Summer Travel Journal

As an artist and photographer I never go anyplace without my camera. My summer travel journal helps keep my reference photos organized for future paintings.

I took this photo at Lake Eaton Campgrounds just north of Long Lake. It is a NYS DEC campground with waterfront tent and trailer sites. It offers canoeing, row boating and kayaking. There are no motor boats allowed.

Lake Eaton is on Route 30 south of Tupper Lake in the Adirondacks.

For more information go to http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24464.html

There are many great places to travel across the United States that are off the beaten path that convert into beautiful paintings. I would like to share some of my favorite photographs with you which have later translated into a painting or are on my to-do list.

All photos and paintings are my work. I only ask that you respect my copyright on all of these.

The northern Adirondacks of New York offer some beautiful scenery for the avid artist and photographer.

Here is peaceful lake front on Higley Flow just off State Highway 56 in Colton, New York. Higley Flow State Park is about 2 miles south of where this was taken and offers great camping facilities. You can get more information about Higley Flow State Park here.

My painting from the reference photo was done in acrylics on a 15 x 30 inch stretched canvas.

The Raquette River, which Higley Flow is a part of, starts at Raquette Lake in the central Adirondacks and flows north through Tupper Lake, Colton and into the St. Lawrence River at Massena, New York..

If you are into trail hiking, there is a wonderful one called the Stone Valley Trail that goes along either side of the Raquette River in the Hamlet of Colton.

As usual, I couldn't resist painting the trail one early summer day.

Each trail is about 3 miles one way.

The trail on the east side, which is the one I painted, is more rugged than the one on the west side. Either way they are very picturesque and well worth the time to see.

Both of these paintings are available on Fine Art America.

If you look toward the river when hiking the trail, you may see Kayakers running the rapids of the Raquette River. There are multiple runs scheduled during the summer months including an international competition.

You can find out more about scheduled events at the Town of Colton website.

The fun of the northern Adirondacks is that you can explore many back roads and come across interesting settings just waiting to be painted.

Here I came across a young boy fishing in a creek that runs into the Raquette River. I took three different photos and pieced them together to get the composition I wanted for a painting.

With traveling, you can't always plan the time of year when you come across something that catches your eye, so having the freedom to alter photographs really helps.

It also helps to always take several pictures of the same scene but at different angle. You never know when you start to think about the composition of the painting what will work.

I actually flipped the photo of the boy horizontally so he would be on the opposite bank.

While visiting my sister near Greenville, South Carolina, I was taken to the SC Botanical Gardens next to Clemson University. It is a few miles from the Clemson exit off I-85.

If you are into florals and colorful landscapes, the botanical gardens are definitely a place to visit. You'll find information about the SC Botanical Gardens here.

This was just one of the photographs I took while there which I have been working on painting using Corel Painter. I have a lot of allergies to paints so I have totally switched to digital painting. I use all my traditional techniques with my breathing being affected.

As I've progressed in using digital programs, I hope to do plein air painting using my computer rather than having to carry so many art supplies and water to a painting session.

This panorama was originally a video I took in northwest Tucson, Arizona. I started at the Tortolita Mountains on the left, past the Catalina Mountains and over to the Rincons just to the right of the Catalinas.

I selected the first, middle and last frames of the video and converted them into this panoramic view.

In the finished painting I used acrylics on a stretched canvas. I focused on the mountains by bringing them forward, but I had to compress them. Otherwise, the painting would have been 10 feet long. As it is, the original is 4 feet long by 2 feet high.

I felt the sky was just as important as the mountains, so I took advantage of it's magnificence and reflected the colors into water that trickles through the Santa Cruz River behind my house.

This is a place I have always wanted to go, but since my husband passed away, I don't go sightseeing very much any more.

My son and his young family have been doing a great deal of of traveling to new place and he has sent me some great reference photos.

I did this painting from one of those photos. I made a few modifications such as the bridge. It really only has one arch and another smaller opening. I just preferred the two arches. If I hadn't told you, you probably would never have known.

I also took a great deal of liberty with the trees, but that is why I'm a painter rather than a photographer.

While visiting San Diego we took a side trip to Cabrillo National Monument.

If you are into hiking, birding, visiting an old lighthouse, exploring a tidal pool, whale watching, photography and many other indoor and outdoor activities, this is a place to go.

Double Click Right to Zoom out. Double click Left to Zoom In.

It is located on the southern portion of the Point Loma peninsula and is surround by the Pacific Ocean on one side, San Diego Bay on the other.

You can find out more about Cabrillo National Monument here.

According to the information on their site, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse was one of the first lighthouses on the West Coast and could be seen 39 miles out to sea.

They later build new one because the old one frequently got blocked by fog because of being so high up on the hill.

The old one has been restored and is open to visitors. You can go up to the top using an ornate spiral staircase.

I don't know about you, but I love lighthouses, especially those along the New England coast.

A friend of mine gave me several photos of lighthouses she saw on her trip along the coast. I had just taken a photo of a stormy sky while in Arizona, and I felt the two photos just belonged together.

This was the resulting painting.

Lighthouse with a Stormy Sky

Some people only like to travel in their own country while others like to visit many countries. I'd love to know which you prefer and some special place you have been that you think other people would really enjoy. If there is someplace you would not recommend, you might also mention that and the reason why.

Which do You Prefer?