Yosemite

I've just returned from a week in Yosemite National Park. Sorry no paintings just yet, but I just have to share a few photos with you.

Such an amazing place! I think I have enough ideas for paintings to last me years! The scale of Yosemite Valley is like nothing I had ever seen before. 3000 feet of rock coming straight out of the flat valley floor. The relative narrowness of the valley creates the sense you are in some sort of grand beautiful cathedral in which it is obvious how very small you are compared to the greatness of God.

The great granite cliffs are like huge canvases for light effects. As the sun sets, the colors of the cliffs change every few minutes. Each cloud that passes creates effects like spotlights across the landscape. The whole valley is like a continuous visual drama unfolding. I can only image how Yosemite must change from season to season. I can see why the photographer Ansel Adams was amazed with the Yosemite light.

We camped in the park for five days and did the most amazing hikes all over the park. We experienced the ancient giant Sequoias, the granite domes at Tuolumne Meadows, we climbed above the waterfalls, and took in countless viewpoints with plenty of air under our feet. And we still barely scratched the surface of this amazing place.