Giorgio's

Giorgio's Salt and Red Pepper Shakers

Giorgio's in San Jose is a California tradition with us.  We make it a point to walk down there with the family for dinner once during our visit.  We went on a Tuesday night, and it was very crowded and very noisy, and the food was wonderful.  I had risotto with baked salmon.  Risotto was another first for me.  I am not a picky eater, so how could I have missed risotto, salade Nicoise, and tiramisu  -  all firsts on this trip.

It is in the thirties here in northern Michigan today.  I am getting things ready for a new class to start tomorrow,  and we are going to be working with various ways of mixing color.  I HAD to have some colorful flowers, so I made a trip to the greenhouse  -  the first of the season  -  if you can call this a season.  It is way too early to buy annuals, but I bought some pansies and primrose  -  they'll do okay in the cold.

Getting ready for a new class gets me grounded after a vacation.  I have so much trouble with re-entry.  I always blame it on jet lag and use it to my advantage for awhile, but I think my time is up.

View from "Cherry Park"

Purple-blue Mountains 

As the sun moves, the colors of the mountain ranges change from bright green to blue gray to purple.  The tall palms are so huge and oddly shaped, they're almost comical.  I'm a mid-west girl  -  these trees and mountains are a novelty to me.

I did this sketch about a week ago, and now I am missing the sunshine and warmer temperatures of California.    We have no leaves yet in northern Michigan, but the grass is very green today. The Bay is very blue  -  ultramarine blue. It is only 45 degrees.  This might be a good day to go to the green house.  I need some of that warm dirt smell.

Menlo Park, CA

 Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park, California

We met a Michigan summer friend at the most beautiful place  -  Allied Arts Guild.  The gardens were gorgeous, the cafe was charming, the food was delicious, and it was such fun to catch up with a Michigan friend in California.  Wisteria, roses, and everything else are blooming here.

Lunch was fantastic.  I had salade niciose with baked salmon and tiramisu  -  both a first for me.  Where have I been, huh?

That evening we went to the elementary school science fair where our granddaughter took first place for the fifth grade.  What a treat for us to be there for the award ceremony.

All in all, a great day. 

If you are in the area of Menlo Park (very near Palo Alto), it is a perfect place to take your watercolor journal.  Is this too far for my Michigan classes to take a road trip? No, I don't think so.

At the Cabin

Still Life at the Cabin

Snow, sleet, and rain all weekend. It was fun to be SO lazy and cozy. Now we are back in the city and the sun is shining. We can still be lazy.

 I want to find a good bunch of calla lilies to sketch.  It would be nice to find some near the street so I don't have to be too intrusive  -  but no one seemed to care that the homeless guy was sleeping (?) in a yard, and I think I look pretty harmless (not homeless) with a sketchbook.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from Viola, California

It's just a little cold and snowy here.  Really  -  it's a lot cold and snowy here.  We are having the perfect holiday "cabin weekend".  Looking outside, we are just not sure which holiday it is!

We really are having a great time  -  reading, cooking, eating, playing games, decorating eggs, hiding eggs, sketching and painting, drinking cinnamon tea, and watching the snow fall.  It's wonderful!

Viola is in Northern California in the Redding/Mt Lassen area.  It is just beautiful here, and the family togetherness is soooo nice!  If you're having a warm and sunny Easter, don't feel sorry for us  -  we made a conscious choice to come here.

Chi Latte

 A Chi Latte and Other Crazy Stuff

From San Jose, California - 
To those of you back at home  -  I may just stay here.  I think I like this life.  This kind of stuff just doesn't happen at home in Northern Michigan  -  not all within a few minutes anyway.

I mean, how many times, at home, have I been sitting on the corner, drinking a chi latte at Starbucks (NEVER) and had a dog sitting next to me actually BITE two people?  It bit the Starbucks guy on the hand, and then when the mail man walked through, it bit him on the leg.  I was afraid to get up to leave  -  I let the dog leave first.

Two guys a couple of tables over were arguing about who was going to take the blame for something.  The louder one, naturally, had nothing to hide and the other one would have to take the blame.  The dog didn't pay any attention to them.

The homeless guy I saw wandering around the neighborhood was curled up on a beautifully manicured front lawn, right at the edge of the sidewalk. Sleeping?



And . . . there is bird banging his head against the living room window for days on end now.

Ya can't make this stuff up.

Orange Tree Over the Fence

Another California Sketch

Here is yet another sketch from our California trip. I have just finished four days of Bookbinding/Journaling, and will post some of those sketches as soon as I get myself together. And because I never expect to really get myself together (and that's okay) I will post them anyway - in a day or two.

Friday I spent the day at an elementary school with ten classes - one every thirty minutes. As one of the kindergarten classes was leaving, a little girl came up and thanked me for the painting demonstration. As she started to walk away, she turned around, pointed to me, and said, "Great outfit by the way." CUTE kid!

