Category: Sources of inspiration

Spring in Kaweah Country

If you are reading this in Chicago or Alexandria or somewhere else that is having a real winter, please don’t do anything rash but just try to enjoy this posting. February is spring in Three Rivers. Down the hill in Visalia those poor folks have to contend with fog and gray days, but up here there are fiddlenecks in bloom, along with something white, an occasional plum tree, and narcissus. The daffodils are about to pop in my yard, as is the flowering quince. The green kind of looks fake because it is so very intensely green. This is how things looked on a recent walk:

My husband sometimes rides his bike along with me on my long walks. It helps pass the time, and he brings water. 😎 On days like this I have my little camera; someday you may see paintings that look oddly familiar!

Three Rivers

Valentine’s Day

This is a Valentine’s Day card drawn in pencil. (Have I mentioned that I love to draw?) It was done several years ago, and there are a few remaining at The Art Co-0p. May Valentine’s Day be all that you hoped this year!

pencil valentine's day card

More on Mendocino

There is a popular book among artists called The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. It recommends that artists take field trips to gather new inspiration. So, I took a field trip to Mendocino. I believe that we absorb much more visually that we realize, and although I might not have immediate plans to paint scenes of the North Coast (no outlet for selling them – gotta be practical here!), the beauty, the colors, something I saw in one of the galleries (or the yarn shop), something I saw or thought of while on my 9-1/2 hour drive could be the seed of a new idea. My friend is as obsessed with seaglass as I am with yarn, and since she lives in the Seattle area, we don’t get to spend much time together. I learned of Glass Beach in Ft. Bragg, and we decided to meet there. Although it was a stormy weekend, it was ideal. The best time to find seaglass is after a storm, and we were blessed with a sunny Saturday for our foraging.

The waves were awe inspiring.

This just cracks me up – Seattle girl soaking up Vitamin D on a California beach in January, BAREFOOT in a place called “Glass Beach” and with Starbuck’s coffee in her hand!

We had shoes on for this part.

It was definitely what John Eldredge refers to as a “rainbow day”. http://blog.ransomedheart.com/john/

Wild cats in my workshop

You may have discerned that I have a real weakness for cats. Back in 1987, there were some wild cats living underneath Thrifty Drug Store in downtown Visalia. I shared a parking lot with these cats and fell in love with one of the little ones. A man named George fed them regularly and helped me catch the long-haired one with Siamese coloring. Turns out this is a breed of cat called “American Ragdoll”. Of course I understand that my little cat was just a lucky accident of random breeding, but she most definitely had the characteristics of the Ragdoll breed. We had Fritzi for 13 years, and she was definitely the cat love of my life. After we lost her, I began looking for a baby Fritz. We had Wilson (aka Buster), Scout and Prudence, and then Zeke and Amos. The only survivor in this attempt so far is Zeke. He is definitely NOT of the American Ragdoll breed, although he does have the coloring and the size. Last fall, my friend from the Sequoia RV Ranch http://www.sequoiarvranch.com/ told me of a litter of cats underneath one of their storage mobile homes. When she described them, I knew I was a goner. Michael told me to just go get all three, and now for about 2 months we have had a mom (Cashmere) and her 2 little boy cats living in the workshop where I paint.

One of those little guys still won’t let us touch him. Look at him:

He has no tail and he hoppity-runs like a Manx. So far we have called him Hoppy, Cassidy, Butch, Manx, Dummy, and currently, Steely Dan. (He steals around? His eyes are steely blue?) How can one name a cat who won’t respond to any overtures in a positive manner? I could call him Scairdy or Chicken Little, but I like names with a little dignity for the cats in my life. By the way, Cashmere is reminding me an awful lot of my sweet Fritzi! Her son O’Reilly is just bold and fresh, and reminds me a bit of Buster. This guy? I dunno, I just dunno. Sigh.

American Ragdoll

A Nice Walk

Ever been to Marble Falls? Until one week ago, I hadn’t. It is in the foothills of Sequoia National Park, and I’ve heard it is steep and hot; it isn’t that steep, and in January, it was pleasantly warm (low 70s) and very green. To get there, go into the Potwisha campground and drive to the far end where there is parking for a few cars at the trailhead. Walk along an interesting old flume for 1/4 mile, and then, don’t get so interested in the flume that you fail to notice the small “TRAIL” sign to the right.

This flume borrows water temporarily from the Marble Fork of the Kaweah, uses it to make electricity near Ash Mountain for Southern California Edison, and sends it right back into the river. Clean, established, historic, good!

Here is a photo of looking down while hiking – if you are prone to tripping or stumbling, sometimes it is wise to watch your feet. However, there is something else in this photo. Look at it here:

This is a tick. (Weird word in English – tick-tock, that ticks me off, this tick will bite you if given a chance, the worry of getting bitten is giving me a tic under my left eye, etc.) These little critters sit on the ends of grasses and branches just waiting to hop aboard an unsuspecting body as it passes by. The hike to Marble Falls needs to include stopping to do Tick Checks from time to time!

On the photo above, see the white near the bottom right that looks like a falls? It isn’t. Really! It is marble, but it isn’t water!

