yosemite day one

7.7.09
just inside Yosemite Park

Scott w/bike, Hwy 140

Merced River, lots of rock fall

Canyon live oak

evidence of rock slides everywhere

morning
Sentinel Meadow, Yosemite Valley
sunny, warm, light breeze, a little smoky -
controlled burns in the park
trip on the motorcycle with Scott
celebrating our 25th anniversary today

Sentinel Meadow & Yosemite Falls

Lots of people, but the beauty of the Valley makes up for it - several different kinds of trees, pine, cedar, oak & others all in close proximity - Indians used to burn the meadow so they could plant deer grass which they used to make baskets.

Leaves rustle in the trees along the river, a yellow butterfly flutters among broad leaves, and human voices speak in several languages.

wildflower in meadow

near med clinic

fat squirrel who stole the half used mayo packet from my lunch!

Horse rider with pack mules an option in Yosemite

views from footbridge well below Vernal Fall -

afternoon
hiking up to Vernal Falls -
sunny - very windy approaching the falls

Quite a hike - lots of people, all friendly and having a great time. Ubiquitous squirrels always looking for a bite - one stole my mayo packet from my sandwich when I wasn't looking.

Hiked to the top of the falls - then to Emerald Pool & the bridge just above, where we saw another set of falls, Nevada Falls, where the trail continues up to but we will not.

The guide says the round trip hike to the top of vernal falls is a strenuous 3 mile round trip hike with a gain of 1,000 feet - we're doing a bit more - went to the top of Silver Apron. Oaks up here are some kind of live oak with small leaves.

I see a couple of pairs of trees, one incense cedar with a live oak huddled at it's base. At the base of the cedar where I'm sitting, I find a tiny cluster of small succulents, each rosette maybe a quarter inch across.

We've seen several blue jays with their tall crests, squawking a little but seeming to be a little quieter than the scrub jays in our backyard at home -

That's Nevada Fall farther above us...

hiking up stone steps to the top of Vernal Fall

Canyon live oak just above Vernal Fall

just above Vernal Fall

Emerald Pool

cliffs above

Higher - near footbridge over Silver Apron. Incense cedar with canyon live oak at it's base.

tiny succulents at base of another incense cedar

Live oak along trail just above the top of Vernal Fall elevation 5044 ft

bigleaf/broadleaf maple on descent

California black oak in valley

must-take shot of Half Dome

buck in valley meadow

6 p.m.
Had to try to get a classic shot of Half Dome - outdated Polaroid film is showing it's age with blotches. I've been shooting with a yellow filter to cut the smoke haze so I try one without as well to see if it minimizes the problem at all - maybe a little, maybe a coincidence...

dinner fun to come

Getting ready for a coming series of events at the Kennedy Gallery Art Center called Dinner for the Arts, presented by Friends of Dorothy Productions and Headhunters restaurant.

Dinner for the Arts is an event that will give local arts organizations the opportunity to promote their productions or events and reach out to new audiences. The event strives to put the spotlight on local arts organizations and artists and to promote the arts in Sacramento. Featuring Sacramento entertainer Courtney Parks as the hostess for the evening, Dinner for the Arts will feature local theater companies, dance troupes, singers and other artists each week.

In addition to live entertainment, each performance will also feature local artists giving live demonstrations in various mediums such as painting, jewelry-making, metal-work and many others... Several of us will be offering special wine bottle art to commemorate the evening for diners, like my wine bottle label art I practiced making today.

Dinner reservations will be limited to 50 people each Tuesday night. Featured drinks include the Judy Garland, Liza's Martini, Sinatra's Manhattan, Bernadette's Red Apple and the Elphaba.

The Kick-Off for Dinner for the Arts is June 30th and will occur every other Tuesday night.

Headhunters Patio (20th & K Streets) at 7:00 p.m.

Reservations: Reservations are required to attend Dinner for the Arts and are accepted until 8:00 p.m. the Monday before the performance. Please contact Friends of Dorothy at (916) 534-7496 or friendsofdorothyproductions@gmail.com.

little lime sketch

(out with student for a journaling day, click on image to see it bigger)

sketching

creeking with sparky

Dry Creek at Gibson Ranch
afternoon
sunny & warm

Went creeking with the kids for the first time in a very long time today - taking the Sparky dog made it an attractive family outing for my teens. And there's something very alluring about wading in a creek in the summertime.

Sparky was the one who had to be coaxed into the creek; after a fall into our backyard pool the first week we had her, she hasn't been too keen on water, but we're working on getting her over that.

She learned that most of the time, the creek is shallow enough to just wade in, but she did have to swim one brief spot & did pretty well - instincts kicked in and she was fine.

Caught all three of them walking back on the bridle trail - that's my gang.

first second saturday

We had our first Second Saturday Artwalk at the Kennedy Gallery & Art Center last night & it was a great party!

Here you can see my studio mate, Angela Ridgway behind a crowd in our space - with track lighting we JUST got in earlier in the day.

This shot shows more people across the space - Brenda Boles' artwork to the left, Pat Orner & Keith Hopkins' space to the right -

Then another shot across the space, some of Phil Meyer's wood in the foreground, Pat & Keith's studio space in the back center - Lori Wylie to the left, Michelle MacKenzie & Kristen Hoard's space to the right - a great time was had by all -

art fiesta!

This weekend was one of my favorite art shows, the Sacramento Kiwanis 51st Annual Art Fiesta at Town & Country Village shopping center.

