STUDIO CATALINA

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation

2010-10-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,
We have taken two great trips this year. In late May, we visited close friends in New Jersey for a few days and they accompanied us to “The Big Apple”. This was a whirlwind tour from Upper to Lower Manhattan in 36 hours. Thank goodness for “hop on or off” red buses to get us around efficiently. I was amazed at the mass of people and huge signs in the Theatre District. As you can tell, it was my first time there and thanks to our friend Meryle (who grew up in the area); we knew where to eat and what to see. We want to return when we have more time.

Our September adventure took us to the “Inside Passage” of Alaska on the Celebrity Millennium and a short trip via train to Denali. The ship is about 2,000 passengers and we had a wonderful time. Our ports included Vancouver Canada and Ketchikan, Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Skagway & Seward, Alaska. Denali National Park (Mt. McKinley) is the 2nd largest National Park in the U.S. National Park System. We were exceptionally lucky with the weather, especially in Denali. It was clear and not only could we see Mt. McKinley clearly for 4 days we could see the whole mountain range. Our naturalists that accompanied us on our tours in the park said that only 1% of the tourists this year had experienced a clear glimpse of the “Big Mountain".

Check out some of the Alaska & NYC photos taken to the right of this note.

Watercolor Success

2010-03-22T13:22:00.000-07:00

I just finished my Winter semester art class. When I first heard in the fall that we were going to use watercolor pencils as our medium my first thought was "BLAH"!! First of all I did not want to buy anymore art supplies since all my supplies are for my 2 loves, pastels and colored pencils. The room that serves as a combination computer room/art studio is packed with everything I need for my art as well as geek stuff. You can imagine now having to add watercolor supplies to this mix. You just do not buy a few watercolor pencils and use the paper you already have. Everything is specific to the medium.

Second, I was just starting to gain confidence and my drawings were actually looking like what I was painting!! Now the thought of starting anew and purchasing more stuff was not making me happy.

Some of my classmates and I have been together since 2006 and we have had the same instructor, Jane. We enjoy each others' company and critiques as well as the many ideas and direction from Jane. So, with an empty wallet I decided to sign up (paper, brushes, watercolor pencils). Just as a side note, once you start a new medium and work with the "stuff" you bought, you then find out there is better "stuff". Of course this will make your painting look much better...As with every hobby, the buying never stops. You buy new "stuff" and show it to your pals, who then oooh and awwwwe and think about purchasing the same "stuff". I do not think the cycle ever ends!!!

Now you might be asking yourself how I liked the new medium. I LOVE IT!!! I can be very creative and loose with watercolor pencils as I am with pastels. And yes, I did sign up for the spring session where we will be using the same "stuff" and working on landscapes. I am looking forward to it. I also have included (to the right) my lastest watercolor for which everyone can see my progress.

Can You Believe It's 2010!!

2010-01-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year celebration. As you can see Winston was anxious about Santa visiting him, but he received lots of squeakies to keep him busy thru the year.

Well – it has been awhile since I have updated this blog and that is due to laziness, working on a big art project and no new photos. When I first started this blog I thought I would at least update it every other week…sure!!! A friend of mine and her partner contribute meaningful articles on their blog every day…and I do not mean comments like “well I guess I’ll sign off and start dusting”!!! These are bonifide articles with research, sometimes heartfelt personal discoveries and much more. They are amazing women. My purpose in putting this blog together was to showcase my art and photography and there will be times when there is nothing to report or show.

With those thoughts in mind we spent a week in Avalon (Catalina Island) between Christmas and New Years. You could not ask for better weather; several boats from our Club were there to share the holiday. We saw 2 whales and several common dolphin pods on the way over to Avalon. The trip home was smooth and again we saw dolphin.

One of our favorite restaurants in Avalon is the Portofino, which has continental Italian cuisine. Other restaurants include several Mexican and traditional Italian, as well as a good steak house. To our disappointment, the dining room at the Avalon golf course has closed, but a new restaurant is being built off the water where the tourist bureau was located. Our favorite snack is ice cream and although there is a name brand store in town we prefer to frequent “Big Olaf’s”. They make the best waffle cones I have tasted – Not too sweet. So, with a waffle cone, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge and whip cream – abracadabra!!! A Big Olaf’s and I am in heaven.

