{"id":8268,"date":"2026-05-04T13:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T20:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.donaldneff.com\/blog\/?p=8268"},"modified":"2026-05-04T15:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T22:05:09","slug":"thuban-rock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.donaldneff.com\/blog\/thuban-rock\/","title":{"rendered":"Thuban Rock"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tor House <\/a>in Carmel-by-the-Sea,<\/a> California, is a historic stone home built by poet Robinson Jeffers<\/a> and his wife Una beginning in 1919 on a windswept promontory at Carmel Point. Using granite boulders hauled from the nearby shore, Jeffers, working as an apprentice stonemason constructed the original cottage, completed around 1924, and later Hawk Tower, a Celtic-inspired structure overlooking the Pacific. Named for the craggy “tor” (knoll) on which it stands, the house served as both a family refuge and the place where Jeffers composed nearly all his major poetic works, inspired by the rugged coastal landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yesterday (Sunday) I was invited, along with three other Monterey Bay Plein Air Artist<\/a> members to paint while the Tor House Foundation<\/a> held a garden party.  Although having driven by the Tor House many times but never been inside, it was quite a treat to participate in the event!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a few pictures of the Tor House…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We arrived a little before the party started, and after looking over all the property, we all settled in a spot to paint.  Some of my fellow artists painting…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I am mostly a scenery type artist, but also wanted to include a bit of the old stone buildings, so picked a spot out of the way showing just the edge of the house and a large boulder. It also had a view of the Pacific Ocean with Point Lobos in the far background…perfect!  A few shots of me painting. (Some photos complimentary of Jackie Bleisch.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The party was well attended and quite lively with bagpipes, chamber orchestra, and other delights! Click on the videos to enjoy the music…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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