Showing posts with label parks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parks. Show all posts

Monday, September 8, 2014

Tiny Desert Treasures


a tiny creature, hidden in plain sight!



"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small.
We haven't time, and to see takes time -- like to have a friend takes time."
- Georgia O'Keefe





We all notice the big, bold, showy displays of nature, like the Grand Canyon or the Milky Way galaxy or Niagara Falls.

But the smallest things are just as miraculous and awe-inspiring. 

Most of the time we don't notice the daisy growing out of the sidewalk crack, the ladybug underneath the leaf, or the little spider spinning her web in a dark and forgotten corner of the house.

But if we took the time to see, we'd realize our world is teeming with treasures, just waiting for us to notice them.

Do you see the tiny frog in the photo above? (I apologize for the poor photos, they were taken with my camera phone.) Maybe you'll see it in the photo below.







He is perfectly camouflaged among the dirt and rocks, and he was sitting perfectly still! Look just above my thumb.

This is a little desert frog! One of the frogs who lives in the desert pond, who was jumping about after the monsoon rainstorm.








Here's a tiny clump of blue wildflowers on the hiking trail.







I have always loved tiny things! When you see them, it's like you found a hidden treasure!







And here's a really tiny little flower (sorry it's blurry! I need to remember to bring my real camera next time!)


After I saw these wildflowers at North Mountain Park this spring, I went to the Visitor's Center. The volunteer there was complaining loudly that "nothing is blooming this year!" 

But when I showed her my photos of tiny wildflowers she didn't say anything else. 

The most lovely and exquisite treasures are sometimes hidden in plain sight. 

The observant person will find them.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Sketchbook: Battery Park, New York





Small sketch from 2000 of Battery Park streetlamps and the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in the background.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Sketchbook: Papago Park, Phoenix

Papago Park "Hole in the Rock"
sketch by Rosa Phoenix

Here is a sketch I made in Papago Park, Phoenix, Arizona.  Papago Park is known for its unusual sandstone rock formations. This one is called "Hole in the Rock". It's said that the Hohokam ancient people used the hole as an observatory to view celestial events. It's one of my favorite places for watching a sunset. 


 Papago Park
 photo by Rosa Phoenix


My first on-location sketch since San Francisco. Luckily, there are a lot of beautiful sights to sketch right around Phoenix. I've found some other artists to sketch with, so that makes it more fun.


Thursday, March 10, 2011

South Mountain Petroglyphs

Dobbins Lookout view from South Mountain
all photos by Rosa Phoenix


Here are some views from South Mountain Park in Phoenix, Arizona.  

South Mountain is a nice place to hike, bike, drive, or ride a horse.

Here you can see the desert landscape and views of the city of Phoenix.

Recently I hiked the Holbert Trail, which features many ancient petroglyphs, made by the Hohokam people.



 rock art


The Hohokam people settled and farmed this area in ancient times.

According to local oral tradition, the Hohokam may be the ancestors of the historic Akimel O'odham and Tohono O'odham peoples in Southern Arizona. (Wikipedia)
The city of Phoenix was named to acknowledge these original settlers, because a new civilization rises from the ruins of the ancient civilization.


rock art


Is that a whale or fish on the rock below the spiraling snake?

To me it looks like a whale.

Where would these desert dwelling people have seen such a creature?

Maybe someone had traveled from the California coast.

This desert was once an ancient sea . . . how things change!




 another human figure
or maybe a bird?



 the four directions
the cross



the Saguaro cactus,
native to the Sonoran desert


All photos were taken on my iPhone using the Camera+ app.



LINKS




Monday, November 8, 2010

Tree in Autumn

Painting by Rosa Phoenix


I love the trees in all seasons. I roam the parks of San Francisco with my sketchbook, pens and pencils. The stark, bare limbs of this tree called out to me. I simplified the shape and turned it into a black silhouette against an autumn sky.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Rathyatra Festival 2010


Rathyatra Festival, Hindu Festival of Chariots, in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco 2010. 

all photos by Rosa Phoenix


Altar of deities, Jagannath, Balarama and Subhadra



 decorated with garlands of flowers



worshippers pull the cart containing the deities


beautiful chariot colorful with flowers






likeness of Prabhupada, teacher of the Hare Krishnas



All photos were taken with my iPhone using Camera+ app. Camera+ is great. It has a zoom feature, guidelines so you can get straight shots, lots of neat editing features and effects. Before editing, the photos didn't look great. With some experimentation, I was able to improve them a lot.



LINKS

Rathayatra Festival

Camera + app for iPhone

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sketchbook: San Francisco

Tibet Center
watercolor pencil 
in moleskine watercolor notebook
by Rosa Phoenix


I love the colors of Tibet. Bright red, orange, deep blue and yellow. And colorful prayer flags blowing in the wind.





A man saw me sketching and said, that's my house!

He said he lived at the Tibet Center and did the gardening. He wanted to make sure the garden was in the drawing.



this is a tiny door

see the colorful prayer flags

Friday, June 11, 2010

Sketchbook: New York


Cloisters Museum
watercolor pencil 
in moleskine watercolor sketchbook
by Rosa Phoenix


Fort Tryon Park is a beautiful hillside park overlooking the Hudson River.  On top of the hill is the Cloisters Museum, home of an important collection of Medieval Christian art.



Fort Tryon Park, NYC
watercolor pencil sketch
in moleskine watercolor sketchbook
by Rosa Phoenix


 It's a lovely place for a picnic!


I also wrote about the Cloisters Museum in my blog post here.


Thursday, April 1, 2010

Redwoods





Muir Woods

just north of San Francisco,

home of the Redwood trees





natural sculpture




look again




bear face




who is this?




mushrooms like flowers






towering trees





time for a hug


I played with PhotoShop to get different effects with some of these photos.


LINKS


Muir Woods Virtual Walking Tour 

Muir Woods on Wikipedia

National Park Service website

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Socrates Sculpture Park, New York

 

Socrates Sculpture Park

Long Island City, New York

(just across the East River from Manhattan)





This park is a great place to see . . .





beautiful view of Manhattan skyline


 


fishing




a shipwreck


 


a place for friends to play





colorful art made from recycled materials




shapes


  


textures



 


plastic wrapped around trees



(photos taken on a summer day in 2007)





Socrates Sculpture Park


 The Noguchi Museum (the studio and garden of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi) is on the same street as Socrates Sculpture Park. Also a lovely place to visit.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Sketchbook: Stow Lake


felt tip pen drawing by Rosa Phoenix


Stow Lake is in Golden Gate Park. In the middle of the man-made lake is an island with a waterfall and Chinese Pavilion. 






This pavilion was a gift from China to San Francisco. 





detail of carved stone dragon



On the day I went to sketch at Stow Lake,

I was delighted to see a mama duck swimming with her little ducklings!