(photo above) These are falls along the Marble Fork, but they aren’t Marble Falls either.

This is Marble Falls, 3.9 miles up the trail. Couldn’t find a place to take a decent photo! The falls are most impressive if you are sitting on the marble at the top and seeing the water fall off into space.

The falls are below Eleven Range Lookout on the Generals Highway on the east, and at the base of Admiration Point on the west. This is off the Colony Mill Road (that you can no longer drive on), which connects the Crystal Cave Road to North Fork Drive.

And finally, here is a view of the trail on the way back and one more of the river back near Potwisha.

hiking in Three Rivers Marble Falls Potwisha Campground Sequoia National park Southern California Edison

Mystery solved!

According to my friend Mark B., this is the Lime Point Light House which was part of Fort Baker. This lighthouse was built in 1883 to warn ships away from the rocky outcropping on which the light station is located. Originally staffed by light keepers, Lime Point was automated in 1961 and still functions today as a signal. Thank you, Mark!!

White Christmas

Yep, we had one! Pictures are worth thousands of words, so here you go:

Someone else was here first.

Looking back at our tracks

Just in case you are interested, you can click on this thumbnail photo to embiggen it and compare July with December!

Mineral King Mineral King in winter

The mind of one artist, final chapter

After I got to see the Palace of Fine Arts, I pulled out the map to pick a route back to the Dr.’s office. It felt far away, and it was around noon. Knowing I can walk a mile in 15 minutes, I figured I could get there by 1 p.m., and if not, I could call in to report my location. I chose a route that seemed direct but also took me back through the Presidio. As I walked, I kept revising the route to stay off the city streets for as long as possible. It was killing me to not be able to take photos of every beautiful site I passed, but the entire reason I was in San Francisco was to help D, not to build my photo library! (Besides, who in Three Rivers will want paintings of San Francisco??) Now this next part may seem like a bizarre digression, but stay with me. You may or may not know that I spent all of July 2007 in China. While there, I took photos of amusing signs, such as this one:

So there I was, striding for all I was worth, and suddenly there was a sign that made me laugh out loud and stop for one last photo:

‘Scuse me? Where I come from, we call them “speed bumps”. I got back to the Dr.’s office in plenty of time (it must have been my stride), saw that I walked 10 miles that morning, sat and knitted for another 1-1/2 hour, and finally D was ready to go. It was a long drive home, but D is recovering nicely and we had a great 2 days together. I can’t imagine just sitting in the Dr.’s office watching movies in San Francisco, and I don’t think it is being an artist that got me out. However, I do know way too many people would have been afraid to go exploring on their own and am deeply grateful that I am not one of that unhappy little club!

The mind of one artist, part 5

As I walked through Crissy Field, I blew past many many interesting buildings, and I stifled all the questions that were burning a hole in my head. I’ve been told that I ask too many questions; this is stupid, of course, because how else am I supposed to learn stuff? I know, the internet, but that wasn’t and still isn’t always available. Besides, inquiring minds like to know. If people don’t ask questions, they just bumble through life in ignorance. (Take that, you who think I ask too many questions!) Anyway, I was blowing past all these buildings because I could see a dome off in the distance. It reminded me of the one building I remember from some college class – something by the architect Bernard Maybeck that I thought was the most beautiful structure I had ever seen in my life. Despite the distance, I decided to go there and see it or I would always have regrets. I knew I might have to run the final 1 or 2 miles back to the Dr.’s office to fetch D after her surgery, but I HAD to see that building. See why?

It is called the Palace of Fine Arts, but I don’t get where the fine arts go because it doesn’t appear to have any walls! There wasn’t enough time to wander through it, so I had to be content with seeing it across the reflecting pool. It is even more fabulous that I remembered from that class lo those many years ago. And, when I got home I looked it up on the internet and was thrilled to see it was designed by Bernard Maybeck – why did I remember that?? Okay, so you don’t leave my site in overwhelmed awe, I will finish this story tomorrow!

bernard maybeck palace of fine arts

The mind of one artist, part 4

When I reached the Marin end of the bridge, my Garmin showed 4 miles. The bridge is a mile long – did you know that?? I sure didn’t! I was so jazzed up that I called my walking friend K to tell her where I was. She is more familiar with SF than I am, so she sent me to Crissy Field. Not sure what this was, but now it is a HUGE grassy area by the bay with lots of interesting old buildings and great views. On my way there I had to photograph Fort Point, a wonderful landmark to visit if you are interested in sites from The War Between The States (it wasn’t a “civil” war because no wars are civil AND because the south wasn’t trying to overthrow the United States, but I digress.)

The arch over Ft. Point would be an impressive bridge all by itself, don’t you think? Here is Crissy Field. I was beginning to worry a bit about time, so I didn’t stop for many photos there. I did stop for a latte and a map, which helped immensely in my wonderings and wanderings. It would have been even more help if I had my reading glasses, but my pockets were full enough with the camera and cell phone (aren’t I a tech-geek?)

Oh my! Tomorrow is Christmas, so I will have to continue this later.