My good friend, Sharon Weaver, and I headed east last Friday to find a painting spot.
I had to drop off several paintings for a show in Pasadena called "Spring Forward" which will be showing through July at the Historic Blinn House in Pasadena. (More about that on a later post.)
Sharon knows many good spots in the general area because she paints with the Thursday En Plein Air group often, so I asked her to go with me and then to go out painting outdoors. We headed north on Lake to the end and then got out and hiked through what was once a grand estate called the Cobb Estate. It was a beautiful day and we both enjoyed the scenery and the brief hike.
After hiking around for a while, I finally settled in a shady spot right behind where Sharon had set up. We were painting virtually the same scene, but of course, our paintings came out quite differently because ... well, we're different people and our styles are different. Hers was wonderful, of course, as she is becoming quite the expert at painting outdoors. She's off to another great Plein Air event in another week and has yet another lined up after that.
Despite how humbling it always is to paint with her, (especially on those rare times when I am painting the same scene!) I inevitably have a great time. The spot we chose was at the crossroads for the Sam Merrill Trail. Check out Sharon's blog.. I imagine she will post her painting as well.
The following information about this area is taken from Wikipedia:
Doesn't it seem like the days are just zooming by? I've been working on another "large-for-me" painting and spend an inordinate time just staring at it... trying to figure out what I can do to make it something not just big, but something extra special. We'll see how THAT goes.
The weather has warmed up considerably and I love getting out to paint... but then I can't see my non-painting friends... or do laundry or pick up the house.... hmmmm...
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| Crossroads © Marian Fortunati 12" x 9" Oil on RayMar Panel |
I had to drop off several paintings for a show in Pasadena called "Spring Forward" which will be showing through July at the Historic Blinn House in Pasadena. (More about that on a later post.)
Sharon knows many good spots in the general area because she paints with the Thursday En Plein Air group often, so I asked her to go with me and then to go out painting outdoors. We headed north on Lake to the end and then got out and hiked through what was once a grand estate called the Cobb Estate. It was a beautiful day and we both enjoyed the scenery and the brief hike.
After hiking around for a while, I finally settled in a shady spot right behind where Sharon had set up. We were painting virtually the same scene, but of course, our paintings came out quite differently because ... well, we're different people and our styles are different. Hers was wonderful, of course, as she is becoming quite the expert at painting outdoors. She's off to another great Plein Air event in another week and has yet another lined up after that.
Despite how humbling it always is to paint with her, (especially on those rare times when I am painting the same scene!) I inevitably have a great time. The spot we chose was at the crossroads for the Sam Merrill Trail. Check out Sharon's blog.. I imagine she will post her painting as well.
The following information about this area is taken from Wikipedia:
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| The Sam Merrill Trail is a major hiking trail in the Las Flores Canyon of the San Gabriel Mountain Range north of Altadena, California which leads to the top of Echo Mountain. It was built by Charles Warner and the Forest Conservation Club of Pasadena during the 1930s. After the deluge of 1938 most the trails which accessed the mountain sides around Echo Mountain and the Mount Lowe Railway had been all but washed away. Sam Merrill found it important to maintain public hiking access to the railway ruins and other portions of the treacherous foothill. During the 1940s he overhauled and maintained the trail. As a young man Merrill had lived with John Muir for a summer, which inspired a lifetime commitment to the outdoors and the Sierra Club. Merrill, who served as Clerk of the Superior Court of Los Angeles, was an active volunteer in the Sierra Club, leading outings for almost 20 years, serving on the Executive Committee of the Angeles Chapter from 1926-1935 and on the National Board of Directors of the Sierra Club from 1936-1937. When Sam Merrill died in 1948 the Sierra Club named the Echo Mountain Trail after him. The trail originated at the old railway's right of way just above a point called Hygeia Station and climbed by switchback up the steep face of the Echo promontory. In the late 1960s a housing development was established over the trail and the trailhead was moved to an access alongside of the Cobb Estate gateway at the top of Lake Avenue. The portion of the trail which was maintained by Merrill leads an approximate 2 1/2 mile trip directly to Echo Mountain and the ruins of the White City of the Mount Lowe Railway. It is also referred to as Lower Sam Merrill Trail as a section of the Mount Lowe 8, an old mule trail from the days of the Mount Lowe Tavern, was reopened giving a continued hike into Grand Canyon and the site of the Tavern, and is referred to as Upper Sam Merrill Trail. | |
The weather has warmed up considerably and I love getting out to paint... but then I can't see my non-painting friends... or do laundry or pick up the house.... hmmmm...
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