I have a class coming this morning, and I want to get the backyard canopy up so we can enjoy this beautiful northern Michigan morning outside with the birds - and the Wednesday morning garbage truck, the recycle truck, the guy down the street with the leaf blower . . . . but it's okay - we have loud birds.

Sketch something today!

Orange Tree - California Sketch

Orange Tree in the Backyard

I love the shape of this orange tree, although I don't care for the taste of the oranges. Almost as soon as I had finished painting this, the gardener trimmed a lot of it. He really did a great job of keeping the shape - it still has that graceful swoop and asymmetrical slant. I absolutely LOVE citrus trees - those shiny green leaves and that gorgeous, sparkling orange or yellow fruit - the shape of the trees - the aroma of the blossoms!!!!

Getting back to reality here in Michigan. I have a few errands to run to be ready for some workshops coming up, starting tomorrow, and I have a class this afternoon. I don't seem to be taking enough time with my sketchbook. A sketchbook is such a good place to slow down, chill out, and just "be". But right now I have a date with my scanner and printer.

Have you set up a date with your sketchbook?

Pinecones of Viola

Sketching the Pine Cones of Viola, California

Back to California sketches. We were sitting outside eating breakfast and painting in our sketchbooks. The air was cool and the sun was strong. The creek was higher, faster, and louder than it had been the day before. What a beautiful place. We walked some trails to a clearer spot to get a good view of the mountains. Breathtaking!

Now, back home in the city, in a very different part of the country, I am enjoying my sketches. They all remind of the things we did and saw there. Even this simple sketch of the pine cones reminds me of the mountains.

Every little thing you put in your sketchbook journal is a big memory.

Hot Sauce

Hot Sauce, Lime, and Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

We picked up the ingredients for this recipe at Trader Joe's in San Jose. I LOVE TRADER JOE'S! The closest one to us in Michigan is at least four hours away. The cherry tomatoes were beautiful, but it was hard to tell which ones were ripe because of all the strange colors. The only way to tell was to taste them, and then, of course, it was too late. The ones that were good were very good, and they were all beautiful.

The original recipe called for ground turkey, but I thought the guys would like the beef better. I am also wondering if it would be good with beans and rice instead of meat.

I am missing the California weather, and really missing our kids and grandkids. However I am busy here at home - lots of things to do before next week when I begin a series of classes and all-day workshops for nine days without a break. Without a break - who am I kidding - this is fun stuff! If you are local, check out my class link in the sidebar and see if something sounds good to you.

My mind is going a hundred miles an hour, so I am going to slow down and go to the green house to buy pansies. My favorite "slow down and take a big breath" thing to do this time of year.

Have a great day - I hope the sun is shining where ever you are.

Thai Delight

Everything Tastes Better with Chang Beer

My husband is a fan of only American and Italian cuisine. He was willing to give Thai food a try in California, so we rewarded him with a beer to wash it down. He didn't know until the next day, when I was eating his leftovers, that there was tofu in those noodles!

The grandkids and I tried to keep our sketching in restaurants a little simpler this time. We just sketched in pen or pencil and added color at a later time. Soooo much easier with six of us at the table not to get out all the paint, brushes and water. I think the waiters appreciated it too.

California Cabin and Sketchbooks

Accordion Sketchbooks (left to right) Granddaughter's, Daughter's, Grandson's

A Weekend at the Cabin

We spent a wonderful weekend with our kids at their cabin in Northern California.

The grandkids and I took our sketchbooks out and sat in the middle of the road to sketch the cabin. It was a little complicated with the angles of the dormers, and we didn't want to spend all day on it - we had other relaxing things to do like eating lunch by the creek, going for a walk, building a bonfire, playing UNO . . . .

The drive up late Friday afternoon was great - driving toward Mt Lassen and Broke Off Mountain - just beautiful. When we arrived that night, we had to hurry up and make accordion sketchbooks so they would be ready to paint in by morning.

It is an absolutely beautiful spot, and of course, there is nothing like a relaxing weekend with family!

O'Donnell Lane Again

A Small but Serious Painting of O'Donnell Lane, Glen Ellen, CA

A "serious" painting means it was done on watercolor paper and not in my sketchbook. I think I like my sketchbook version of it better.

I used Google Maps Pegman Streetview to do the sketch and also for some reference for this painting. One of my commenters on the sketchbook post said that she was making Pegman her new best friend. I'm in love with Pegman too - we have even gone to Paris together.

Yesterday we went to an open house for a friend that just finished a sculpture that will ship out this week. I love it when people celebrate accomplishments large and small. This was large! How often do we let achievements go by without notice? Sometimes we don't even recognize an achievement when we see one. We need all the celebrations we can get!

O'Donnell Lane

Virtual Glen Ellen, CA

If you are familiar with Google Maps, you probably know about the little Pegman you can "drag" to the street for a Google Maps Street View. Fun!

