Leslie Landers

Our summer began with a trip to New York City. Having loved ones in Manhattan and New Jersey provides special family memories in addition to all the magnificent city provides. The watercolor sketch above shows a reflection of the San Remo Building into the Central Park Boat Pond.

Here are more sketches from the trip:

 

These sketches include Central Park images from the model boat pond, a view of the Carlisle looking up Madison Avenue and a Skyline view of Downtown Manhattan as seen from the Hudson River.

We stayed at the lovely and historic Carlisle Hotel where our corner room on the 19th floor gave us rooftop views to the north and a peek at central park to the west. We enjoyed music at the charming Bemelman’s Bar most evenings. Days were spent walking, people watching in Central Park and enjoying art museums. Somehow most of our walking routes took us right by the Madison LaDuree macaron shop … always a good plan.

The Filoli gardens are a jewel set amid the rolling hills of the San Francisco Peninsula. The sunken garden and reflecting pool were established right after construction of the Georgian country mansion in Woodside in the early 1900s.

Today, Filoli is a beautiful place for a stroll and quiet contemplation.

As we approach summer, the colors in the garden shift from the pinks and purples of the foxgloves and cherry blossoms to a riot of dahlias and rose blooms.

William Kent, an English Landscape Architect, once said “All gardening is landscape painting.”  I couldn’t agree more.

Market Street in San Francisco takes on a different feel through the day. It can be very quiet first thing in the morning. Here there are just a few people waiting for the Muni F line headed to the Castro with the Ferry Building glowing in the background.

Point Lobos has been an incredibly special place to me since I was a child. It was near this spot that I happily remember looking (but not touching) sea creatures inhabiting the tide pools. I also have a happy memory of my brother, then a toddler, bringing my mother a rock and saying “Mommy! mommy! I caught a rock.” Here are recent Point Lobos paintings in my sketchbook.

These days, it’s a short drive from our home to Point Lobos, making it a place we visit often and treasure..

Part of the love I have for the Wolseley Restaurant in the Mayfair district of London comes from my fist dinner there. I was in London for business with a welcome night alone between meetings when I ducked into the Wolseley as a way to escape the rain. I enjoyed a lovely dinner in a cozy room right off of the entrance.

The Wolseley is one of those places that oozes charm in a way that conveys comfort and effortlessness. The building began life as a swanky car dealership in the 1920’s and later became a bank. The charming room in the front used to be the bank manager’s office. Now, a there are a small number of tables that look through windows at the rest of the large two story restaurant. And … there is a sparkling cake table at the center. One of these times I may even order dessert.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day for plein air watercolor sketching at Filoli.

These potted tulips are early arrivals. In a couple of weeks there will be tulips everywhere at Filoli. With all of the rain we’ve had, Filoli and the bucolic landscape around it, are wearing bright spring green. It is so wonderful to enjoy the sunshine and no-jacket weather.

I’ve visited Filoli many times and it’s an absolute treasure. I’ve written about Filoli and posted pictures over on the Arid Gardening website here.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is always beautiful but I think I like the town the most in the winter. Fewer tourists. Less fog. The sunset view above is painted from a perfect spot on Scenic Avenue at 8th where the view is framed by an old cypress and the surf sounds serve as a backdrop. Here are a few other Carmel views from the trip.

My husband and I enjoyed a recent trip to Carmel which included opportunities for plein air painting. Sometimes, plein air painting involves some degree of discomfort … cold, heat, glare, wind. This time early morning and sunset views of the town of Carmel with the pacific ocean in the background were painted from the balcony of our hotel room. Such luxury!

This phrase comes to us from John Muir who is forever linked with Yosemite. After several winter snows, the park is dressed in white as the snow is melting into the Merced.

This view of Half Dome is from a spot adjacent to Sentinel Bridge. Most of the 4 million visitors who come to Yosemite each year see the Merced River and Half Dome from this spot.

Yosemite is a quiet place in winter. There have been 137 Christmases celebrated at Yosemite Valley Chapel. It was built in 1879 and it is the oldest structure in Yosemite National Park.

Happy Holidays