View from Mount Waterman

View from the top of Mt. Waterman in the Angeles National Forest. What a fantastic day!

The Drawing that Makes Itself — Variation 07

Here are some more images from my recent series of Drawings That Make Themselves in the Sierra National Forest in California. That granite is such a great substrate for the drawings. I would love to go back and do more of these drawings sometime.

Variation number 07 was about how the liquid transfers from one surface angle to another.

The Drawing that Makes Itself — Variation 06

For this variation, I decided to see how the drawing would look when I mix colors. Having all the extra liquid also created a much bigger drawing. I enjoyed the longer, more meditative process.

This is my favorite set from the Drawings That Make Themselves. I am really excited that they were chosen for the Tool at Hand PDX exhibition at The Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland. Check out the images in person before the end of January 2014!

The Drawing that Makes Itself — Variation 05

This is number 05 in a series of ephemeral landscape drawings that make themselves. I love setting something free and seeing how it behaves on its own — like a controlled chaos almost. 

I'm getting more and more excited about working outside in the landscape. Interjecting artificial, almost psychedelic colors into an environment filled with earth tones creates a tension that reflects the collision of urban civilization and natural landscapes. I created these drawings in the Sierra National Forest just south of Yosemite.

The Drawing that Makes Itself — Variation 04

This series of photos documents the process of creating The Drawing that Makes Itself - Variation 04.

Lake Tahoe & The Sierra

Lake Tahoe

We spent the first 10 days of July in California’s Sierra Mountains... The first five nights we camped in several places, hiked to a bunch of lakes, and got plenty dirty! Then the last four nights we stayed in a hotel in South Lake Tahoe where we met up with some of my co-workers for a “conference” which consisted of two group dinners. The rest of our time was free to do whatever we wanted.

Lake Tahoe

Woods Lake in El Dorado National Forest

Mojo sunning himself at Grouse Lake in the Desolation Wilderness

Little 9 lb. Mojo can hike as far as anyone, and just like everybody else, he likes to rest at the halfway point and have a snack. Preferably some cheezits, but pupperoni will also suffice.

Grouse Lake in the Desolation Wilderness

The Grouse Lake hike was my favorite. The wildflowers were spectacular (see the post below) and the lake itself was beautiful. We were planning to hike up a bit further to see another lake (I forgot the name of it), but we decided to head back down the mountain when we heard thunder rumbling overhead. Just as we began to turn back, I stepped on a patch of snow, fell through, and landed in a creek up to my knee. Luckily it was a warm day and it kind-of felt good to squish every other step down the mountain!

Sierra Nevada / Tahoe Wildflowers

Jeffrey’s Shooting Star / Dodecatheon jeffreyi / Primrose Family

Matt and I spent the last week roaming around the Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. It was the perfect time of year to visit, as the wildflowers were abundant! (If you’ve ever read my blog before, you already know I’m a sucker for wildflowers!)

Pretty Face / Brodiaea lutea / Amaryllis Family

Mountain Heather / Phyllodoce breweri / Heath Family

I know this is a Penstemon, but I can’t seem to find the exact name in my book. I think I photographed one like this in Colorado last summer, too... and I didn’t know its name then either.

I can’t find this one in my book either.

If you know the names of these last two, I’d be so happy if you wouldn’t mind posting them so I can find out what they are!

Aerial Views of Los Angeles Basin

Glendale/Pasadena area... Look closely at in the bottom right quadrant and you can make out the Rose Bowl.

I’m in Los Angeles again on a business trip. I’m so appreciative that Matt was able to take two days off work to make the 12-hour drive from Colorado and spend the weekend with me in the city. He flew back to Grand Junction yesterday and took these amazing aerial shots from the plane.

Our old neighborhood stomping grounds ... Hollywood, the Cahuenga Pass, and Studio City.

Antelope Valley... I like this one because you can really make out the parallel roads and development all along the valley floors. There’s sprawl as far as the eye can see!

Check out Matt’s flickr page here.

Art in Ojai

Another Magical Night

We got up this morning and decided to take an hour drive up to Ojai, California... One of our favorite little places to spend a lazy Sunday. They were having an art festival in the park—lots of jewelry, some interesting paintings, and photography. My favorite art wasn't in the park, though. It was in a gallery on the main road—Trowbridge Gallery. There were two artists represented that stood out above the others: Jeff Sojka and Ginger Moore Maxwell.

Mood Moon

Jeff Sojka’s paintings were of the landscape variety, and I especially liked the ones that were mostly about the big sky. I’ve been working on a series of photography that is all about the big sky, so I think that’s why I’m drawn to these. The red one is my favorite, and Matt liked the blue one.

Midday Dream II

Ginger Moore Maxwell’s paintings were a little more quirky. Her paintings of wildflowers (of course I can’t resist wildflowers!) are very representational and detailed. The thing that makes them so interesting is that the flowers seem to be like puppets, suspended from little strings, hanging from an unseen place. Are they puppets, happy and dancing? Or, are they hung like little dead men? I’m not sure.

Day Trip to Ojai, California

Entrance to the park in Ojai

We got up this morning and decided to take an hour drive up to Ojai, California... One of our favorite little places to spend a lazy Sunday.

We were really looking forward to visiting our favorite old bbq dive joint [Oak Pit BBQ] in Oak View, just a couple miles outside of Ojai... When we got there, we found it completely different than we left it a couple years ago. I guess someone bought it and renovated it. It’s no longer the homey, divey place we loved. Now it’s just a generic restaurant, nothing special about the new atmosphere. I wish I had a photo of how it used to be.

We decided to give it a chance anyway. The food was good, not great like we remembered. I especially missed the hand-cut fries they used to serve. Now they just serve regular old frozen fries—boring! And on top of everything else, we were too full after lunch to indulge in our favorite raspberry sorbet from the ice cream shop in town!

After we walked through downtown Ojai looking at some lovely art at the “Art in the Park” fair, we drove over to one of my favorite spots at Meditation Mount, where we took a walk in the peace garden and looked out over the Ojai Valley.

It really is a peaceful place! I saw this beautiful cactus bloom on the path.

There are working ranches, orchards and farms all over the place. We stopped to photograph this recently-bailed hay from outside Black Mountain Ranch. So beautiful. When I spend so much time in Los Angeles (after living there and visiting all the time) it’s easy to forget that much of California is rural.

Here’s a roadside produce stand in Fillmore. We stopped in and looked around on our way back to the city. Too bad we’re staying in a hotel or I would’ve racked up on some freshly picked strawberries!

Images from a Road Trip

Train in the Utah desert.

Matt and I drove from Colorado to Southern California yesterday. The weather was perfect, and I spent a good chunk of the day with camera pressed against window.

The San Rafael Swell in the Utah desert.

Power lines in Nevada, east of Las Vegas.

Sunset in the Mojave Desert in Southern California.