Over at Virtual Paintout, a new location is given each month, and artists drag Pegman to the street and find something they want to paint. This month happens to be the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding locations. I have never participated in this, but thought it would be fun to paint someplace in that area that I had visited . So I took Pegman to Glen Ellen, to O'Donnell Lane - a little lane we had walked down after breakfast one morning the last time we were there. I just did a quick watercolor in my journal, but I may do it as a "semi-serious" painting and submit it.

Using "Street View" is a challenge. It's not even as good as a photograph and because of the camera lens they use, the perspective is not good. I am always cautioning my students not to use other people's photographs because there is no invested emotion in them as there would be in your own. However - it's winter - we all need a little entertainment. See what Pegman can do for you.

San Francisco

The Gardens at Grace Cathedral,
San Francisco

I posted this painting in progress a few posts back. I think it is finished - I will have to live with it a few more days to be sure.

I'm catching up a bit on real life today - painting, grocery shopping, doing laundry, cleaning the fridge, attending 7th grade basketball.

It is snowing here tonight. Seriously snowing. This will get me feeling Christmasy, and that's a good thing.

Thanks for hanging in there with me for 30 days of blogging. Although I missed a couple, I was thinking about you!

Glen Ellen Street Scene

Glen Ellen, California
Three different versions of the same view.

I have already posted the two paintings, and I always think it is fun to compare a photograph of a location with my sketchbook version. The sketchbook version is always the closest to how the place really felt to me. The "serious" paintings are always a little too "dressed up".

In my sketchbooks a few little marks can remind me later of how a place smelled, felt, sounded (tasted, but I'm trying not to blog about food all the time) and how I REALLY thought it looked. A snap shot is just that - a SNAP shot. It just doesn't take long enough for me to engage all the senses.

Carrying a sketchbook around (and PAINTING in it) is such an enjoyable part of my life! It enriches everything. When your life influences your art, your art influences your life - or something like that.

Just paint - you don't even have to show anyone. But you'll probably want to.

Figs and Produce

Glen Ellen, CA

This painting was done from the journal sketch I posted a few days ago. It's a watercolor done on Arches 140 cold press, 11" X 15". After I photographed the painting, I grayed down the fence in the background to set it back a little more.

I could almost smell the eucalyptus trees as I painted this. The scent is very strong in this area of California.

I accomplished quite a bit today ~ mailed out the summer schedule for the Bay View publication, delivered my card order ~ even went to the grocery store! ETC. I have been blobbing around for so long, that it feels good to be catching up. Of course the blobbing felt good too.

Food Blogging Again

A Huge Breakfast the Morning After Having Nothing to Eat but Potato Chips and Milk for Nearly 24 Hours.

We really know how to live, don't we?

This is one of those "quantity" not "quality" posts that I squeeze in when I'm doing the "Blog Everyday For the Month of November", or whatever it is. The chips and milk story may be useful toward the end of the month, so I'm not saying any more.

I tried to show some things I'm working on, but nothing seems to be working out just right tonight.

In class today we worked on laying in the shadows in Manganese blue (everything that wasn't going to be left white) and then filling in the colors and details. The class did a great job with it! My brain is too fuzzy to explain right now, and it would make a good post someday with a little step by step demo.

As I was plowing through my to-do list today after class, I found out that I have to have my summer schedule (part of it at least) turned in SOON for publication. OK, I can do that.

I'm heading for bed now. Who's going to remind me to do the step by step demo?

Kids Painting

The Kids Painting at Cherry Park

Very quick sketches of wiggly grandkids painting.

We were actually at Paul Moore Park in San Jose, California, but it is on Cherry Street, so it's Cherry Park.

I'm not that great at figures so if the figure is in constant motion that just gives me another excuse for not doing it well.

Running through my to-do list today, and it is going quite well. I am running on empty now, however, and still have a couple of things to do. I just did a little painting to put on a card and it was the most hideous thing I've ever done, so maybe at this point folding the laundry is the way to go.

Giorgios

Dinner for Four at Giorgios
San Jose, California

This place has linen napkins, so we were careful how we splashed around with our watercolors. It was a very crowded little table with pizza (best pizza ever) a big salad bowl, bread baskets, drink pitcher, many plates, and three sets of paints and sketchbooks!

So here I am only into the first week of blogging everyday for a month - and I MISSED yesterday. Last night was an "author event" at my husband's library. The author was David Oliver Relin, who wrote Three Cups of Tea. It was a very interesting evening, starting off with a Central Asian menu for dinner, and then David's inspirational presentation, then a book signing. I have been asking myself ever since sitting down to dinner with him, "Cath, what have YOU done lately?" Everyone was asking themselves that by the time they left the auditorium. I'm just hoping the inspiration lasts awhile. I have a very short attention span.