Photographs of Kualoa Ranch - Oahu, Hawaii

Entrance to Kualoa Ranch

The center building has a nice gift shop as well as tasty food at their cafe.   In the not shown foreground is the beach across the road at Kaneohe Bay.

See the ATV's in the middle ground?   I was not adventurous enough to try them, but I have taken their jeep tours (which go more in the jungle) and also their bus tours.   The tour guides keep you informed and entertained as you travel along, and they are generous about stopping to let you take photographs.    Some shots I took from the windows as well.   

From the two photographs above you can see they have horseback riding at the ranch as well.   By the way, you can find out more information about the ranch and their tours at www.kualoa.com .   At more than one tour listed, they have short videos of beautiful scenery on their site. 

You can also have a wedding ceremony in different areas of the ranch.   This is a sixth generation working ranch complete with cattle and it was first established in 1850.

Above is yours truly when I took the Kualoa Ranch's catamaran boat tour.   Behind me is Chinaman's Hat Island, or Mokoli'i;, and behind that is the Koolau Mountain Range.   

Desert rose plant on the property

Above is what is left of the movie set "Mighty Joe Young".    Many movies have been filmed here; like 50 First Dates, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park, and Godzilla.  And of course most of the TV show  "Lost" scenes were filmed at Kualoa Ranch.   The ranch has a special "Movie Tour" you can choose if you wish. 

For more photographs and information on Kualoa Ranch, please visit my photography blog .

I am still painting so check back again soon.   

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

My Website

What's On My Easel and Video About the Old Hudson River School Artists

Outrigger at Waikiki Beach at Sunrise

Photo by Carol Reynolds

This reference photograph that I took at sunrise on Waikiki Beach is one of 4 paintings I am working on at the present time.  In the actual painting of this outrigger, the sky was more subdued but as usual I got color happy and intensified the sunrise colors in the clouds, etc.    I may tone the sky down again for a softer look. 

Below is a very informative video about the Old Hudson River School Artists, including Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand; there are interesting facts presented on textural scale and atmospheric perspective.  Enjoy!

My Website

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

  

Lost And Found (Old Photos of New England and Nova Scotia)

Motif #1  Rockport, Massachusetts

Recently I found some old photographs that had been "lost" and I was so elated!   Above is the only shot I have of Motif #1 in Rockport, Massachusetts.  I may or may not ever paint this scene, but I am a very happy camper over finding this photo again.   Below are a couple of images of scenes in New England, not sure if they are in Massachusetts or not.

These are not the greatest photographs, but they were taken over 30 years ago and were on tiny 3" x 3" photos.  Below is a scene from Nova Scotia taken in 1969

That is me with my 3 year old daughter and my grandmother.   Notice my 2 pony tails...  smile.   Just thought I would share this photo to prove I was once young.

My son and daughter are busy sharing on Facebook all the old family pictures I found with their friends and some other family members who have never seen these particular pictures before.  I still have several more to scan and send to my children.   But I am still painting away....the going is slow; but I wanted to make a blog post today to "check in" with you and remind you to visit again soon for completed new paintings I am currently working on.    

                     What Is It?

Go Here to find out

                     

My Website 

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Outta Whack

Lesser Flamingo

Photo by Carol Reynolds  

This lesser flamingo photo rather shows how I have been feeling lately; I was going strong with my painting and then my back went outta whack!   Stay tuned for more paintings soon.   I will attempt to paint tomorrow; I am almost finished with one landscape and have another one off to a good start.   

Speaking of landscape paintings, on Matthew Innis' blog he has an informative article about  an excellent young artist, Dan Schultz, which shows a step-by-step procedure of a painting in progress to its completion, as well as other works by this artist now residing in Ojai , California.   I am always curious about what colors  other artists use, and the article gives Schultz's palette as well.  I personally should use a more limited palette, but I positively love color and enjoy trying various new colors from time to time so I have a wide assortment to chose from.   Check out www.danschultzfineart.com

My Website

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

Paths And Gardens (Landscape Photographs)

"Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls...." Jeremiah 6:16

The above reference photos of mine were taken a few years ago at Bandelier National Park in Los Alamos, New Mexico.  The park is on the slopes of the Jemez mountains and covers 33,000 acres.  I have several more photographs I shot of the area, and like I always say "I hope to paint these soon".    :-)    I have been seriously considering how often times people take the wrong path in life -- or the right path -- and the consequences.  This has inspired me to start a new series soon depicting paths in my paintings.   Stay tuned !  Right now I am painting two landscapes, one of Hawaii and another of Nevada, and I am pretty excited about them and will finish them soon so check back often.   Below is my reference photograph of a path at Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle.

