Spring...

...perhaps the very best time of year to visit the California desert--though I'm learning to appreciate every season in the Mojave, spring just has such lovely weather.  Our visit was during "spring break", and of course we weren't the only ones who chose that time to travel, especially into Joshua Tree National Park.

I'm lucky to have lots of passenger

sketching time in this expansive landscape...

...and driving through the Park...

Lots of time spent drawing in the Park on this visit--

I never get tired of these rocks!

Hidden Valley has become a favorite spot...a surprisingly lush mix of high desert plants and trees...and loads of rock climbers on those rocks.

 ...a view here of the outskirts of Twentynine Palms...a quiet life except for the sound of distant blasts coming from the Marine Base and a few errant off-road bikes!

   Then time to head back to the city...

...through small desert towns and the Morongo Valley...and back on Highway 10 and home.

Urban Trees

...are certainly a favorite subject...on the streets, in parking lots, or in city gardens...

A grand old eucalyptus in Highland Park that survived the windstorm a little over a year ago...

Some time after the storm, a giant oak tree that used to greet visitors  near the entrance of Huntington Gardens had to be pulled up by massive roots due to storm damage--I just happened to be there that day and had to get a quick sketch of an old friend...

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A pair of parkway trees in Montrose seen in fall, and later on in winter......and some views in the same neighborhood in summer and fall...

 Tall palms at the LA Arboretum...and on the street in Glendale...

A picnic at Griffith Park...

Gingkos just about to lose their golden leaves at Descanso Gardens...

Driving to the desert...and back to the city

The terrain as well as state of mind
begin to change as we leave the city,
and enter the relative tranquility of the desert in winter...

Heading east on Highway 10...

 and further east...

 ...and then we reach the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park...













I never get tired of drawing
monumental rocks in Joshua Tree National Park...

 Leaving for home, back to the city...

 Highway 62 through Morongo Valley...

And heading home...

Drawing on the road...

...high speed (passenger) sketching continues to be something I do at every opportunity--on road trips or in and around Los Angeles.  Catching impressions of a moving landscape is an exhilarating challenge--practice in taking a mental snapshot, and sketching it as quickly as possible!

 ...through the San Gabriel Valley...

Driving into the foothills above Los Angeles...

 ...driving into downtown LA midweek...

 uphill...

 and downhill...

a fall drive to Ventura...

and back up into the foothills again...