Out of the woods! I have not had any internet access while in Yosemite National Park so I am here in a nearby town trying to catch everyone up. The last five days have been an absolute blur. No part of the trip has gone so fast. Yosemite was incredible. The day we arrived we hiked out to Snow Creek and stayed right in front of Half Dome. Hiking up the four miles was one of the hardest treks I’ve ever done. It might as well have been straight up because the whole hike was full of tight switchbacks. A switchback is basically a zigzag that goes along the side of a steep hill or in this case, mountain. It was tough, but worth it in the end. My friend Mac and I stayed up late taking pictures. There was a beautiful full moon that lit everything up.
Then next morning we hiked about ten miles down to Yosemite Falls. The falls were huge. It is incredible how powerful water can be! The water was also so cold. Everything that ends up in the falls comes from melting snow and glaciers. It’s like dipping your feet into a gigantic ice cube! The long hike took us down to Yosemite Valley, which is where most of the park’s activity takes place. The Valley has all the big attractions; El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, Sentinel Falls, Cathedral, the Merced River, and much more.
The next morning I began my painting adventure with an incredible artist named Penny Otwell. She has painted Yosemite for many years and has a very cool abstract look to her artwork. Penny and I started out painting in a meadow looking up at a mountain. It was a nice shady spot where we spent several hours. The rock faces out here are just huge! The next spot we picked for the day was near Merced River and the Royal Arches. The Royal Arches are these very interesting cuts in the side of the mountain.
The second day I painted with Penny we visited some of the big attractions; Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and El Capitan. The morning was a great time to paint Yosemite Falls. Purple, red, and yellow light bathed the falls. With the contours of the rocks surrounding the falls, the shadows and highlights changed quickly. This was by far the quickest painting I made. I tried to move quickly and it really helped. With picking the colors for the painting, I reacted spontaneously. I love the way this painting turned out. I’ll get pictures up of it soon. The painting of Half Dome was unfortunately an awful experience. We burrowed down near a river. The mosquitoes were horrendous. Even though I sprayed down, there would be hundreds swarming around me. It’s really hard to paint when you are swatting. Some mosquitoes left that spot a little more colorful, thanks to my accurate paint brush swat! We ended the painting day by going to El Capitan meadow. The view from there made me feel small. El Cap is just so big. This was the most abstract painting I did. The grooves and lines of El Cap are so hard to draw accurately. I started with a simple line drawing, but then just started adding color. All kinds of green, purple, and yellow spread over the canvas. I really enjoyed making this painting…even though it doesn’t look like El Cap. I ended the day by eating dinner at a local pizza place inside Yosemite with Penny and Mac. It was great to unwind with the two of them. I will definitely miss painting with Penny. She was such an inspiration!
Today we are heading down to Kings Canyon National Park. I have no idea if I’ll be able to get internet, so it may be a couple days before my next update. Hope all of my students are having a fun summer!
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