Cabin Weekend in Tahoe

Ah, Lake Tahoe. Bright blue, shimmery and clear... well no, not when the forecast was cloudy and rainy. Last Friday, I left for Tahoe with my boyfriend and his family for his dad's 60th birthday. We all knew it was going to be cooler and and raining, so we packed up our coats and headed to this cabin in Tahoe City. It was a great weekend with a great family (only bits and pieces of them shown here).

Feeling pretty lucky knowing I would be here all weekend. 

I had felt a little worried about going away for 4 days when I have a lot of work to do, but I surrendered myself and just enjoyed the weekend. It was pretty easy to relax here!

Quite a dreamy cabin, huh?

Despite the weather, I knew my bag of paints and book would be of use for the weekend. We were able to go for a run the first day since it was cloudy, but not yet pouring rain. Just as we left, a mama bear and her cub walked up behind the cabin! It was my first time seeing bears in the wild. In all my years of camping, I had heard them at night at campsites, but never seen them. It was super cool! I knew I had to paint it. 

Gouache painting of bears at the cabin.

Dinner time!

We ate well all weekend, being sure to include salads with all our decadence! Everyone made such good food. The younger girls put together the beautiful pine cone floral centerpiece gathered from outside. Happy birthday to Victor! 

The girls "acting natural."

There was a covered porch swing!

Love that A-frame!

And a pool table upstairs!

Chess!

The rainy and sunny road south.

After a couple days at the cabin, we headed to South Lake Tahoe to have brunch and check out the area. I had never been to this part of the lake before. It's a lot more crowded than north Tahoe, but still nice. It was a rainy day, but still so beautiful. 

Gloomy weather in South Tahoe.

And the clouds came back in! Personally, I was ready to get back to the cabin. I was so inspired to work!

So many trees...

I am ready to go this week! Surrounded by trees, wonderful people, rain and being in an A-Frame all weekend gave me a little boost for my work week:)

Sky, Earth and Sea and Some Tuesday Ramblings

I am shipping this original drawing/painting to Melbourne, Australia today and it got me thinking about how grateful I am to be an artist today. Yeah, I had to get used to spending time on social media and yeah, it also means spending a lot of time in front of a screen. The good far outweighs the bad in that I have been able to ship my art internationally and across the US because of the internet. If you asked me if I would be doing this when I finished art school, I would not have believed it. Of course, none of it would be possible if these lovely people out there weren't interested enough to buy my work. I am very grateful for those who have supported me. 

A little about this piece: Sky, Earth and Sea is an ink drawing on paper with watercolor accents. It was drawn intuitively, without pencils or a plan and all in one sitting. It is dear to me in that sense. One day in the studio, I created three drawings in a row after closing my eyes for some time. I opened my eyes and this was one of the drawings that came out. It was a pretty magical feeling and one I always aspire to when making art. Often I overthink things or try to plan too much. 

Now as far as my art goes, I am in a state of flux, as I am planning for my art residency in Cadiz, Spain while also cleaning up and filling up my online stores for the time before I leave. I have to ship supplies to Spain soon, which kind of stresses me out because I'm not quite sure what to bring. Or, more like I don't want to forget anything. Still, nothing to fret over since Spain is a civilized country with art stores. 

In all this planning and work, I decided I will be having an art sale prior to leaving for Spain. It will be happening around the middle of October. I will be trying to clear my studio so when I return before the new year, I will have a fresh studio! There will be art prints, some textiles, sketches and a few larger pieces available. Details to come! 

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Making Art Here and There

In about a month and a half, I will be in Cadiz, Spain for an art residency. I am excited, thrilled and also have some anxiety about it since there's a lot of preparation to do. I'm awaiting my passport, figuring out what supplies to ship or bring, figuring out what to take in my bag(s), thinking about the project I will be working on while out there and the list goes on. All the while, I am continuing to make new work.

The Positives of Negative Thinking, available in my Etsy shop

While I am in a very focused state to accomplish a ton of things before I leave, I am trying to stay out of a negative mindset. Where am I going with my art? What if my art residency project doesn't turn out the way I want it to? Why am I taking off on a residency during one of my busiest times of the year? Oh yeah, and how rusty is my Spanish? Overall, I have been just going with the flow, so these questions are only sneaking up on me now and again.

