Sketchbook

When I think of the Alps in Switzerland, I hear cowbells. We enjoyed hiking in several places on our trip, this cow and the scene below is from the top of Wispile … a short gondola trip from Gstaad.

There would be no Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) without the Rhone River. The charming town of Aigle is located on the Rhone close to the lake in the Rhone Valley.

The turrets of Aigle Castle are what stands out architecturally … but … the magic is really in the location. Aigle Castle is surrounded by stunning vineyards. A friend who is originally from Switzerland raves about the wines from this area. Fondant is the local white. Dole is the red.

Some of these vineyards remain connected to the castle. Most, are owned by small local wine producers. Entrances to individual vineyards exhibit unique personalities.  Some entrances can accommodate vehicles while others lead to footpaths. Each differs from the next.

One of the gates provided me with great shade stone steps to sit on. I took advantage of both for the painting I did at the top of this post.

Such a wonderful memory I have of the day. Views, grapes, old stone walls and charming vineyard signs at every turn. And then there was lunch overlooking vineyards and the castle on a stone terrace underneath a grape arbor. It was almost too perfect. Almost.

We were completely charmed by the town of Vevey which is situated on Lac Leman (Lake Geneva). The watercolor above is of the vielle ville (old town) section along Rue du Lac. It’s lovely that the old town section is so close to the lake and I didn’t miss the cardio workout of steep streets that you have in Montreaux and Geneva. The town benefits from being low key while having two ferry docks to venture beyond to other Lac Leman towns.

While we were in Montreaux we caught a took a cog train up the gorgeous alpine area known as Rochers de Naye. The scenic area is located between two peaks at 6500′ elevation. The 360-degree views are stunning and there are wildflowers everywhere.

We spent a wonderful day hiking, lunching of cheese fondue and exploring the most charming alpine flower garden. This second painting was done quickly. It was just starting to sprinkle and our train was about to arrive to take us back to town. You can make out the train track and covered bridge it the photo.

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.