For many years when our kids and grandkids were growing up we did an annual winter weekend in the mountains. We would rent a cabin in the Sierra, usually near Arnold, and spend lots of time playing in the snow. I also enjoyed just wandering around taking photos. I liked places with lots of smooth, untracked snow. This painting was inspired by a shot from 2005.
In September, 2003 we made a trip to western Canada and spent several days exploring the Sunshine Coast. It's an area of the mainland coast about 50-100 miles and a couple of ferry rides north of Vancouver. It is reputed to have more nice weather but otherwise is similar to Vancouver Island. We did some hiking in provincial parks along the way even did a little kayaking. This painting is based on a photo from that trip. We went back again in 2019, and found it still beautiful but rainy.
Looking through old photos, I found one of Mono Lake that I took in 2005. We happened to arrive at the south shore area just at sunset and three gulls conveniently appeared in the foreground. The colors were rather subdued, so I used some artistic license and intensified them in the painting. This work marks the beginning of a new routine for me. My friend, Terry Preston, encouraged me to join a group of artists who meet weekly at the Hayward Senior Center. It's listed as a class but there is no instructor or leader, just an open studio for whatever the participants want to do. So I went last Tuesday and did most of this painting while enjoying the company of about a dozen lively senior women artists.
In 1995 we had just arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland. We got off the train at Waverly Station and found the tourist office where they helped us make reservations at a B and B. We climbed through several floors of a beautiful shopping center and came out on Princes Street in New Town. A passing shower had wet the streets and right there was this fellow in full Scottish dress playing the bagpipes. It seemed like the perfect welcome to Scotland, and I snapped a photo which inspired this painting.
