What you didn't see in Nevada

Who wadda thot?

Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make you a far happier and more productive person. -David M. Burns

Out for another late afternoon bike ride ... I knew someone who rode her bike to school every day... up and down a steep hill .... not sure I can do that good but I'm workin' at it.

Today's shots are a few things that you normally would not see in Nevada if you were a visitor ... and you might not think of Nevada like this if you were never here and just heard of Nevada on the tube or from someone talking..... Some think of Nevada as a place where Las Vegas is, not realizing it is about 450 miles  by 250 miles wide +/- and is a lot more than LV ... it's not all barren waste land either We have lots of ranches, fields, crops and flowers ... birds love us.. animals love us... see for yourself ... and as time goes by I will post additional gorgeous shots of Nevada

Biker's Dream

Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree
Well we have to think great thoughts like that when we head down the highway on the bike .... the weather has been great! .... sky is clear.. temperature just right .... mountains standing tall, heads held high ... it's good to get outside . I love living in the country at the foot of the High Sierras

Here are a few shots from today's ride .... I rode yesterday too just in case you are wondering.

A ride in the country side... notice the heavy traffic :-)

Colors are starting to turn up .... Fall will be here soon

Thought you might like the reflections

Lots of fields, horses and cattle

Someone's long driveway... but not mine :-)

Tripping out

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is more important than the outcome.... a good thing to keep in mind in order to get the proper perspective on life.

So we left on a journey .... not as early as anticipated but ok. ... made 3 stops for fuel and a short delay for repairs and still made good time ... the mp service says it was about 520 miles and should take just over 9 hours .... We arrived in Gardnerville at 8pm even with the 3 stops and the delay for repairs... I think that is OK.

Following you will find a few pictures I snapped along the way...... this was from the drivers side not the passenger side as some may think ... heh heh .... I was careful, generally there was no other traffic or we had a divided highway

Finally we get to the high desert in the Victorville area... warm, sunny and dry ... ahhhh ... I love it ..... after all those days on the coast with it's fog, overcast skies and gray ..... to get here we had to travel thru the Riverside-San Bernardino area, one of the worst smog area's of California... I did not know they still had that much smog...UGH

Traveling along the Eastern side of the High Sierras is one of the most magnificent journies in the USA ... I love it ... so many times I have wanted to stop and paint instead of rushing back to do the pile of paperwork waiting .... I'm still hoping for a painting trip

... and here is the Death Valley turn off .... Baron and I took that trip last year... I want to do it again

some of the most beautiful parts of the trip are included in the reservation areas

Most of the Eastern Slopes have trees, sage or grass... but there is an occasional sand pile adding to the beauty of it all

the sun is now beginning to dip into the Western skies ... this will give us some dramatic shadows and sparkling clouds

Now heading into the pass which is over 7000 ft .... the trip takes us over several high passes

I had to show you this one... notice the snow still lingering after the entire summer..... this is good... we needed the water

 

Finally the sun sets over the High Sierras and another lovely day closes only to expose a star studded night that can only be seen in the darkness of the high country on the Eastern slopes of the High Sierras ..... a beautiful day, a beautiful night... a great trip

I am thankful for it all

Those wonderful friends

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." -- Bernard Meltzer

Heh heh ... thanks everyone !

And a big thanks to Sissy for giving me her personally sculptured head!!! I love it!.... and I made it safely back to Nevada with it placed snugly between 2 pillows and even tho my truck was overloaded and jammed full.
Check it out... isn't it great!

Lunch with the gang

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.  ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book


One of those small pleasures which was a BIG delight was our Wednesday lunch with our friends ... the semester is over ... the students have gone everywhere for a break.... Wednesday lunch is now stored as a fond and forever memory .... best to you all.

Laguna Beach

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly.  You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.  ~Roald Dahl




Today I went to Laguna beach ... this is an artist mecca.... I think it all started when Laguna was small and no one wanted to come here... now it is a very upscale neighborhood where you probably can not afford to live... there are lots of art galleries with fine paintings, tho ..... and there really is a beach which, of course, I visited.


It was a very good 1/2 day venture.

