Reno Portrait Society and Quaking Aspens

Russ / Oil on prepared artboard, 20x16

Work in progress

Russ was quite taken with his portrait and I received an email from his wife Toni a few days after I painted this. She has taken it home to give it a trial run before deciding whether or not to purchase it for him.

In the meantime, my husband and I drove up to the Lake Tahoe area hoping to see the aspen trees in their full Fall glory. We were not disappointed:

Even though the days are still warm, our nights are quite chilly now - definitely time to bring forth warm sweaters and jackets! I just love this time of year

New Year's Eve at Lake Tahoe

Squaw Valley Resort - home of the 1960 Winter Olympics

No lines at the ski lift!

Hot chocolate by the roaring outdoor fireplace.

Icicles at least 3 feet long!

Large boats on Lake Tahoe shrink wrapped for the winter.

View from Mount Rose over Lake Tahoe looking south.

Sunset over the lake. It was not quite frozen but the water was stiff with the cold. It was 23 degrees F when I took this photo.

It was such a glorious day - cold and crisp and exhilarating! The final view (I could not get a photo) on the drive home from the summit (9000 feet) of Mount Rose was of the city of Reno carpeted in snow from end to end - breathtaking. The entire day was a feast for the eyes and a banquet for the soul - a lovely way to wrap up 2012.

I normally do not make resolutions for the new year but I do hope to be more rigorous in my approach to painting this year - more disciplined. I hope to begin the year with life drawing sessions and long days at the easel. I can't wait to see what surprises and delights 2013 holds! A happy, prosperous, healthy and creative New Year is wished for all!

Reno and Lake Tahoe, Nevada

Just back from a trip to Reno -my first time there and I fell in love! What magnificent weather, inspiring scenery, friendly people and snow capped mountains in June. Very inspiring! The photos of the snow capped Sierras were taken from the airplane window at about 20,000 feet with my Sony 10 megapixel digital camera! I adjusted them a tiny bit in PhotoShop for contrast.