2021 Calendar
January
For the last 20 years we have been making calendars with photos from our trips and events of the past year. This year was different, without many trips or events, so instead of photos, we used a few of my favorite paintings.
This one was inspired by our family weekend in the mountains last February. It was lucky that we did it before everything shut down for the pandemic, and we all had a good time playing in the snow.
February
For several years our horses were boarded at Diamond Hills ranch near Livermore, so we drove out there every day. The traffic on 580 was no fun, but once we got off the freeway, we enjoyed the uncrowded farmland. I liked the view of these sheep and the distant barn, so one day after a recent rain, I stopped for a photo and used it for this painting.
March
In the summer of 2001 my friend, Gerald, and I hiked the John Muir Trail. For the first four days, we were joined by Aaron, Alicia and Ray. We all camped at Tuolumne Meadows the evening before we started. After dinner we spent some time sitting by the river and enjoying this beautiful scene. Years later I was inspired to paint it.
April
For many years Darby was a great hiking partner. He would follow me wherever I might lead, and he was always excited to be going. When our horses were boarded at Alta Vista in the Hayward hills, we did lots of short hikes and rides into Garin Park, and this painting was the result of one of them.
May
Pescadero Beach is one of our favorite places. Usually, at least once a year, we drive over to Half Moon Bay, pick up some sandwiches at the San Benito Hotel, and then eat them sitting on the beach at Pescadero. When the ice plant is flowering, it makes for a colorful scene.
June
In 1970, I made a weekend trip to the mountains by myself. My goal was Mt. Conness, a 12,590 ft. peak on the eastern border of Yosemite. It was a very hard, exciting climb, including an accidental long slide on the glacier while I was coming down. Luckily, I survived with only a few scratches. At the bottom, I took a photo of a lake with the light blue color often seen in lakes below glaciers. Many years later it became this painting.
July
One of our favorite places is the cabin near Big Sur where we have stayed many times over the years. One year, we were there on our anniversary and we celebrated with a dinner at the Rocky Point Restaurant not far away. We sat on the deck enjoying the great view of the coast, and it inspired this painting.
August
We love the area around Mammoth Lakes and have stayed there many times. On one trip many years ago, I hiked up the trail beyond Crystal Lake to the top of Mammooth Crest. There I found a beautiful timberline landscape that I tried to capture in a photo. Years later I used it for this painting.
September
It was our second day on our 2001 hike on the John Muir Trail. Gerald and I along with Aaron, Alicia and Ray, had just made the hard climb over Donohue Pass and came down to this beautiful creek where we stopped for a long lunch break. It was a spot with good memories, and I tried to save them with this painting.
October
Bodie is a ghost town preserved as a State Park near Bridgeport. It’s a great place to get a feeling of what life was like during the wild mining boom of the nineteenth century. I usually like to use my own photos as inspiration for paintings, but this is based on one that I found online.
November
Only a short distance from our home are some trails that we often use. They are in a housing development but in many places the homes are out of sight and it feels quite natural. I especially like to be there in the fall when maple leaves turn color and carpet the ground.
December
Last September we made a trip to west coast Canada. We have been there quite a few times over the years and always enjoyed it. This time the weather was not the best with a lot of rain, but we had a good time anyway. I was feeling a real affinity for the style of the native artwork, so after a visit to the Anthropology Museum at UBC, I used some of what I saw there to create an imagined native village.
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