This past week was the Autumnal Equinox, so according to the calendar, it is Fall. And Fall is when Lake Tahoe is at its clearest. I am not exactly sure why this is, but my best guess is that all the run off from last year's snowfall has, by now, dribbled down to nothing. Therefore not much in the way of sediment gets into the lake this time of year to cloud the lake's crystal clear water. Don't misunderstand, the lake is always very very clean, pristine, and clear, but it is just a bit more this time of year. This is also a very peaceful time of year on the lake as not many people are out on the lake. It is a perfect time to photograph, sketch and paint from my kayak. Today I deliver two paintings to Spirit Gallery, in Truckee, CA that were painted with inspiration from these magnificent days on the lake: Split Above & Below and Caught Again.

All Summer the farmers' markets have been filled with ripe, juicy fruits and veggies...perfect subjects for paintings! I just completed and shipped to Colorado, Andrea's Peach, which is pictured here. I am now finishing Three Lemons, for customers in Truckee, so they may hang it with Two Times Three and Two more Green Apples, all shown here. More of my produce paintings can be seen at Spirit Gallery in Truckee, CA.

Fall fruits and vegetables are beginning to show up in the markets. The local produce guy thinks I am a nut because I linger over his bins, arranging produce into compositions before selecting the items I will buy, take to my studio, and set up as subject matter for a new painting. So here I go with luscious red pairs and curvaceous figs....

Those of you who live in the mountains are seeing green cones ripening on the pine trees and the needles are beginning to turn a warm, golden shade. My favorite, for cones, is the Sugar Pine tree (Pinus lambertiana) which has cones from 10 to 26 inches long, the longest cones of any American conifer, perhaps in the world. The tree grows 175 to 200 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet in diameter, the tallest American pine, and can be found in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges from western Oregon to Baja California Norte, mostly between 4000-9000 feet in elevation. The sap contains a sugary substance which coats the green cones so thickly that it actually drips down off the tip of the cone while the cones hang like large, glistening ornaments from the branches. Unbelievably spectacular!

I have painted many of these cones over the years with watercolor and acrylic. The single cone pictured is a watercolor of a Sugar Pine Cone and available in giclee print, 16" x 12". The other was painted as a companion piece, Two Jeffrey Cones, and is also available in giclee.

Village Interiors in Christmas Tree Village, Incline Village, Nevada currently has two of my acrylic paintings of cones in their showroom. If you are in the area, stop by to see them.