I love Art Fiesta for a couple of reasons - partly because it's about twenty minutes from home so I get to sleep in my own bed & I don't have to leave at 3 a.m. to go set up on a Saturday morning - partly because it's such a long established show & the patrons are wonderful - but mostly because the Kiwanis are such great show promoters & really know how to spoil artists with things like a shuttle for parking and helping us get spaces next to our friends...

And why do we like to have spaces next to each other? So we can help watch each other's booths while we run off on a quick break or to entertain each other when it's a little quiet, or take photos for self promos, like I did for my pal Kristen Hoard -

Our other friend Michelle MacKenzie got her laughing while I snapped off a couple shots -

Then Kristen helped Michelle giggle while I took a shot of her - and we all managed to sell art along the way, so that helps with the smiles too. We prefer not to be starving artists...

home work

Been working on a new piece at my home studio the past few days (teenagers are out of school so I'm sticking around a bit more.) It's part of my Tree Stories series, what I think I'll call "Chapter 2." This piece is titled "Her Self" (tree story #7) and you can see it better with the poem on my Tree Stories blog shortly...

another new studio

Moved into the Kennedy Gallery & Art Center yesterday - Angela came with me, for which I am very thankful. Of course, Sparky always goes where I go, for which I am also thankful. (Good dog!)

We've got it looking pretty good, but we're waiting for lighting, so it will look much better after that.

Our space is arranged different than the one at the SAC, longer and shallow and completely open to the rest of the building, which we all like better. (All of who have moved to the Kennedy so far came from the SAC together, so it's been a group thing in a lot of ways.)


(click to see this one bigger)

We're very pleased with our big wall, and how our work hangs together in general.

Still working on the pedestal thing, but this will work for the moment. So much of art is process, and Angela & I are both big on process.

sketching

(click to enlarge)

east of walerga

May 18, 09
morning
along Dry Creek trail - east of Walerga Road
West Roseville
comfortable, light clouds, slight breeze
high predicted 95*

Lots of birdsong
fairly close to the road here, so nearly constant car noise, too - other trail users pass by on foot & by bike, with a curious look as to what I'm doing.

Sparky is very restless as we've just begun our walk

Ground is covered with knee high dry grasses here - foxtails galore, so I'm watching Sparky closely - of course the right angle for the shot I'm after isn't from on the trail...

First exposure - a little underexposed.

Second shot better but having a little trouble with the initial film pull -

Farther along our walk, I notice several ladybugs on thistles - thinking there might be some little aphids the ladybugs like on those thistles -

cactus blooms

Looked out the back window & saw my little cactus were blooming like crazy! This won't last for more than today, so I had to catch it...

thursday morning

May 14, 09
Thursday morning
Along Dry Creek, Gibson Ranch
comfortable - 70ish - no wind, clear skies

Out with Sparky and full pack for the first time. She hasn't quite got the patience to just sit and wait while I sit and look and shoot and write - she'd rather be moving and smelling and moving and seeing what nasty things she could be getting into.

Birds sing and chatter and twitter endlessly all around us, occasionally flitting from tree to tree but mostly invisible. Knee high grasses and plants are starting to dry out, despite the heavy rains of just a week or two ago. Everything is blooming and setting out seeds before dying back again.



Alot of tree saplings fill the space between the creek and the bridle trail - mostly Valley Oak, some Cottonwoods and the occasional Catalpa tree - a testament to how well suited and potentially invasive the non-native can be.

Full grown Valley Oaks arch overhead, while the Cottonwoods just stretch up as tall as they can, leaves shimmering with the slightest air movement.

Sparky is getting particularly impatient, whining then poking her nose in my book as if telling me it's time to move on.

before...

I'm looking forward to moving my Midtown studio into the new Kennedy Gallery & Art Center - but the space isn't quite ready yet, so I thought I'd take a few "before" pictures:

(Artist Keith Hopkins waltzes through the slow-ish shutter speed.)

The red walls make quite a statement, but not one that is flattering to all kinds of art work. Preview pieces from several of the incoming artists are on display right now - soon there will be some shorter gallery walls up to delineate spaces & create more places for hanging wall art.

Phil Meyers (aka Phil the Wood Guy) doesn't have to wait for walls to show off his functional wood pieces. The rest of us will wait for those walls, new lighting & white paint!

art & wine affair

Busy this weekend at the El Dorado Hills Art & Wine Affair -

My booth (on the left) and Michelle MacKenzie, my art buddy's booth set up in tandem, so we can enjoy each others company all weekend long.

Looking up the row from the edge of Michelle's booth -

right next to our friend Kristen Hoard's booth - a good time was had by all.

time to kill

April 16, 09
4:25 p.m.
McKinley Park
warm - slight breeze
blue sky - a few wispy clouds
time to kill

Funny how I like this park but I have a hard time finding a photograph here -
Alot of different species of trees, several kinds of oak - plenty of London Plane, Redwoods, California fan palms - Lombardy Poplars & Ginkos along H Street, a grove of Zelkova by the tennis courts, where I am now. A couple big Tulip trees by the rose garden, several Ashes of a variety I can't name, a couple Liquid Ambars scattered about and a few Camphors near where I sit. They're the most interesting to me right now, with branches that twist and stretch out in all directions.



Lots of last years' leaves are scattered on the ground - brown old leaves on fresh spring grass. Fresh green leaves in light bright hues cover the trees, having just pushed the old ones off.

A squirrel hops up on the little bleachers where I'm perched, hoping I'll hand him goodies, then wanders off when he sees I'm busy writing. Some smaller darker squirrels play nearby - maybe this year's offspring?

I break out the Crown Graphic and go through the process of making an exposure - it's been a while & fells a little awkward - but the results aren't half bad - already I can see a painting breaking out of the frame.