Our neighborhood near Monterey is a dichotomy. New homes are being built right next to old army barracks and buildings, remnants of the decommissioned Fort Ord. Many buildings from WWII era and earlier stand across the street from brand new homes, shopping centers, and restaurants. The University of Monterey Bay has built a brand new campus on the site of these old structures.
Since we moved here 2 years ago, I have always wanted to drone some of the old barracks of Ft Ord before they disappear. The buildings are gradually being torn down to make way for the new. Occasionally one will burn down, presumably from a homeless fire, and they just let it go as it will be eventually torn down anyway.
Enjoy this short video visiting these old buildings before they are gone…
(Be sure to turn the volume up and go full screen!)
Flattered that my painting, Misty Merced, is being used in advertising the upcoming Yosemite Renaissance show.
Also, some of the exhibit dates have firmed up as follows–
Yosemite Gateway Art Center – March 18 through May 29, 2022 Kings Art Center, Hanford – June 25th through July 30th, 2022 Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock – August 9th through October 1st, 2022 Yosemite Museum Gallery, Yosemite National Park – TBA – We look forward to returning to the Yosemite Museum in Oct. 2022! Circle Gallery, Madera County Arts Council – TBA
I am honored to be in the Yosemite Renaissance 37 juried art event this year. Misty Merced, 24×12, oil on canvas, one of my ‘Vertical Water’ paintings was accepted into the show.
Opening is at the Yosemite Gateway Art Center in Oakhurst on Friday, March 18th, with an opening reception from 5:00 to 8:00 PM. I am not sure if I will attend. The show will travel on to Kings Art Center in Hanford, Carnegie Arts Center in Turlock, the Yosemite Museum in Yosemite Valley in October, and Madera County Arts Council Circle Gallery in January 2023. Specific dates will be announced as they are finalized.
Several day’s ago I published a new painting of the sunset over Marina State Beach you can read here. Several day’s ago, I also flew my drone over the general area around sunset. The prior weblog had more about the dunes I won’t reiterate here.
Enjoy this short video of the sunset over Monterey Bay, California from the eye of a drone. Be sure to go full screen and turn on the volume!
The large wall of dunes stretches for over 13 miles on the southeastern side of Monterey Bay. They are the highest found on the Central Coast, and provide a habitat for birds and animals rarely seen elsewhere, like a living fabric interwoven with a diversity of strands of life. This strip of land is steadily changing from wind and wave forces but provides a barrier for the inland areas.
Right in the middle, the dunes divide to Marina State Beach with an easily accessible sandy beach and steady winds that make it a popular place for kite flying and para gliding. Year ’round you’re likely to see dolphins playing in the waves, plus sail and fishing boats from Monterey and Moss Landing. Sunsets at Marina State Beach are a daily community event, bringing out locals and visitors alike.
Although we now live close to the dunes, the study for this painting was a photo I took some years back during one of my participations in the Carmel Art Festival.
A couple years ago I did a small painting of this, but wanted to do a larger one. Enjoy this new painting from the Neff Studio.
Only a couple days left in my annual magnificent miniatures sale! I have sold quite a few, but there are some gems left. Don’t wait. The sale ends Jan 31!
If you are looking for a great keepsake for the new year, this is the biggest discount I ever sell my paintings, some up to 70% off. Price is for framed or unframed original as shown. Shipping is free in the continental US. I don’t have a sophisticated sales system, so just email me at donald@donaldneff.com if interested in a painting. I can take credit card or check.
From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.
“Cascade Creek”, 24×18, acrylic on board
Today’s virus diversion from the “isitudiyo esiseduze netheku” is another acrylic from the way-back-machine. I painted this during my acrylic era in the early 2000’s.
Cascade Creek flows out of the Yosemite high country, then cascades over cataracts and waterfalls into the Merced River Valley and joins the Merced River. This scene is right by Hwy 140, the central entrance to the valley.
