This is an abandoned charcoal oven. These overs are all over the west wherever gold was found and the people who made the charcoal were called “carbonari”. The ovens were made of various materials, including volcanic rocks. This one is made of metal. It was a cottage industry that families could earn a living with for a while because charcoal burns hotter than wood and was used to process ore that came out of the mines. The industry was eventually phased out by the discovery of coal, the shortage of timber and the cost of transportation of timber as the forests near the ovens were used up. After they were abandoned they were often used by stockmen, prospectors and even bank and stage robbers as shelter. Today they are still used by some campers who find shelter in them during an unpredictable storm in the Sierras.

These peachy flowers grow all over the cliffs in the Feather River Canyon in late April/early May. They grow in the most impossible spots and spill over the rocks. I just love that peachy color!

I started a new moly today and here is the first painting in it. I hope this qualifies for “Sanctuary” because it really is. The man who designed this garden has been doing so for over 30 years, and it is open to the public four days a week. He is now in his 80s and is still hosting the restaurant that is there. You can get an idea of the place if you google “Big Springs Garden, Sierra City, CA”. Last year I spent a lot of time there as a weed puller and planter with a volunteer group, but I admit, I spent more time looking at the scenery that I spent working. It was modeled after Monet’s Garden with his own touches in a different setting. I tried to find a happy medium here between some lines and just watercolor, but am not too thrilled with the heavy line under the bridge reflection. Oh well! Try again!
By the way, this Moly does not have the perforations as my last ones did, and I miss them. I guess if there’s anything I want to frame I will have to use a box cutter.

We need some other colors besides spring blues and greens, I think; so here is a barn in autumn which I did last autumn. What interested me most about this one was the tawny grass, the oak tree and the cloud shadows in the mountains. It was another perfect painting day (no bugs in autumn) and the colors were intense.

Table mountain near Oroville, in No. California. This is a huge volcanic mesa which is a carpet of wildflowers in March and April. Even though it looks flat from the bottom up, it really isn’t, and there are all sorts of creeks and waterfalls on it, as well as vernal pools. That’s a pool where, because of the solid volcanic ground, the water does not sink into the ground but dries from the outside in, and as it dries various flower species appear in the shape of the drying water. By the end of June they are usually completely dry and all is brown and dead again until next spring. I don’t think I’ve missed a single spring there so far because it’s so gorgeous.

My submission for “Sanctuary”. Not sure how much of a sanctuary this was in reality because the little guy fell out and I had to put him back before the cat got him. But I like the chubby little guy, and he must have survived because he came to see me for a few years after that every time I was out in the yard—at least I think it was him because he would come very close and chirp at me like he knew me (yes, I think other creatures do have memory).

Here is one that was done without any outlines at all, either pencil or pen. I just started right in with watercolor and then decided not to add pen lines just to remind myself that clear outlines are not always necessary even if I feel more comfortable with them. This is another view of Mount Lassen.

This one was a mistake because I should have left the background mountains alone instead of outlining them. But I guess that’s what sketchbooks are for—to make lots of mistakes. One of these days I will re-do this and see what happens without the background outlines. I think I’ll like it much better.

This is a waterfall in the Feather River Canyon, and there is a railroad track that goes right over it. See the tiny human figure on one of the rocks? That will give you some idea of how large those boulders are.

Hey, I’m on a roll. I sat on a mountaintop to paint this while my dog rolled in some horse doo-doo. So when I was done we had to go down to the creek to give her a bath. I sure wasn’t going to drive all the way home with that smell! It was a GORGEOUS day!