A Tree with a View

 

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Another Sierra scene. Did I mention that it's a painter's paradise up there?

From My Window

nfs.

This is my entry for this week's Daily Paintworks Challenge - From Your Window. I decided since we're all mostly stuck inside, this was an appropriate challenge. But I was afraid of actually doing it, since it's outside my comfort zone (hence "challenge"), so I put it off until the very last day. I woke up that morning and there were several inches of snow on the ground - an even greater challenge for me! We have a steep hill that goes up behind our house, so I actually painted this from my second story studio window, of our adirondack chairs up on the hill, and the little rock fire ring in front of them. I really kind of like it, so I'm going to keep it for myself. : )

Mountain Crack

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I've tried a composition sort of like this before, but I guess I like it because here it is again. One huge difference between this trip and the three I've been on (to the Sierras) before, was there was no smoke! California has had a wet year, and because of this, the number of wildfires has been thankfully low. I'm happy about this for lots of reasons.

Morning Mountains

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On one of our mornings up in the Sierras, we woke up to no smoke! It took me a minute to realize just why it was so beautiful, but then I grabbed my gear quickly and painted as much as I could before the light changed too much. I took some pictures and finished it at home, since we never had another clear morning.

Across the Lake

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Well, we had no bears (up in the Sierra's, where I was last week), but the fires caused some trouble. There was smoke every day (often a LOT), and it definitely caused some delays getting home. But it was still a WONDERFUL trip, with good friends, and fantastic subject matter!

This is my first painting, done quickly on the first afternoon, after we dried off and warmed up, after being pelted by hail (and rain) on the strenuous hike in. Fortunately the rain cleaned up some of the smoke, but it was back again the next morning.

Don't Mess with my Nuts

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I know you'll agree when I say (write) - it was about time I painted a squirrel! We do have squirrel's here in Eugene (though no snow yet), but I actually got the photo for this one from the Morgue File (a place online with copyright free images). At first I thought maybe it was cheating, since I usually work from my own photos. But then I started spending time sifting through all the terrible photos to get to the usable ones. Let me tell you, there are A LOT of terrible ones. And I figure that sifting is work in itself. But something I enjoy doing in the evening, snuggled up on the couch with my dog.