Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Enchanted

This is a bit of Hahamongna Watershed Park - one of my favorite parts.  Hahamongna seems to me a slightly magical place that has been relatively untouched by time - but not without enormous effort and struggle.  In our modern world, entropy often leans toward progress.

If you leave the frisbee golf course, and walk out onto the big sand flats and south toward the damn, you'll likely walk through this spot.  A few eucalyptus trees left behind by who knows, past oaks and amid true natives.  It's like a gateway.  I lured my fellow painter out to this spot so I could paint in safety.

I was quite pleased with this painting when I did it, and I still like it, but it's starting to look a little busy to me.    Like I keep telling myself, simpler is better.  I'm mostly convinced of it.

I'm not mad for my last post.  But it's better I think than me writing to the editor of the L. A. Times.

11 comments:

  1. I agree, this is truly a magical painting. I love the composition and wonderful colors. I actually like the detail. Lovely landscape, Barbara.

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  2. I really like this piece, and I'm thinking I should have tried the view you painted. Hope you've written some letters to the L.A. Times editor.

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    1. No letters to the Times, Sherry. One to the review.

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  3. One of your best, I feel the busy shapes are making it mysterious and enchanted.

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  4. What a lovely painting, so many gorgeous greens , and the Eucalypto trees are very well rendered! You are right there is a kind of magic about the place.

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  5. So you "could paint in safety." Is HahaMongna known to be unsafe?

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    1. Not that I know of. I just think it's never a good idea to wander off someplace by yourself and then not be fully alert to your surroundings. Which is probably an extremely overcautious old-fashioned and pre-smartphone point of view.

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  6. Fantastic selection of greens, great job Barbara. Ciao!

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  7. if i understand your location - there are a couple of people living in the thicket. Did you come across the dome made from twig? But yes, about the fight. I've been one of the warriors including a meeting I attended Monday night. We discussed the virtues of compost toilets

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    1. I didn't notice or don't remember any twig dwellings. The brush was pretty tall and I couldn't see around much. I'm very grateful for nature-loving activists, and I like to think I would be one if not for my oppressive work schedule.

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  8. LOVE this - it looks so magical - i would like to see this area in person

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