Skyline Open Space Preserve, Hike and Sketch May 11 2017 Russian Ridge, Santa Cruz Mountains

Our hike took us on the Ipiwa and Sunny Jim loop trail system, a distance of about 2.5 miles. We began at the nature center on a tranquil pond and from there we traveled along the ridge trails with expansive views of meadows and the Pacific coast. We finished in the shade of magnificent California oaks and bays. It’s been an amazing year for spring flowers. We are approaching the end of the wildflower season, yet there were many striking examples to see on the Ipiwa and Sunny Jim Trails. For more information on the Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve please check out the Midpeninsula Open Space District’s website: Link        Wildflowers

Lisha painting on the Ipiwa trail

Marilyn

Salinda

Liz

Helen, Marilyn, Lisha

Lorraine

Group Shot on the Ipiwa Trail

Group shot under oak on the Sunny Jim Trail

Dick and Salinda

Keep moving!

Still pond

Spotting wildflowers

Candy and her fan club

Lisha

The Nature Center and artists across the pond

Wildflowers

Owl’s clover

Checkerboard mallow

California Pitcher Sage / Monkeyflowers

These are the paintings by our plein-air hike and sketch artists.

Helen's

Helen's

Marilyn's

Marilyn's

Lisha's

Liz's first painting

Liz's second painting

Candy's

Candy's

Candy's

Jane's

Jane's

Dick's

Salinda's

Salinda's

Group photo - lunch near Horseshoe Lake

San Jose Municipal Rose Garden May 4, 2017

What a lovely day: sunny, warm but not hot like the previous two days, and the roses were in perfect bloom.  Such a riot of colors!  We had to really saturate the pigment on our paper to try to approximate the colors we were seeing before us.The 5.5 acre rose garden features more than 4,000 rose shrubs representing 189 rose varieties, set against a backdrop of redwood trees.  In 2010 the All-America Rose Selections named it "America's Best Rose Garden" based on beauty, creativity, and community involvement.

Link

Annie's painting of red rose

Lisha uses her umbrella to good advantage

Lisha's painting of white roses

Joe with many rose beds

Joe's painting of rose arbor

Iris's quick watercolor sketch of roses

 Iris's painting of roses

Lorraine's painting of roses

Jane S's painting of roses

Dick and Salinda share an umbrella

Salinda's painting of the main gate

Dick's painting of the main gate

Candy's painting of rose arbor

Candy's sketch of fountain and roses

John's painting of fountain and roses

Helen's painting of fountain and roses

Leslie's painting of rose arbor

Leslie's miniature sketch of Joy painting fountain

Joy's painting of fountain

Grace's ink and watercolor sketch of fountain

Marilyn's ink and watercolor sketch of rose beds

Nora's roses cut from her painting to make a greeting card

We are all very interested in what Nora is telling us