Memories Journal #29- In love at Joshua Tree National Park

 Something a little personal-my husband and I took a 6 month break in our marriage a couple of years ago. It was a reset of everything, and it did so much good for us. We had been married 17 years at the time, and they weren't all that easy.

When we resumed our marriage, we dreamed about a getaway alone. Nothing too exotic, but somewhere we both had never been before but wanted to see. That place was Joshua Tree National Park, and so we loaded up our Jeep Gladiator, and made the journey south. 

Our first stop was in San Luis Obispo. This is such a quaint college town, and super friendly. We only stayed one night, and then headed to Santa Monica Pier. My husband had never been to the L.A. area, and on our way there, we drove through Santa Barbara and Malibu. Gorgeous part of Southern California!

Our second night we stayed in Palm Springs-I immediately fell in love with this fun city! It was extremely hot for April. Finally, we made it to our hotel at Desert Hot Springs. This town is well known for natural hot springs, and we took advantage daily to lounge in the pool, soak in the outdoor tubs, and we got a room with our own indoor tub. I was super relaxed staying here.

The real treat however was touring Joshua Tree NP. This is a beautiful park! I loved the rock formations, the trees, and because it was spring-lots of desert flowers! 

We watched a sunset while drinking some wine. This was by far my greatest memory-

I hope to someday get back to this park, I really enjoyed the vibe here!

Desert Rainbow, somewhere in Arizona

 The short dark days of winter are helping me recall my days of living in Arizona (21 years ago!). While living in Phoenix wasn't my favorite place, the sunsets were amazing. Outside of the metro area, into the mountains is where the stark beauty really lies. Continuing with my admiration of cactus plants, this is a watercolor of what I would think the Santa Catalina mountain near Tucson would look like. Saguara National Park is on my list of National Parks to visit some day, and I also imagine the scenery to be similar. Painted on paper in watercolor.

Cactus series - Gouache on paper

 November in the Pacific Northwest means gray skies, golden leaves and mud. After the September wildfires, I'm certainly not complaining! Just a few years ago, the fall was my favorite season. As I've gotten older however, I have a lot more appreciation for the sun-especially after vacationing in Hawai'i twice in one year. 

In 1999, I moved to Phoenix,Arizona with my young daughter to find a new change in scenery. Back then, I had also longed for sunnier winters and that motivated the move. We lasted just over a year as I discovered how much I missed the trees and green in Oregon after visiting Flagstaff in northern Arizona. We came home with one more family member-my 2 month old son!

These cool damp days have me thinking about Arizona lately, so I browsed through some cactus photos to paint. Losing the moment in these paintings as I day dream about the desert was a brief respite from the rain. These are two small painting in gouache on paper.

Americana series-9 mini snapshots of the USA

Working at an art supply distributor has its perks. I was able to score these 4 x 4 mini canvases as a discontinued deal for next to nothing, and I turned them into something! America is a diverse landscape that I have great appreciation for. I doubt just these nine paintings capture all of them, but here are my viewpoints of the landscapes of America. Notice I did not do a big city as these represent escapes to the beautiful American countryside. All of these painted with acrylics.

Starting from top left:

• The covered bridge can be found many places, especially in rural America.
• This is obviously O'ahu, but it is definitely an escape!
• The southwestern desert has amazing saguaro cactus.
• Lighthouses also can be found in many areas of America, including the Great Lakes.
• Route 66 is the all American road.
• The high desert regions of Native Americans is very sacred.
• The mountains and lakes of the western USA hold a special place in my heart.
• The Great Plains is our bread basket, usually not a destination but just as important to America.
• The beach, which also can be the ocean, lakes or rivers that Americans escape to for recreation.
  

Memories Journal #7

In 1999, I moved to Arizona thinking there would be a better life for me in the desert. I thought I would be tan all of the time, and never cold. Well, I stayed very pale and cold because being outside in 110 degrees was terrible. The air conditioning was constantly running, which is why I stayed cold. However, northern Arizona is absolutely stunning. I loved the red rock, the high altitude and cooler temperatures. A year after moving to Arizona, I moved back to Oregon as I was not cut out for all of that sunshine.