Happy Holidays Tree House !

... my dream of a holiday tree house in the forest ...

Wet and rainy Sunday afternoon, Dad and daughter painting time, new sliding door panels for laundry room storage

First a pencil sketch, then Sharpie black outlines and then color infill...

MORI - Forest or woods in Japanese

That is a sea otter in the water, catching fish for lunch...

Napa Highway 29 painted view of autumnal colors and vineyards

Napa Highway 29 postcard painted view of autumnal colors and vineyards

Thanksgiving day hand-drawn menu for 2015 event with turkey and more...

Thanksgiving menu was hand-drawn with colored chalk and crayons on brown wrapping paper and border accents of autumn maple leaves...

Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches assembled and served...

Exhibit of my illustrations at UC Berkeley Extension in San Francisco, on display until December 31st, 2015

extension.berkeley.edu/art)

France, the people of France, stay strong, stay safe, resist...

Gondola transit between Oakland and Alameda and more interesting speculations...

http://www.gensleron.com/fifty-on/2015/10/30/reimagining-the-san-francisco-bay-area.html

...a detail view of the gondola transit between Oakland and Alameda...

reimagining the Bay Area, test one link

Here is a test link to my new blog posting for Gensler 50on...

http://www.gensleron.com/fifty-on/2015/10/30/reimagining-the-san-francisco-bay-area.html

http://www.gensleron.com/fifty-on/2015/10/30/reimagining-the-san-francisco-bay-area.html

Pumpkin time again, Halloween approaches

More on the design and drawing of the Gensler Principals meeting banner

...testing of background colors for sky and water...

Meeting of the Gensler Principals in San Francisco 2015

...putting down the first steps for developing a banner to celebrate the moments of the meeting of the Gensler Principals in the city of San Francisco in September 2015...

selection of some iconic pieces, the bridges of the bay, the Tonga Room, a cable car, and Bimbos for a start...

Saturday morning ballet lessons ... First time ...

A first time for me.  My daughter took her first ballet lesson on a Saturday morning.  I tried to watch and capture some of the many scenes...

Degas was obsessed by the art of classical ballet, because to him it said something about the human condition. He was not a balletomane looking for an alternative world to escape into. Dance offered him a display in which he could find, after much searching, certain human secrets.

John Berger

People call me the painter of dancers, but I really wish to capture movement itself.

 (Edgar Degas)

Lunar Eclipse on September 27th, 2015

My painted view of the lunar eclipse...

A simple diagram to try to show the relationship of the sun, earth and the moon during the eclipse...

Lake Tahoe and the tiny sketchbook with a painted view from Rosie's Cafe

A 5 mile bike ride with the family up the side trail of the Truckee River and back to Rosie's cafe for lunch and some time for a quick sketch paint view from the outdoor deck of the restaurant...

Lake Tahoe and evergreen tree, painted view...

One of the views from the cabin deck looking out to Lake Tahoe, digital paint view, a combination of lines, filled outlines, color shapes...

Up in the area around the Lake Tahoe, an assortment of painted natural objects

Photo view of the painted explorations by the kids and adults on an afternoon by Lake Tahoe...

Campground, beaches, and the map hand drawn...

Along the northern coast of California, just a bit north from Fort Ross, here you can find Salt Point Park, Gerstle Cove, Stump Beach, wildlife refuge cove, and a set of trails along the rocky coast...

Dad and Daughter drawing times

We will probably end up drawing the world together on our future journeys around the world...She has an amber eye for detail and a knack for keen observation, and a responsive hand eye connection...

Stump Beach, Salt Point State Park, Northern California

ink brush and ink pen on sketchbook...a beautiful sandy cove with kelp plants, small caves, fallen trees, and warm sand...part of Salt Point State Park...

Salt Point State Park Camping at Gerstle Cove, tent sketch

Drawings from the past..

Doodling time on Saturday morning

A great way to finish breakfast with doodling placemats, challenge to draw an elf, a chameleon and an ostrich...

Dad and daughter sketching and drawing on a sunny Saturday morning...

Painted view from the hilltops of Brisbane looking east towards the Oakland hills and East Bay

 

 

 

 

...detail with Mount Diablo...

SKY CLOUDS FOG a painted and drawn view of Oakland and beyond to the Bay

The Tamalpais Path, Berkeley Hills

 

The Tamalpais Path

 

...the steps begin in the redwood-shaded corner of Berkeley's Codornices Park, you cross a wooden bridge over Codornices Creek. As you begin to ascend concrete steps, you pass by another bridge that leads to a residence.  You can continue to rise a total of 183 steep steps, through a wildish mini- canyon thick with ivy and blackberry bushes and a wild cherry tree under a canopy of bays, redwoods, and oaks...

 

 

 

 

 

At the top of the steps at 149 Tamalpais, stands an impressive residence from the early 20th century, three levels, clad in stucco plaster and redwood shingles...sketched view below...

 

The Dry State of California, 2014 - 2015 -?

After the rains last year in March of 2014, many of the state residents, farmers, landowners, felt a little more confident about the amount of moisture in the soil and the levels of water in the reservoirs.

 

But after this recent dry winter, with very few rainstorms, and spotty occasions of Sierra thunderstorms, the state of California is now back in the extreme mode of water conservation.

 

We need to save water, we must conserve.

 

Here are my paintings from last year...

Michael Kimmelman and Allison Arieff in a dialogue at SPUR Urban Center, San Francisco, CA

Kicking off the traditionally foggy month of June in San Francisco with a Visual Notes piece about the dialogue and coversation that was noted and illustrated at the SPUR Urban Center.  I have captured most of the topics and issues here, and only missed one item and the spelling of Zaatari, the instant refugee city in Syria... 

 

Koi pond in the courtyard of the Marriott hotel

 

 

"Interestingly, Koi, when put in a fish bowl, will only grow up to three inches. When this same fish is placed in a large tank, it will grow to about nine inches long. In a pond koi can reach lengths of eighteen inches. Amazingly, when placed in a lake, koi can grow to three feet long. The metaphor is obvious. You are limited by how you see the world."

- Vince Poscente

Plumeria, the flower of the isles of Hawaii

The first plumeria plant was introduced into Hawaii in 1860. It was delivered by Wilhelm Hillebrand, a German physician and botanist who lived in Hawaii from 1851 to 1871.

 

 

 

 

An interesting tidbit, Plumeria flowers are most fragrant at night to lure sphinx moths to pollinate them. The flowers have no nectar, however, and really trick their moth pollinators. The moths  pollinate them by transferring pollen from flower to flower in their fruitless search for nectar.