This past weekend, I spent some time at the Earthday Festival in Santa Barbara. Lots of good information, food and music. A beautiful day to listen to live music and make watercolor sketches of the unsuspecting audience.
Author: adrianeisenhower
Landscapes and other
Here are a few watercolor sketches and drawings done of recent, mostly from hiking in the Los Padres Wilderness Area and from Yosemite.
Merci Merced
Had another few beautiful days outside, this time camping and kayaking on the Merced River with my dear friends, Jeff and Ariyele.
I drove into Yosemite park to take in the crown jewel of the High Sierras once more. It does not take much to get away from the hoards of people and by hiking out to Mirror Lake, I was pretty much alone.
Named Mirror Lake for a reason.
The following day, I met up with J and A and together we hiked out to Tuolumne Meadows to see the giant Sequoias.
The upended root system of one Sequoia.
This does not adequately show the girth of these mammoth trees. They are from of an age of giants.
Soon it was time to get on the water. Jeff sitting by a quiet section of the Merced.
Into the breach once more! For the next two days, J and I paddled an 11 mile stretch of the Merced, shuttling back to our campsite in the afternoons.
Meanwhile, Airyele wrote, explored and made some amazing meals.
Before leaving, we hiked a few miles along the south fork of the Merced. The wildflowers are out this time of year in all variants of color and are quite spectacular. The last moments spent with such great friends were, of course, bitter sweet.
Los Padres Wilderness Area
I just came off a five day backpacking trip with students from the sophomore class at Dunn. We hiked a 25 mile loop through some beautiful terrain, all in our back yard. A great time was had with some great people. Below are some of the sights that we came upon.
Day 1: Group photo as we begin our trip
One of the faculty instructors, Christy, on trail with the rest of the group.
The group in the lower left corner, under the tree, toward the end of day 1. I believe Zach, our trip leader, is giving a talk on how to poop in the woods.
Zach, on the right, talking foot care with one of the students.
Day 2: Hiking by some of the beautiful wildflowers we encountered along our way.
Once we gained the ridge near Hurricane Deck we had some impressive views.
Christy and Elena pointing out where we had come from.
Alex trying to figure out what direct to go next.
Descending into a heavily overgrown trail.
Day 3: Waking up at White Ledge campground.
The scenery around White Ledge.
Morning light cutting through fields of wheat grass.
Here I am at a lunch break. Photo by Christy.
PhiPhi and Chris by a pool, toward the end of day 3.
Day 4: Zach with the remains of a snake found along the trail.
The entire sophomore class gathered at Nira Camp for a debrief and burrito blowout.
Day 5: Team Hashtag after coming together over an eventful few days. The trip was all too brief and our special group dynamic will be missed.
Grisaille
A recent grisaille value study.
Elsie’s in Santa Barbara.
Harrison Reade playing at SoHO.
A child playing with an Ipad at an Apple Store.
Woman in a wheelchair.
Profile of woman in a wheelchair.
An imagined person.
Treetops.
A windy day.
Figure with tree.
Matt Yaki on the guitar.
Class Critique
Our darkroom class has recently been working on a photojournalism project. Here are some of the results. I am proud and impressed with what they have done. The images below are by Chase Sater.
Birds and other
Down by the pier in Santa Barbara
Herakles at the Santa Barbara Museum of Fine Art
After Max Beckman
View from Taylor’s house
Alice
Salome Orchestra
The Dunn School hosted the Salome Orchestra last night at a local Episcopal Church. It was a privilege to see and hear this acclaimed orchestra in such an intimate setting. I sat in the front pew and made these sketches of the lead Viola player, David Carpenter. He seemed to embody the music that he played, nearly dancing as he performed. Before I had time to make a notation of where he had been, he had glided somewhere else on the stage.
Adrian Eisenhower 