Uvas Canyon County Park, Morgan Hill. Hike & Sketch. Thursday, June 28, 2018

When we think of Santa Clara County Parks we normally think of the many half-filled reservoirs or the (now) gold, oak covered hillsides around the Valley and up into the surrounding foothills.   The Uvas Canyon County Park, at least the part we normally visit, isn't at all like the others --- which makes it such an appealing paintsite.   Year-round, spring-fed waterfalls are the big attraction which draws artists up the sometimes steep hike (which some of us wouldn't have been willing to undertake otherwise) to the Upper Falls.     The weather was ideal and altho' we didn't follow the traditional 20 minute hike, 20 minute sketch, 20 minute hike, ... format (the entire waterfall loop trail is only about 1.5 miles) there's still enough "hiking" involved to let one know that this wasn't just another "stroll" (Jenny's term for Hike & Sketch paintouts which didn't involve lots of sweat, bruises, falls [as in tumbling down a hillside vs. a waterfall, etc.] in the park!)    The size of the group and the limited number of spots in which to set-up meant that we broke into smaller groups which painted here, then there, so that at least one of us captured the essence of each of the five waterfalls.

Check out the official Uvas Canyon County Park website at Uvas Canyon County Park  .   There is a link on the site to the Waterfall Loop Trail along which we painted.   Take it some time late Spring or early Summer - but check first to make sure the trails are open.  The park is so popular on weekends and holidays that advanced reservations are required, even for day use.

July paintsites:  See the SCVWS website or the July newsletter for details.

• Thursday, July 5: Rengstorff House, Shoreline Park, Mountain View
• Thursday, July 12: Maison du Lac, Summit Rd, Los Gatos
• Thursday, July 19: East Bay.  Location yet to be determined.
• Thursday, July 26: Senior Safari Walkabout, Happy Hollow Zoo, San Jose.  (Note: early start time and free admission for "Seniors" -- those over 50 years of age.)

Shows & Exhibits by Paintsites Regulars:

• Annie Haines was awarded an Associate Artist Award by the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the California Art Club for her "Point Reyes Lighthouse" watercolor.   The painting is currently on exhibit in the CAC "Art Between the Lines" show at the Peninsula Museum of Art.   The Museum is located at 1777 California Dr., Burlingame.   Hurry  --- the show ends July 8th!  Annie's painting is also featured in the May-June issue of Fine Art Connoisseur.
• Candy Yu is exhibiting 18 "pet" paintings at the VCA Crocker Animal Hospital, 475 N. Jackson Ave., San Jose.  Hurry -- the current show runs thru June 30, 2018.    But, if you miss that show, a second exhibit of Candy’s paintings will be hung at the same location starting July 2, 2018.   It will run thru the end of July.    So, if your pet needs a checkup, take your puppy, kitty, snake, gerbil, ... or whatever in for an appointment and you can peruse Candy's artwork while the vet is poking, probing, etc. your pet.  (But you don't need a pet to wander around the hospital.)
• John Etiger's painting, "The Old Adobe", is included in the current California Watercolor Association's "The Color of Summer" Exhibit at St. Mary's College of Art in Moraga.  (See  St. Mary's Museum of Art current CWA exhibit  for the official info.)       The show runs thru August 26, 2018.
• Jane Saltman's and Tanvi Buch's watercolors are featured in the Los Altos History Museum's "Paint the Town ll: Echoes of the Past " show (official website:  Los Altos History Museum "Paint the Town" exhibit ) which runs from July 5 to October 7, 2018.  Check the above website for some plein air related lectures and events during July and August.   The Los Altos History Museum is located at 51 S. San Antonio Rd, Los Altos.  Hours are Thursday - Sunday, noon - 4 PM and admission is free

Special Link:
Edward Rooks, our expert naturalist, fabulous photographer and accomplished artist, has created a Flickr photo album for all to enjoy.  Thank you, Edward, for providing many additional (and much superior) photos for this blog.  See Edward's photo album at:
Edward's photo journal of Uvas Caynon CP Hike & Sketch

Take a tour of Uvas Canyon CP with us starting at:


Granuja Falls:

 

Artists, left to right: Liz, Toni, John, Candy and Karen looking up at Granuja Falls

 

Benay's Granuja Falls painting.   She shared her trick (it's not a secret anymore!) for creating the water flowing over the rocks:  she uses a small birthday-cake candle as a resist.

