Leslie Landers

We took a ferry from Montreaux to Chillon Castle and walked back to Montreaux along Lac Lemon (Lake Geneva). The view above is as seen from the ferry. The one below is looking at at the bridge leading from the other side.

This medieval castle is situated on an island at a location that served as a way to control access to the Lac Lemon area from the Rhone River valley and travel from Burgundy. Later, it was a prison and an inspiration for literary works by Lord Byron and others in the early 1800’s. Given my background in tech, I have to make a big detour here to mention that Lord Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, holds the distinction as the first computer programmer.

I’ll end this here with wishes to the Swiss for a Happy Swiss National Day today!

This is the first in what will be a series of posts with watercolor sketches from Switzerland. We spent most of our time in Montreaux staying in a room on the 11th floor of the Eurotel. The watercolor at the top of this post was painted from the balcony as one of the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) ferries was coming in. We loved these ferries, particularly the ones that retain their paddle wheels and look of the early 1900’s.

I was able to do some exploring of Old Town Montreaux and painted a view of one of the many water fountains seen throughout the area. The water is potable. Throughout Switzerland, passersby stop for a sip and splash cool water on their necks to refresh on summer days.

We saw lots of swans on our trip and there is likely a larger swan painting ahead for me. For now here is a study in two views.

The view above is of a sailboat with voiles latines (latin sails). I saw this one near Montreaux and think it may be a sailboat based in the French town of Evian Les Baines. On a future trip, I want to go back to Evian (we just spent a day there this time) and to Morges to see more of these beautiful sailboats.

This last view is also from our balcony at sunset. This time looking towards Clarens at sunset.

Upcoming posts will include alpine scenes and castles.

I lived in Colorado for six years in the early 90’s.  It’s a beautiful sun-filled state and it is always wonderful to be back. The watercolor sketch above was done at Wonderland Lake near the home of a close friend in Boulder. This is hummingbird enjoying the feeder hanging on one of her decks.

We spent one of the days in the town of Boulder. I did a little sketching on the Pearl Street Mall which is a great pedestrian-only area. The Peppercorn is a houseware’s shop that has been a favorite of mine since the years I lived in the area. My tiny kitchen and limited storage space was the only thing holding me back.

Another day, we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park. This plein air watercolor was done at Bear Lake with Mount Hallett in the background.

I was also able to go the Clifford Still Museum which has opened in Denver. I am not that into abstract expressionism generally … but … I have long been attracted to his work. The museum was built to Still’s specification and the collection it houses is extensive.

June 17 update … I’ve wrapped up my participation in this year’s event. The organizers at North Lake Tahoe Arts did a great job. It was a very good learning experience and lots of fun. Through the week posted some in-process plein air photos here. A few of the paintings are also featured Oil Gallery Page.

Tuesday (Day 1) … The painting at the top of the post was my first of the week. It’s a view of Lake Tahoe, the Tahoe City Public Pier and some geese that stopped by to keep us entertained. It was a good experience trying to paint these wiggly devils. The Gatekeeper’s Museum grounds in Tahoe City are a gem. I came back to paint another scene with lupine later in the week. I’ve posted “Tahoe City Geese” to my oil painting gallery.

Wednesday (Day 2) … Loved painting Blackwood Creek in the Blackwood Canyon area.  A bonus was a nice “French Picnic” arranged by the event organizers and a really helpful plein air demo by Philippe Gandoil. The location by the river delivered both beauty and mosquitos. “Blackwood Creek Afternoon” has been posted to my oil painting gallery page.

Thursday (Day 3) … The 2 hour quick draw at the Tahoe City Farmers Market was a great experience.  We started at 9am and needed to finish by 11am with all paintings framed and on display by 11:15. Whew! “Market Day Tahoe City” is also now on my oil painting gallery page.

Friday (Day 4) … The road workers had moved by the time I wrapped this up.  Some models just don’t cooperate. “Dam Roadworks” seems like a good title for this piece since the cafe that is the focus of the painting is the Dam Cafe in Tahoe City.

I was also chasing the light at 5:30 am. I tried to capture the feel of a calm sunrise from the beach at Tahoe Commons over two very early mornings. The first morning was very still. The second (seen here) was more blustery with windswept clouds. As I finished up the painting, I worked to keep the still feel that I started with. Lots of geese both mornings. I don’t think I’d take a nap on that grass.

There are more paintings from the week that I will get to posting once I am home. I will also be leaving Tahoe with lots of studies for future paintings, more than a few mosquito bites, admiration for the participants and organizers of this exceptionally well run event.

My painting “Stone Bridge at Alum Rock” and another of my rural Silicon Valley plein air paintings will be on view at the Corison Gallery in Tahoe City next week.

The Artists Reception will be on Friday June 15, 2018 from 5-7pm. If you’ll be in the area, please stop by the Corison Gallery, North Lake Tahoe Arts. The address is 380 North Lake Blvd. in Tahoe City, CA.

Looks like the weather will be great in Tahoe next week. I will be participating in what has become an annual event hosted by North Lake Tahoe Arts.

I love that the image used in the flyer for the artist reception features a piece by one of my painting buddies, Nancy Takaichi.  This year two of my rural Silicon Valley paintings plein air paintings will be on view at the Corison Gallery. I’ll be participating in a “QuickDraw” competition at the Thursday at the Farmer’s Market. All of the paintings the participants are brave enough to hang will be on view at next Saturday’s Tahoe City Wine Walk.

 

I will always have happy memories of painting this piece next to Penitencia Creek in Alum Rock Park. Even though it’s not that big (11″ x 14″) it is the largest plein air oil painting I’ve completed so far.

The sound of the rushing water and birdsong was wonderful and a beautiful white egret came by for a visit and for the fishing.

I will be bringing this piece with me for the Lake Tahoe Plein Air Event that I’ll be participating in a couple of weeks.

 

I’ve made pretty frequent trips into Alum Rock Park recently to paint.

Alum Rock Park Park is definitely worth a visit. I have come to learn that is is the oldest municipal park California with great trails along Penitencia Creek and up into the surrounding hills.

This painting received an award through the Los Gatos Art Association in August, 2018.