Mount Bennett

 Almost exactly two years ago I wrote a short paragraph about this painting that I had started in the fall before and then put away because I wasn't happy with it and didn't know how to proceed. By then I had found it again and realized that it looks like Mount Bennett that I can see from my bedroom window. It is also rather typical what many areas in Sonoma County look like. Mount Bennett sits at the heart of Annadel State Park where I often hike.

This is an image of Mount Bennett that I took in February 2023, seen from one of the streets in my neighborhood. It is very rare that we see snow on it.

So last year I finally worked on the painting again and was eventually able to finish it in a way that I actually liked it. I added a few things that represent the county I call home.

Here are a few details.

Sonoma County is home to about 75 mountain lions and I often see their scat when I hike in Annadel. Of course I had to include one in this painting. The quails in the lower right corner are on a wine bottle foil. California Quails are our state bird and of course Sonoma County is in Wine Country. The texture I achieved by glueing down tissue paper and then going over it with a copper oil pastel.

Another wine bottle foil and some lichen I found on one of my hikes. Almost all our older trees have some lichen on their branches. The white area is supposed to be our low morning coastal fog. The orange dots you can see represent California poppies.

This wine bottle foil represents our native oaks. California has several native oaks including the majestic Coast Live Oak which is evergreen, Blue Oak and Valley Oak. And of course I had to include birds. Maybe they're Turkey Vultures, our clean up crew.

After this I started a big canvas with a similar theme, representing Sonoma County, but this time I'm adding photos and more items from nature. I'm still working on that "elephant", but if I ever finish it, you will get to see it. Today it's only the smaller version.

I'm sharing with Nicole's Sunday in the Art Room.