Candy's sketch of the bridge just past the falls.  (That's Brad on the bridge.)

Candy's sketch of John, Liz and Toni working on their Granuja Falls paintings.

John's Granuja Falls painting

Kaaren's sketch of Granuja Falls. (Brad has moved on by this time.)

Susan B-G's Granuja Falls painting

Looking up, Susan B-G painted this stylized tree portrait which expertly captured this unusual and interesting vertical perspective.

Toni's Granuja Falls painting

Kaaren's Granuja Falls painting

Next stop:  the "Old Dam" and upstream "Ford" where many of us (the most daring) braved the 1/4" deep creek to get to the other side.   But I don't think any of us sketched or painted there.


Next stop: Little Falls --- but with a name like that, only a few were interested in stopping here --- not when others further upstream beckoned:

Liz, John, and Candy hiked way, way down into the Canyon, below Little Falls

Candy's painting of the falls - here she effectively used a 2-step (or was it 3-step?) "spatter" technique for the foliage.

John's Little Falls painting (Note: this is not to be confused with "Little John" of Robin Hood fame altho' this looks very much like the spot where Little John challenged Friar Tuck!)

Liz's painting of the Little Falls

Black Rock Falls:

Brad's sketch of Black Rock Falls (note: it's pretty sad when the artist doesn't know which is up and which is down in a painting --- I think it's correctly oriented here.)

Basin Falls:

Thursday Paintsites Co-Coordinator Marilyn Perry

Marilyn's painting of Basin Falls

Annie (left) and Salinda at Basin Falls for their second painting

Annie's Basin Falls painting

 

Salinda's Basin Falls painting.  (that's Marilyn in the foreground) 

New member Bill at Basin Falls working on his FIRST Thursday Paintsites painting.

Bill's first Thursday Paintsites painting - but obviously not (as the as the saying goes) his first "rodeo"!

Edward at Basin Falls

Edward's Basin Falls painting

Brad at Basin Falls

Brad's sketch of the rock outcrop below which Marilyn painted

 Kaaren's Basin Falls painting - her second of the day

Upper Falls:

Annie (left) and Salinda at Upper Falls for their first painting.   They were about as close to the foot of the falls as it was possible to safely set-up.

Annie's Upper Falls painting

Salinda's upper falls painting

Left to right: Edward, Karen B. and Cindy below the Upper Falls

Edward's Upper Falls painting from just a few yards downstream of where Annie and Salinda set-up.

Cindy

Cindy's Upper Falls "portrait format on steroids" painting of the falls

Marilyn's Upper Falls painting

Broncha's painting of the trail leading up to Myrtle Flats and the Upper and Basin Falls.   In a fairly deep canyon, as Uvas is, when there's even a bit of sun overhead and shining thru the trees, the shadows are pronounced (and do they ever move fast) as Broncha depicted here.

Dick's pen and ink study of the creek

Lunch and the Show & Share:   Very near the upper end of the Loop at Myrtle Flats is wide spot on the trail with a picnic table where we ate lunch and held the Show & Share session.   For those who had been painting at Basin or Upper Falls, this was very convenient.   For those who never got much past Little Falls it meant they had to pack up their gear and make the long hike up the canyon.   But they're tough, and determined, and hungry so they did it without too much grumbling.

Lunch

Here we're Showing & Sharing our day's output.   Altho' we didn't strictly adhere to the Hike & Sketch format, we did keep the Hike & Sketch spirit in mind as most of us created at least two sketches/paintings --- enough to cover the table.

Many of us feel that if only we had just one more brush, a few additional pigments, the latest drawing tool, or whatever (golfers, or those who associate with them, can readily associate with or identify this trait), we just know we could create some really great artwork.   Kaaren's minimal kit --- the  little bag she is holding held all of the supplies with which she created her wonderful paintings of the falls --- doesn't seem to support the theory of more is better.  (You can bet Cheap Joe's, Jerry's Artarama, Blick, etc. all hate her.)

Kaaren's supplies for the day ( plus an 80#, 4" X 6" spiral bound "drawing" pad).

Note:  Come visit this posting again as not not all artwork has yet been submitted to paintsites@scvws.org for posting in this blog --- check back again in a few days for new additions.