Fall Leaves

As mentioned in my previous blog post I returned to Arlington Garden for another paint-out.  I was very surprised to see how much the leaves had changed colors in just a few weeks.  The trees surrounding one of the Garden's main terraces had been green.  In fact I've only seen green leaves on these trees.  But today it was a little shocking to see the changes in the leaves on the whole ring of trees.  The leaves had suddenly and beautifully turned to bright fall reds, oranges and yellows.  Beautiful!

7" x 5" Gouache

The Wishing Trees

Autumn Garden

On a recent visit to favorite Arlington Garden in Pasadena there was a fall feeling although not many autumn leaves.  Our temperatures haven't been very cold yet.  Since it was a lovely, sunny morning, there were many photographers with their clients.  From the photoshoots I saw it looked like all were children with the photographers trying to get some posed and candid shots.  I thought it was so busy with families possibly for Christmas card photos.  As always it was fun painting with friends and I'm looking forward to another visit this week.

8" x 10" Watercolor

The Wishing Trees

Autumn Season

I was very lucky last month to be able to join a paint-out at Autumn Leaf Farm in Monrovia, CA.  It was created by a family that designs and builds floats for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade.  From my visit it was obvious that their main focus is autumn, Halloween, pumpkins, and everything to do with the season.  And, wow, for such a small property in a regular neighborhood, an autumn wonderland was created.  I was amazed by the animals and fall season plants, pumpkins and corn.  Of course it was hard to decide what to paint, and I'm looking forward to another visit sometime.

8" x 10" Watercolor

Nora Koerber and Brenda Swenson at work

Walking Man

Wow, it was last January when I painted the Walking Man at the South Pasadena Metro station.   I'm way behind with my blog posts!  A wonderful feature at our Gold Line Mission Station is the 10-foot bronze strip statue.  This neat public art is by Michael Stutz, which he titled "Astride-Aside".   It was placed there in 2003 and has been decorated casually by people for special days and events.  I'm happy to have this piece in South Pasadena.

7" x 5" Watercolor 

Virtual Paintout - Hashima Island, Japan!

The Virtual Paintout for October 2018 was Hashima Island, Japan.  Hashima is an abandoned island off the coast of southern Japan.  The 16 acre island was known for its undersea coal mines established in 1887.  By 1974 the coal mines were nearing depletion so the mines were closed and the 5,000 residents left the island.  In the early 2000s there was renewed interest in the undisturbed historic ruins.  The abandoned concrete buildings gradually became a tourist attraction, and in 2015 the island became an UNESCO World Heritage Site.  In 2013 a Google employee with a Street View backpack went there to capture the place which allows people to virtually walk across the island and go inside the abandoned buildings where items still remain just as they were left.  Such an interesting place.

Gouache 7" x 5"