
After I filled the jumbo Moleskine watercolor journal I discovered I forgot to post several pages. From March! So here are a few of those sketches from early spring. Above and below are the John Muir home, with a bit of the fruit tree orchards and redwoods on the property. I sketched and painted these on site, with a little gouache added to the fruit tree blossoms at home.


Above is another spring sketch, painted directly with watercolor, of magnolia trees and the pretty little flowers planted around the tree.
4 replies on “Spring Into Summer”
Love the first piece!
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Jana I love your painting of John Muir’s home. I’m a big fan of JM, read his biography, he was a fascinating man. What you call a magnolia tree, we call a tulip tree. It is a beautiful springy painting! Was this plein air? You captured the feel of spring time!
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Thanks! I always called them tulip trees too–the flowers really look like giant tulips. But they are actually magnolias, *Magnolia liliiflora*, though according to Wikipedia they have many other names too: *Mulan magnolia*, *Purple magnolia*, *Red magnolia*, *Lily magnolia*, *Tulip magnolia*, *Jane magnolia* and *Woody-orchid.
* I’d like to read JM’s biography too–I’ll have to look it up. My son has been hiking the John Muir trail, 20-25 miles a day, a couple weeks a year for several years now and still hasn’t covered it all. * * Jana
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They are lovely. I’m glad you shared them.
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