Lavender feilds, June '08

Not to far from my home, is the Highland Springs Resort, near Cherry Valley, CA, where they now have one of the largest organic Lavender farms in the country. Each year they hold a festival on the farm to celebrate the lavender fields. I went out there again this year to paint. The weather however was a brisk 106 degrees, or so but there was a breeze which helped. Nevertheless I braved the heat to try and paint a couple paintings of the area. The lavender fields are so beautiful with the rows of white and lavender (lavender), with the rolling hills in the background. This year I decided to paint the old oak tree that stands guard over the beautiful lavender fields. There is also a small lake in front of the old tree and a barn nearby which adds to the picturesque scene. On the brochure for the lavender farm they say that this majestic old oak tree is close to 1100 years old, and has survived countless fires and droughts. A truly inspiring place to paint.

Living Desert Vista

Last week, my husband and I spend a quiet week at our time share in Palm Springs. We always enjoy our time there because it is so comfortable, and close to all kinds of places we love to explore. I also had decided that I would make time to paint while we were there. It did get a little hotter than I had expected, so I did not paint in the "Indian Canyon", however I did hike around and took allot of photos. Another day, I went to the Living Desert in Palm Desert. This is such a lovely place, where they rescue wild animals, and you can see them in natural habitats, they also have hiking trails, and different garden areas representing different regions of the US and and world. One of the days, at got there early, and painted for a few hours in the area representing the desert region of the Arizona, Northern Mexico. These two paintings were done there, one of a vista with the " Choilla? " in bloom, and another of a large Saguaro cactus. I have always loved this part of the world, perhaps because it reminds me of my grandparents place in Tucson.

The Gurdian

This week my husband and I are spending a much needed vacation at our time share in Palm Springs, CA. I had intended to get out and paint, but the weather is already getting a bit hot, so I decided to paint from one of my photos I took while in Monument Valley, UT in March of this year. This one is of a sheepdog and his charge, who were standing high up on a ridge, up against one of the many monuments. It was late in the day, and the shadows were long and beautiful. I called this "The Guardian", the dog seemed so calm, but never took his eye off of this particular sheep, who's coat was thick and long and the light was highlighting both the dog and the sheep, and the wall behind them had a blue/mauve/red cast.