A Guide to Not Doing What You Said You Were Not Going to Do, available in my Etsy shop

This post isn't all about my residency, but also about what I am trying to accomplish in my art practice before and after the residency. I am trying to get all my ducks in a row with my website portfolio, wholesale and online shops. I am also trying to figure out some new directions for 2015. The book above reminds me to learn from past experiences and to not repeat them. When I started working for myself, this happened a lot. It feels good to be figuring things out. 

Art-wise, I have worked quite a bit smaller over the last few years. I have moved from working on canvas to wood to paper and from oil to acrylic to gouache/watercolor. I have also worked with many different mediums over the years from clay to textiles. What I am finding is that I feel very good about my current direction over the last year. I also feel there's a chance my work may be getting larger again. These last few months have gotten me thinking a lot about where I'm headed. Regardless, I am embracing the unknown and trying to not let myself get stuck on any of it.

Travel Paintings, now available in my Etsy shop

Yosemite Part One

In March of this year, I won the permit lottery to climb Half Dome at Yosemite. Last year, I wanted to accomplish some sort of grand physical feat. This year, after talking with my friend Rachel about hiking Half Dome, we both applied for a permit. I applied early the first day applications opened and selected a few full moon dates. A month or so later, I received the good news that we would be hiking Half Dome for the Harvest Moon. it is fairly difficult, though many do it and it doesn't require any expert training. I imagine you can't be too scared of heights and you have to be able to hike 14 strenuous miles. 

An old book and a painting from when I was a kid.

When I was a kid, my parents would take me to the bookstore and I was allowed to pick out one book. One time, I picked out the above Sierra Guide. I have perused this book since I was about 8 years old and the cover picture of El Capitan has stayed with me. I also painted this picture as a teen with some cheap paint on board. Still, as a child or adult, I never visited Yosemite, fearing the endless tour buses and crowds I had heard about. I felt I had seen enough Ansel Adams photographs and could just leave it to my imagination. 

Nick at El Capitan

Soon after entering Yosemite, you see El Capitan. It's no wonder that everyone uses the words majestic, magical and captivating when they describe Yosemite. It really is. All the Yosemite photos in the world can't capture actually being there. We stayed at Upper Pines Campground, which was a bit crowded but really it's the company and surround landscape that matters.

Rachel, very happy to be in Yosemite.

Rachel had warned us there was a fire last week in Yosemite. There was also one that started the day before our arrival. Being the positive group we were, we allowed fate to decide whether we would actually be able to climb Half Dome...well, actually the rangers decided by closing the trail gate. When we were informed of the closing, I can't say I wasn't disappointed. I had been looking forward to this for 6 months! 

The mystical Yosemite Valley

We decided to do the the Four Mile Trail as an alternative since it would be a 9.4 mile roundtrip hike. As you can see the views are spectacular. Just layers of rock and layers of trees under a gigantic sky.

Above the valley.

Getting higher.

And even higher.

We saw a double rainbow over the valley while walking through some rain. It was one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. The rain cooled us down as we pushed ourselves to the top. The thunder made me just a little nervous, but luckily it cleared up.

We're giddy to be here.

People on the trail laughed at my reaction after coming around the bend and seeing this view of Half Dome. It sort of appeared magically and I couldn't get over its beauty. 

Another surreal peak of Half Dome.

Um, yeah.

Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir spent 4 days up here at Glacier Point. I am thankful this park is preserved.

3,214 feet above Yosemite Valley

Hahahaha. We convinced Bryan to do this. Such a good sport.

The whole crew.

Bryan and I hiking back down. 

Glacier Point from the valley. Yup, we hiked that.

Camp dinner with my sweet crew. Utterly grateful for to have these people in my life.

Aquarius and the moon

When my friend Gabby looked at her sky app, we found that our sign, Aquarius, was on the full Harvest Moon. How perfect is that? We're definitely going to apply for the permit lottery again next year. I had hoped they would give me other options, but I was sent a refund the day after we were supposed to hike. Yosemite was as stunning as I imagined and then some. It was more populated than I am used to for camping. I also thought frequently of the original Miwok who were booted from the area and how odd it was to see tour buses and campgrounds of people spending time enjoying Yosemite in their place. It is sacred and beautiful land and I felt it to be a privilege to be there. 

Stay tuned for part two tomorrow.