What a spectacular display of mother nature! One of the most amazing natural occurrences is coming up this February in Yosemite National Park. I have been fortunate to have seen it twice. There are thousands of pictures of the firefall on the internet, but I have never seen a painting of it. So, fresh off the easel at the Neff Studio...I painted one…
Firefall! , 16×20, oil on canvas
Fire is difficult to paint, and half the reason I painted this is to try my hand at it. Although it isn’t actual fire, it looks like fiery lava pouring over the side of a cliff. Here’s a little backstory—
During my adolescent years growing up in Pasadena, CA, we used to make trips to Yosemite National Park, camping in both the valley and the high country. I remember well, while camping in the valley we would shuffle out in the valley to the middle of a meadow to watch the Firefall. It used to be called the parks most famous spectacle where each evening during the summer months, a huge bonfire was built high above the valley at the edge of Glacier Point. At 9pm the glowing coals were pushed over the edge creating a luminous glittering waterfall of fire tumbling some 3200 feet. Here is a picture I gleaned off the internet —
In 1968 due to a variety of reasons, the Firefall was discontinued.
However, today, there is an even more wondrous and totally natural Firefall. Each year for a week or two in February the setting sun beams up the valley and illuminates Horsetail Falls, and when conditions are perfect, it glows orange and red for a brief time. It’s hit and miss because the sky must be relatively clear, and there has to be enough flowing water in the falls. I have been fortunate to see it twice while attending the Yosemite Renassaince opening art reception where my paintings have been shown in the Yosemite Museum.
Of course, I have seen many pictures of it over the years, and always thought the photos had to be enhanced or touched up. Not so. The falls glow a bright yellow/red/orange for about 10 minutes. It was like someone hung a giant glow stick over the edge of the cliff.
The last year I saw it in 2019, many have said was one of the best. Due to the heavy snow in Yosemite Valley, we had to work for it a bit more by having to walk over a mile to the best vantage point…but well worth it. The recent snows added another dimension, and when the wind blew the icy crystals off the shoulder of El Capitan, the entire cliff lit up as if fire in the bowels of the earth emerged. This is the event I based the painting on. As usual, I might touch the painting up a bit.
From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.
“Shinkoji Nakaniwa”, 18×24 , oil on canvas. Sixth in the Japan studio series.
From the “stiwdio ger y bae”, this Buddhist Temple Courtyard overlooks the Japanese town of Maniwa and is just a few minutes walk from where my son used to live. Those who have traveled Japan know Buddhist Temples are found everywhere, and many are situated near Japan’s most beautiful locations.
On the left is the temple gate, and in the middle is the temple bell. On the right are some outbuildings and a pagoda like sculpture. A number of red banners (I think they are called Nobori) were hung around the courtyard, but I don’t know their significance.
From April 2020, for a year, I posted on Facebook a painting each day as a brief diversion from the lockdowns and other bad news this year. Neglecting my weblog, I’ll post in the coming days some of my better posts. Some of these paintings are still available.
“Mt Moran Study”, 9×12, oil on panel, plein air
Pain. I was in a lot of pain. So much lower back pain, I almost cancelled my trip. But, I went anyway as it was once in an artists lifetime experience.
May of 2004, Jim Wilcox, one of the premier western landscape artists in the US was conducting a weeklong “Masters Plein Air Workshop” at his gallery and studio in Jackson Wyoming. It was for a select few advanced artists, and you had to be juried in to attend. I didn’t want to miss it. What better way to spend a week in Grand Teton National Park studying and painting under a master artist’s tutelage. I decided to go and tough it out.
It was a wonderful week, but my lower back was killing me most of the time. We painted all over the Tetons in all kinds of weather…sunny, rainy, sleet, and a little snow. One day when it was raining too hard to paint outside, we set up in Jim’s studio and painted there.
From the “studio nära viken”, here is one plein air study I did of Mt Moran in the Teton mountain range. It always reminds me of a glorious, but painful week.