Painting and filming an ol' geezer

They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world. Someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for. -Tom Bodett

Thanks, Tom ..... we'll keep the light on for you

Well, we always keep trying to have more exciting things to do.... today it was posing for Jeff Watts while he painted a gesture painting... actually 2 gesture paintings .... all the while it was being filmed for his new instructional DVD ... ok, now I'm in the movies.. well, sorta :-)
It was fun and I was happy to help him.

If not today, then when ?

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. -Wayne Gretzky

So, what are we waiting for? ... let's get out there and take some shots!!!

It's sooooo nice to get to the beach .... here's a couple of my impressions painted today

Oil on canvas pad about 6x8

It's the only time we have

Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got. -Art Buchwald
and.......
you'll be as happy as you want to be
so go for it big time

To day was the last day of the portrait class ..... most of the time I watched Jeff Watts paint and took pictures of the process
in the short time remaining after that I painted this quick sketch

monochrome oil on canvas board 9x12

They're at it again

If you're gonna be a failure, at least be one at something you enjoy. -Sylvester Stallone
but from the looks of the fotos below these folks are succeeding at something they enjoy ....
Throw your whole heart into something you enjoy and that alone will keep you form failing ..... do something you really enjoy tomorrow


With an overwhelming and enthusiastic majority vote they insisted that I return and model for the drawing class Friday morning..... we all had a great time ... it was good to be with my friends for the final day of this class for the Summer semester.

The Ol' geezer still models in good form :-)

Demo Drawing by the instructor, Meadow Gist

Looking at the class from the model's point of view

Marie draws Maurice

Christine draws Maurice

All the great artist students draw Maurice... but we only show a few below

Wavering thoughts

How to double a joy? .... share it with someone...... I wonder if you can triple it..or even greater multiples?   give it a try today.

I wish you all the joy that you can wish - William Shakespear

I was at the beach studying waves ..... sure...........

Oil on canvas pad  4x6

Liking what you do

It is not in doing what you like, but in liking what you do that is the secret of happiness.
-- James M. Barrie

 

Find something you like in all that you do today... it will make a big difference

 Oil on canvas pad 8x10

Think Happy Thoughts

Think Happy Thoughts

Happy thoughts are part of our lives. In an average day it is estimated that we have around 60,000 thoughts. Have you ever wondered how many of these thoughts are happy thoughts?

It is known that happy people think more happy thoughts than unhappy people. If we think happy thoughts... we create happy perceptions... we create a beautiful aura of light around ourselves... which leads us to happy events. And so we create a exciting circle (where we become even happier).

Happy thoughts connect us with the light, confidence and courage to act... to the power to believe. To live our lives according to our hopes and dreams not somebody else´s. - Laura

Make this a happy day.

Monochromatic oil on gessoed Masonite 8x10

It's up to you

It's up to you .... "Write in your heart that every day is the best day of the year. " -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Imagine if you were very busy but in spite of it all you "popped" out of the house and ran down to the beach for a couple hours :-)
It could happen ........  IT DID HAPPEN!
Take a little time off and smile

Enjoy this day

Enjoy your life today... yesterday is gone .... tomorrow will be here soon enough .... look for the good in whatever happens ..... even if
it is an electrical blackout for 1.5 million people for most of the day :-)

We all gathered outside and enjoyed a great social event with the neighbor's .... after dark we continued sitting around and talked in the dark for a while... later made some phone calls ... finally hit the sack early

Maybe there should be an occasional electrical blackout just to slow things down a bit and promote old fashioned social events

Still painting ... still smiling

Oil on canvas board 8x10

It was a good day today

It was a good day today ... did you miss it?

Attended a couple classes today then went out with the boys for sushi .... it was happy hour ... we had a good time ... they went on to the evening class ... I came on home

Hope your day went well ... make it happen tomorrow!

Oil on canvas panel - 9x12

Visit to Torry Pines State Park

Quote of the day:

Rogers: Sure... Be skeptical... Be curious... Don't believe anything you read until you've done your own research, your own thinking. This idea is responsible for some of my biggest successes.

Be persistent. The people who are successful are not the smartest or the most gifted or the most talented... The people who are successful are the ones who are persistent, persevere, and follow their own passions.

And as I told my daughters, beware of the boys.
:-)

 This is from yesterday's visit to Torry Pines State Park..... by request of one of my blog followers ........

Ya'll have a good day!