'River of Tulips' Egg Tempera Painting

Here's the latest painting: 'River of Tulips', 16 x 10" egg tempera.


The flowerbeds in Spring in Geneva, Switzerland are amazing. This painting shows a cascade of tulips one Spring at the Parc des Eaux-Vives. There were many more tulips than these, and in many brilliant colors.

There are all sorts of arrangements and flowers. Stay tuned for a display of some of these in a future post on DweezelJazz blog.

New Year's Walk

We started out the New Year by going for a really nice walk in the foothills of the Jura mountains. The ground is very coarse and bleak, but there's a rough beauty to the scenery.

Looking out across Lac Leman are the Alps.





They almost look like they're hanging from another world.In spite of the cold there are lots of birds around. We saw a kestrel hovering, intent on his hunt.


To the casual observer it would seem there was little happening on the mostly frozen hillside. Looking close though we saw rabbit droppings, mouse trails dug into the soil through the dry grass and many freshly turned heaps of soil.











Some of the trees retain their green, contrasting nicely with the blue sky above the Jura.












Others have lost their leaves, but the intricacy of their branches is fascinating.



The delicacy of a tree's construction is amazing to see.




The slopes are a great place to walk and enjoy the views.
The snowy Jura are fantastic and refreshing to see. The air coming across them is very cold, but also replenished with clear oxygen. It's revitalizing.






We went again today. It was totally different from yesterday: there was no sun, the sky was grey, clouds were low and it was even colder and no one else in sight.

But it felt so good to us that we plan to walk there, or nearby, most days from now on. So we're starting the year with a new thing.

This is also the 101th post on DweezelJazz blog.

Here's to a good start to 2008: Happy New Year!
.

Seagulls At Lac Leman, Switzerland

Lac Leman, Switzerland, is home to a large variety of birds throughout the year. There are many seagulls, and on our last visit to Corsier, a tiny port on the lake, we saw an amusing gathering of them.




They were sitting in a row apparently just taking in the day.












As we got closer they stayed where they were.

It was quite funny to see them sitting lined up as though watching a movie...



...companionably sharing the view.






Occasionally a newcomer arrived and sometimes would displace a comfortably seated gull.


There seemed to be no shortage of seagulls looking out across the lake.



The view was spectacular as we were leaving at the end of the day.

The Colors of Autumn

Colors in autumn can be vibrant.













Or more subdued...














The sunlight can be mellow and the air misty, slightly dulling the colors in the afternoon.

Lake views can be dazzling, but the light has an almost metallic cool sheen.


The pale cornflower blue contrasts nicely with the plowed beige fields.







The hills are full of color.






Looking more closely shows individual trees with more vibrant shades...




...and even more closely gives a good view of the deep brown of the bark, punctuating the yellow, orange and even slightly green of the leaves.








The brightness of these grasses peeping up over the hedge defiantly challenging the autumn cool to touch them.





The cows have come down from mountains and are lazing in the low afternoon sun.








Most of the fields are plowed over in autumn; some still display vines with turned leaves.






Brass-colored leaves frame the lake scene.














Autumnal flower baskets adorn the towns.











Wisps of autumn are apparent on the bushes.













Bright cheery berries make up for the gentler sun.





Acorns show their splendor...














Sour sweet hard apples are ready for the eating...












Individual leaves have their glory...

Each one lighting up a single tree...

















Every tree adding to the brilliance and wonder of a rock-hewn valley. It seems like the colors of autumn are harvested from the abundance of the summer sun and served up to us just before the sleep of winter begins.

A Car Trip Up Le Saleve, France, Part II

Once we got to the top of the road (see Part I for the journey up) we could see the view on the other side of Le Saleve. The white peak in the middle of the mountain range is Mt. Blanc.


Down the hill from where we were standing there are houses.



Some of them have garden plots.
Looking to the left there's a house that has a magnificent view over the entire valley and all the mountains that circle it. Click on photos for larger image.


Further to the left there's a nice restaurant with an outdoor terrace; they also serve great desserts.

In front you can see where we parked the car to stop for the view.


Turning even further, with our backs to the view of the mountains shown in the first photo, there is yet another restaurant.




We got back into the car, passing with this restaurant on our right.



A short distance along, we stopped to look at an even broader panoramic view of the mountains. This time Mt. Blanc is on the right side of the photo.

Gradually turning south, the panorama unfolds.


Turning further you can see the expanse of the valley.



Turning even further south, Annecy Lake can be seen in this photo. For more about Annecy and the Lake you can look at the Annecy articles posted here in Parts I-V.


The Alps are stunning.
The road goes further up the hill to a place where it's possible to see the valleys and mountains on both sides of Le Saleve at the same time.

Right here the camera batteries ran flat, both of them! The shots shown, in the rest of the article, from the top of Le Saleve were taken on another day, which is especially noticeable because, as you'll see, there's a sudden development of clouds and a more winter appearance. This didn't happen last Saturday!

The top of Le Saleve is a favorite spot for taking in the views, and the locals enjoy coming up to have a picnic in the cool breezes at the cliff edge.This shows the Lac Leman looking over to the Jura mountains and North, towards Lausanne.

Looking back to where we came from in the Geneva valley below Le Saleve, this shows the valley south of Geneva. The Jura mountains are on the far side.

You can see Geneva spread out down below, along with the famous Jet d'Eau, the 140 m high fountain.

A Car Trip Up Le Saleve, France, Part I

We went up Le Saleve in France on Saturday. It's a small cliff-edged hill (or mountain) approximately 1100-1400 meters high, on the East side of Geneva just outside the Swiss border. There are a several ways to get to the top: driving by car, cable car, cycling and even hiking. A good number of years ago we hiked up the cliff face on a dirt path.



.To the left of this view, much of the cliff face has been quarried, leaving the light-colored bare rock to view.


The road at the base of Le Saleve is now lined with many new houses. There has been a lot of construction in this area in recent years.










There are pretty flower-lined streets and sidewalks.





.Looking up you can see undisturbed nature in its rugged beauty.If you look closely, you can see paragliders. This is a very popular sport on Le Saleve. The sport involves running down a tilted platform off the edge of the cliff - that is a sport for the brave-hearted, and isn't something I could persuade myself to do, no matter how lovely it might be to glide around up high.Fortunately, the world is made up of many different types of people!





As we make our ascent from the base of Le Saleve we see flashes of bright color from the side of the road.











The hills are bright green after all the rain we've had recently.





Looking back it's possible to see the valley south of Geneva.


The road starts out gentle, but further up it winds in tight bends with very steep gradients, forcing the driver to first gear on a couple of the curves.












On the way up we were surrounded by woods.





Nearing the top the trees thin out and the sun on the grass is a welcome sight.

On reaching the top we were greeted by open fields and a vast expanse of sky.




My most favorite scene of the trip is this one of the field and the bales of hay.Shortly after this we reached a spot with fantastic views over the other side of Le Saleve. Stay tuned to see them!