I have just finished my art project and will post it soon. I am trying to make another leap in my skill level this year. We will see. Look for a new post soon.

Catalina, Buffalo and Big Olaf's

2009-10-12T15:38:00.000-07:00

We left Redondo Beach on October 1st headed for the backside of Catalina (Cat Harbor). This is only one of two "safe harbors" on the west coast. Mariners use a safe harbor in case of a big storm, and a big storm we had. On Saturday PM the winds were predicted to be 35+ mph. Any winds that high or above is considered a "gale"...we were safe where we were but the wind was eerie. Sunday is when most boats leave for the mainland and the forecast was for 35-45 mph winds and 6-7ft swells. YIKES, many boats left, several came back and stayed the night.

Not all the time in Cat Harbor was devoted to bad weather. Thursday and Friday were hot and practically windless. The island has a herd of Buffalo inland, however occasionally one or two decide to graze near town. We lucked out to see 2 from our boat!! We took the trail that went past them and we were able to shoot a few pictures. We also saw a bald eagle, but we were unsuccessful in capturing it on film.

Monday we took off for Avalon and although the first 30 minutes were bumpy, it calmed after that. Our boat was moored near the Catalina Yacht Club, which is a great spot, not only for the boat but also for sketching. There are some colorful and rustic architecture in full view of my sketchpad. We stopped at "Big Olaf's" twice between Monday and Friday to have the best ice cream and waffle cones. We were celebrating 2 birthdays; Winston, who turned 2 on Sunday and my friend from Temecula who turned ??? Our trip home was nice and the boat "surfed" home.

Thar She Blows!!!

2009-08-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

In recent years there has been an abundance of krill (small marine crustaceans that are the principal food of baleen whales) in the local waters. This past Sunday, we took our boat from Redondo toward Marina del Rey and as luck would have it we sited 2 Blue Whales. We estimated one to be 40 feet and the other 60 feet. There have not been many studies on Blues, but we do know that they can grow as big as 104 feet which is larger than a school bus. The above picture is of the smaller one. This one, on its 3rd pass by our boat came so close you could have leaned over and touched it. Actually we got somewhat nervous and decided to move on, since its last pass was under our boat before it surfaced. It was quite an encounter and we hope there will be more before the season ends.

We are off to the Channel Islands in another week. We hope to site more whales and take more pictures of our adventures.

Busy Being Busy

2009-07-27T14:37:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy being busy that I have put my Blog updates on the back burner. Now that is one way to lose readership!!! I think I have found a watermark program that might work for protecting my photos. I am planning on having a slide show attached soon. The slide shows will include the Galapagos Islands, Tahiti and closer travels such as Catalina Island, The Channel Islands, Oregon, etc. Please check back often or sign up for a feed (RSS) for the latest posts and comments.

What a Learning Curve!!

2009-07-15T13:14:00.000-07:00

The learning curve for putting a blog together that people will want to come back to is sometimes overwhelming. My main concern is protecting my photos and art. There are several web-based packages that can protect everything, but cost a fortune. I am still pursuing this aspect. I would like to put a small gallery together and should have something soon.

On a lighter note, Winston is shown here enjoying barking at the birds while on our boat. He is a 20 month old Yorkshire Terrier who loves the boat and his trips to the several coves around Catalina. We are off again on Friday to Catalina with our club. I hope to do some sketching and arrange to visit the Sawdust Festival in Laguna with friends. Talk to you all soon.

Back from Catalina

2009-07-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

We have returned!!! What a wonderful 10 days on the water. Lots of new photos and reference material for my art work. Even though we had a great time you are always happy to be home. Some of the amenities that are lacking on the boat and/or the island are much more appreciated once we are home. The photo on the right is from the "talent dog show" at the Isthmus on Catalina Island.

On the Sea to Catalina Island

2009-06-25T06:59:00.000-07:00

Just to let everyone know that I will be back on July 6th. I have just started this blog... It is still a work in progress.