Where has my beach gone?? This is where we were sitting for the views of this post
Suddenly I was rudely woken up by the demanding pecking of a wood pecker. Hubby had been awake for some time, but did not have his two hearing aids in...but he heard the pecking!! What? Was someone knocking? So, he opened the door, but no one was in sight.
This is the mountain to the left of Bridal Veil that is in my painting below
After breakfast we saw that it was too late to go to Happy Isles, because of travel time. I would start painting too late in the day. Whenever we go urban camping, we do make our own meals. Yes, the little town 45 min. away has some restaurants, but the meals would not be as nutritious, and lacking of the flavor I like, when I have to pay more for food.
Instead we went to the bookstore in the valley. But not before we bought our daily ice cream cone (we made that our unhealthy tradition when the kids were still going with us). I finally bought a book I had my eyes on for three years. Since I'm not getting younger I told myself that I should enjoy things more. I have only one life to live! Which book? It is about the meeting of Virginia O'Keefe's and Anselm Adams' minds. A real treasure for any artist to have this, because so much of both of their work is in this book (and therefore pricey).
O"Keefe is known for her giant flowers, and paintings of New Mexico, in a more abstract style. It is said that the flowers are reminiscent of genitalia. I don't think so! Well...let me back up a bit...with perception it's like this: if one perceives the genitalia in the flowers, that is probably what the viewer's mind is probably on, isn't it?
Anselm Adams is a much celebrated photographer whose photos of Yosemite are mostly black and white.
After the bookstore, we still had some time to go to another spot. so we went back to where we could see the mountain ridge of the Bridal Veil Falls as well as the waterfall itself (Pic on top). The first time we gasped when we saw that half of "our" beach was flooded, and the other half was covered with driftwood, and more things washed ashore. I continued on my oil painting I had started on our Explorer Day. I managed to practically "finish" it at home in time for this post.
© Mountain Ridge of Bridal Veil Falls, 12 x 16 Oil, St. Germain
A little on the abstract side, which was fun to do. Still some finishing touches. Although I like to put some more color where the spray of the watercolor is for the sake of art,
in reality it was actually was that white! As you can see, I did not paint the tree
in between the mountain and the waterfall.
Many of you might prefer a representational approach to painting (which means as you see literally with your eyes), but seen from an artist standpoint, I think the more I lean to an abstract style, the more artistic my work becomes
( you don't hurt my feelings if you don't share my own opinion on this! ).
11 comments:
Wonderful rendering of Bridal Veil. Love it! You have a very free flowing brush stroke. I would like very much to post one of your paintings in either of my blogs one of these days, with your permission, of course.
Ooh. I like the colors and abstraction here! I wish I lived close enough to go and paint on site.
I love to see different art styles and as an artist in paint you choose your style of expression.
Photographers, although using different media, also chose their mode of expression using light, lenses and weird things like f-stops and exposures to alter the setting.
Am loving the "virtual trip" to Yosemite.
Beautiful. And the photographs are great as well.
magnificent, so lovely photo's!!!
As artists...we should expect you to find and explore your niche :)
perhaps those who do not create, who do not envision, but who only regurgitate that vision of sight, may disapprove...
Isn't art wonderful? :)
So happy to hear you express yourself!
California Girl,
I've seen the ones you choose to post, and I like the styles/approach of these artists very much, so I would see it as a privilege! (I've turned down several offers, among them facebook). Just leave me a note when that time comes...
Neetzy,
I agree it's painter's heaven! Hope you have some more time to paint this summer:)
Knitwit,
My only regret is that I took a hiatus of more than 20 years (what was I thinking in my twenties??)
NCMountainwoman,
Thank you Friend!
Jesson and Rey Ann,
Thank you for visiting me -happy you enjoy the pics!
The Muse,
I'm comfortable in exploring, but if I ever find my niche...then I probably have moved on to the next style :)
What can I say - right now I breathe art.:)
I am always in awe of those whose artistic talents lie in drawing and painting. To my great regret, I can't draw a stick figure! I finally came to realize several years ago that my artistic talents lie elsewhere.
To put it short ... I am in awe of you. This is one of my favorite Yosemite paintings - I love the colors, the textures, the somewhat abstract look to it. I am not saying this lightly. I have seen some great Yosemite art. This is one of the best I have seen, and I love it.
Jeanette, would like to use this today. We're having a heat wave and this is so refreshing and I'm homesick for the West. I'll call the post "Respite from the Heat" and include the title, your name and a link to your blog. Sound good?
California Girl,
Sorry - it's late, I'm mostly not on my blog in the morning.
Sounds great, go ahead and thank you!
Beautiful scenes, beautiful painting!
I agree with you on O'Keefe. All I see in her flowers are flowers! Adams, though...he's another story, his iconic black and white monumental rock formations always look (to me) like a bunch of buttocks.
Ah pshaw I kid! They do not.
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