I often visited this 230 acre park which is on the shores of Lake Washington.  Fall is such a wonderful season to spend time there.   Below are a couple of garden shots I (again) "Hope to paint soon."

The two shots above were taken in the Japanese Garden section of Washington Park Arboretum.   

I must get some sleep now so I will be fresh and energetic to work on two landscapes tomorrow.  Have a great weekend everyone !

My Website

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

More Recommended Art Books

This photo of mine is of a Hawaiian Black-crowned Night Heron, or 'Auku'u, and has nothing to do with art books other than he seems to be saying "Take a look at that!"   That is what I hope you do by visiting James Gurney's blog about art books he recommends for art students.   Click here to view  As most of you know, James Gurney is widely known for his "Dinotopia" books.

One of the books he recommends is one I highly regard and recommended in a previous post on this blog, and that book is Carlson's Guide To Landscape Painting , by John F. Carlson who was an American Impressionist.   I ran across that book when I was about 15 years old and it was my primary source for learning about perspective, light, and color and so much more.   It is available on Amazon.  

Gurney has also written an excellent book Color And Light: A Guide For The Realist Painter which has received excellent reviews.   It is available through Amazon or you may obtain a signed copy from his blog   http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com   

I took the day off from painting and, as you can tell, been on the Internet some today.   I will begin work tonight on completing the seascape of Lanikai Beach so please return soon.    

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com 

  

Flowering Trees In Hawaii (Photos)

Royal Poinciana Blossoms

Royal Poinciana Tree In Makiki park on Oahu

The Royal Poinciana trees are so beautiful and they are planted as decorative landscaping trees just about everywhere you look.  I hope to sometime paint the tree in a landscape or seascape, as well as paint a close-up of the gorgeous blossoms.   Below are photos of the the yellow version of Poinciana.

Sometimes I think there are more flowering trees in these islands than smaller plants like Hibiscus.  There is always something in bloom here and that makes me a happy camper.   Below is a close-up of the Rainbow shower tree flowers.

Rainbow Shower Tree

These are beautiful trees and they bloom profusely.   I must make time to paint these flowers as well. 

These flowering trees were found in the quaint artsy town of Haleiwa on the North Shore of Oahu. I hope you enjoyed these photographs and there are other trees like the plumeria that I will talk about another time.

 I must go on another photo shoot soon.  I have been home painting constantly except today and tomorrow there are other activities that will interfere with my painting time.  I intend to paint tonight, however, and hopefully tomorrow night as well.    Wish I could train my cat to do housework and other chores    ;-)

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com

"Hold 'Em ! (Alligators)

This is me and my daughter holding a baby alligator , taken on a trip about 3 years ago in Louisiana.  Never thought I would do such a thing; it's mouth was taped but it could still have made a powerful swing with its tail! We also took a boat tour of Honey Island Swamp where we saw many wild alligators.   The boat "captain" would throw them marshmellows to eat in the water so they came quite close to the boat, which was rather scary.  Below is a handsome fellow, if you are an alligator fan.

I was on the boat when I zoomed in on this big guy.   Below is a photo also taken from the boat of a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron.  I hope to paint this one someday.

There are no Yellow-Crowned Night Herons in Hawaii.....just Black-Crowned Night Herons are found in the islands.   This was my first time to ever lay eyes on a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron so I was thrilled, to say the least.    

Life has interfered with my painting again yesterday and today, but watch out because I will be painting furiously the next few days.   Stay Tuned !

reynoldsrenditions@gmail.com