like) that I had to take a photo. BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE!

Check out this dessert. If that doesn’t thrill your little heart, then maybe you get out too much.

Goofing Off Instead of Working

How does a California Artist goof off? Lots of ways!

She has a friend visit for several days and they go walking together. (If you take food, it’s a “hike”. If you don’t, it’s a “walk”.)

She visits the Big Trees (Sequoia National Park) with her friend who moved far away and wondered if she’d ever get to see them again.

They climb Moro Rock. These chicas have been friends since age 17. They have probably climbed Moro Rock together in the past, but they can no longer remember.

They walk (no lunch) out on the High Sierra Trail because the view is definitely a source of inspiration. Hey! That was a business trip!

Wildflowers at a California State Park

There was a great variety of flowers at Montana de Oro.

The poppies came in three colors. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen a yellow poppy before!

This two-tone was so pretty. I thought these only came from greenhouses where people mess around with seeds and test tubes and who-knows-what-all.

This one looks normal to me.

I was going to ignore these little orange flowers but they made me think of my friend Shannon, whose favorite color is orange.

The Indian Paintbrush grow everywhere, all elevations, including Mineral King and above. These were the brightest I’ve ever seen.

Sometimes Morning Glory is called “bindweed”. I don’t know if it is native or if it is an invasive pest. I do know that farmers hate it, but it is pretty. I prefer the blue kind.

These were oranger (is that a word?) in real life. They are shaped like a monkey flower.

I KNOW these are not natives! The nasturtiums from someone’s garden got away. Maybe it happened from the farmhouse at Montana de Oro that is now a visitor center.

Statice out on the bluffs? Really? This grows very well on the Central Coast of California, but is it a native?? Or, is it like the nasturtium? So many questions. . .

California Artist on California Beach

If you ever go to Morro Bay and look across the bay, you can see a strip of land. It is called a “spit”, and it provides a very long strip of beach for walking. Or, if you like to ride a bike on the beach, it is a good place for that.

It was a foggy day, but the other Morro Rock (not to be confused with the Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park visible from my yard) was visible through the fog. I love long walks on the beach. I might have gone 8 miles, maybe 9, maybe 10. Since I’m not training for anything, I didn’t keep track. I wore shoes going and came back barefoot. My plantar fasciitis cooperated – it was there, but not too bad. The sand felt wonderful!

These guys posed well for me.

Tomorrow I will show you the wildflowers we saw at Montana de Oro.

A California Artist Goes to The Beach

I love the beach. I love the mountains. When I lived in Sandy Eggo, I missed the mountains. Now that I live in Three Rivers, I miss the beach. There’s no hope for it except to stay here in the middle.

Meanwhile, here are a few inspiring photos. Some day when I am finished with The Cabins of Wilsonia,  I will paint again. These photos won’t be wasted, and thus, going to the beach is always a business trip. (Had to mention that on Tax Day. When art is a business, that nasty topic is always lurking.)

Trail Guy at the beach.

This is the Bluffs Trail at Montana de Oro, a great California State Park. (What has become of all the money squirreled away by that outfit??)

Uh, Trail Guy, you wanna step back, please??

This was a finger of turbulent water.

Here is a tower. The sun came out briefly.

These cliffs were gorgeous and interesting, and we didn’t mean to walk so far that day but we just kept going. Should have brought lunch with us instead of leaving it in the car. . . What is the difference between a walk and a hike? I think a hike is when you bring food and water along.

The water was all sorts of shades of teal, my favorite color. My current favorite combination of colors is brown with teal. I LOVED this walk. (with apologies to Craig B. for not telling him we were in his neighborhood)

And a Final Bit About Chicago

The Captain and I spent about one hour in the Art Institute of Chicago. ONE HOUR. ONE HOUR.

Better than not at all. We are outdoor kind of chicks, and decided a walk along the shore of Lake Michigan would be a good thing to do before sitting hours upon hours in airplanes.

It was a beautiful sunny day, only as cold as an extra cold day in Three Rivers.

Then I came home. I love Three Rivers, Tulare County, and California. Look! Are those mountains in the distance??

A California Artist at the Art Institute of Chicago

So much to see, so little time. The Captain and I spent only a few hours in Chicago, trying to see and do as much as possible. The goal was the Art Institute, but then there was Lake Michigan and all that wonderful architecture, and so many interesting things to see and do. We were nervous about getting lost on the way back to the airport or getting lost in the car rental area or in the airport. So far we have always gotten found again, but missing the flight would have been completely unacceptable.

This is me with Cousin Maggie. (She’s the one with the good hair. My hair isn’t so good because I like to travel light and not haul a lot of hair tools and gunk.) I loved being with her, as always. It was hard to leave, but The Captain and I had the Art Institute awaiting us.

Oh my. This is it. It is beyond huge. I bet all the buildings in Three Rivers proper could fit inside with room to spare. Fortunately I had read about it before going, and made the decision to only visit the Impressionism exhibit with our limited time. Picasso was there, but his work is weird to this Realist from Quaintsville.

First stop was the bathroom, fortuitously located by a room full of paperweights! We detoured through that room, because my Dad used to have a paperweight of this type. He gave it to his brother, the father of my cousin Bruce. (Bruce, do you still have it?)

I think these are the some of the most beautiful tchotchkes in the world.

blue glass paperweight

And true to form, I found a typo in the displays. Really! I find them EVERYWHERE.

Can you see it? I gave you a clue in the sentence above this photo.

 

 

Light and beautiful architecture really do inspire me. I could hardly get to the Impressionism Exhibit because the building and sunshine were so fabulous.

Holy cow. Seurat! Seeing these paintings for real, in the flesh, with my very own eyes – words fail me. (I know what you are thinking – “Stop talking already!”)

 

Monet!

To be continued. . .

 

A California Artist in Chi-town

The Captain and I really did make it into Chicago. We had several hours before our flight left, and it seemed right to use it by visiting the Art Institute of Chicago. That would turn a visit to Cousin Maggie into a business trip. That’s the way we self-employed artists think.

Ooh, ooh, there is a city in the distance! I even got a little shiver up my leg when I saw “Indiana” and “Milwaukee” on road signs. I don’t go many places, and am truly a California artist, through and through. Common sights to most normal people do give me a thrill. It’s a little embarrassing, but that’s the truth.

No, really! Look at those giant buildings!

The road goes UNDER THE POST OFFICE! I’m not making this up. Look at this. I think they might be a little low on space or something.

And it goes under the Stock Exchange too. Really, these people have some strange ideas. Not enough sunshine, perhaps?

What is on the roof of this building?? I photographed this through the windshield and later discovered it was the public library. Cities are so exciting!

Even the train is over the streets. They call it the “El”, because it is an elevated train. You probably knew that, because you probably go more places than this California artist. I actually knew it from visiting Chi-town in the winter of ’77-’78. Cousin Maggie’s daughter and I are great friends, in spite of being second cousins. (or because of it?)

Sunshine, snow, skyscrapers – I need to go knit a few rows on something to calm down a bit before continuing this exciting story of a California artist in Chicago.

See you on Monday?

A California Artist Gets Inspired by Snowy Scenes

Yesterday, I left you in the snowy woods of a Chicago suburb.

Remember when I told you everything looks better with the right light? It was sunny the day we left, and I was snapping photos like a crazy woman.

Beauty and sunlight inspire me. I want to paint. I want to draw. I might even want to write, dance and sing. Never mind. I’ll do the last 2 in private. Thanks for your concern.

Another really great thing about traveling is the knitting time. Uninterrupted knitting time on the flight is such a treat!