Eastern Sierra inspired Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

The Dragon And The Tree

Eastern Sierra inspired Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

Hello Everyone!  Last time I talked about working on a painting.   This painting began during a visit to the mountains, although I didn’t know it as such then.   It all started with the tree. Then, slowly, a painting formed in my head, accompanied by the beginnings of a story.  After a fair amount of prep work,  I was ready to paint.  After our last visit to the Sierra Mountains, I added the final touches to the picture.   The beginning in 2020 and the ending in 2024 both came from the mountains.

 

 

California Tree @ inktorrents.com by Soma

 

 

During that visit in 2020, I noticed this tree outside the window of our cabin.   I drew it in my sketchbook at the time.  I was very sure a story would come to me some day, and that this tree would be a part of it.  This year, out of nowhere, it appeared – a story about a dragon and the tree.

 

 

 

Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

 

Once I finished the drawing, I scanned and printed it out so I could color it with color pencils.   That gave me a basic idea of what colors I would use and how I would layer the colors.

 

 

 

Eastern Sierra inspired Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

 

I did a small watercolor painting before starting the larger one.  This was a good way to make sure of the watercolors I would be using on the larger painting. 

I love dragons, so I hand made the green book ( handmade clothbound journals in my shop ) for dragon paintings only.  This was just the perfect addition to that book.

 

 

Once More Unto The Trail

 

The original painting did not have the background mountains.  I added them after my last visit and trek to the Gaylor Lakes in Yosemite High Sierra.  The surrounding mountains there inspired me to add mountains to the picture.

 

 

 

Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

 

Let me just say this out loud – I hate using masking fluid.  I avoid using it as much as I can.  It can stain the paper, and applying it is not easy either.  This time, however, I had no choice.  I needed to keep the tree white.   Some of the branches are really thin and small.  There was no way I could paint around them without staining them with the surrounding colors.  I had a mishap with my first prepped picture while applying the masking fluid.  It damaged the paper enough that I had no choice but to retrace the drawing on a new sheet and restart.

 

 

 

Eastern Sierra inspired Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

 

With both the pencil colored drawing and the small watercolor painting beside me as a reference, I started painting.  Since I work by layering, it took me many hours to finish this 8″ x 10″ painting.   All the prep work I did really helped.

 

 

 

Eastern Sierra inspired Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

 

I do love dragons.  I think of them as gentle and solitary creatures.  Every story in my Girl and Her Cat story book has at least one dragon in it.  Each dragon I draw has its own little story.

 

 

Story time

 

 

Eastern Sierra inspired Dragon and The Tree watercolor painting by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

 

The blue dragon comes to visit this tree once a year, every year.  Around that time of the year when mountains are wrapped in solitude, she flies in during the early evening hours.  She sits at the shore, and spends the night there longingly looking at the white tree.  Once dawn breaks,  she flies away, not to be seen for another year.

Until next time,
-Soma

 

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Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

Once More Unto The Trail

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

During this long break, I went to visit the mountains for a few days.  I really wanted to finish a painting and show it today, but after coming back I wanted to add something to said painting.  So, it will have to wait for another day.  For today, I have a few photos from the Eastern Sierra Mountains along with the tale of a walk that I finally managed to finish after giving up on two previous occasions.

 

 

Tenaya Lake Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

During the afternoon of our first day there, we went to our favourite spot at Tenaya Lake.   I have photographed it many times before, like this photo taken the last time I was there.

 

 

Tenaya Lake Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park pen drawing by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

I simply grabbed my sketchbook.   Sitting there by the lake,  I finished this drawing  just as the sun dipped behind the mountains.   The air around us started to get really chilly without the warm jackets which we left in the car by mistake!

 

 

May Lake Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

Our first walk was to May Lake the next day.   The trailhead starts at 8,710ft and the lake is at 9,270ft, so you have to stay mindful of the thin air. 

 

 

May Lake Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

Other than that, it was an usual Sierra mountain trail going through forest, granite slabs and gorgeous views. 

 

 

May Lake Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

May lake with Mt. Hoffman looming over it on one side.   We had our lunch at the lake shore and read our storybooks for a long while.

 

At 8,000ft – 10,000ft  on Tioga Pass, the air is much cooler,  trails often windy, and my suffocating allergies non-existent.    With that, however, comes the harsh sun and thin air.   The thin air effects everyone differently.  I tend to get bad altitude sickness, which causes headache and nausea. 

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

Photo from last time.  I had to give up at this point.

 

After acclimating ourselves with the May Lake walk,  our destination next day was the Gaylor Lakes Basin.  The trail starts at 9,970ft and goes all the way up to 10,750ft.  The first part of the trail is relentlessly steep, gaining 500ft all at once, over a distance just shy of a mile over rocks and rubble.   Because of the high elevation, National Park Service rates it as moderately strenuous.  I had to give up twice before on this trail.  I got so sick with headache and nausea that it would have been risky to continue.

 

 

 

Over the last twelve months I have been building up my cardiovascular health by increasing my running speed and distance.  I had no idea if it would help or not; that was to be seen on the trail.  I was also aware of the back pain that I still have from a fall on a trail in July.  I took Acetaminophen that morning and used a topical pain reliever.

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

Once we finished our 500ft climb to the crest and started the 200ft steep descent toward Middle Gaylor Lake, I could not believe that I made it there this time!!  I didn’t have even an inkling of altitude sickness.  

We spent a good 30 minutes sitting by the lake shore enjoying lunch and reading our books. 

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

After lunch we made our way to Upper Gaylor Lake which is not too far away.

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

Once we got there, we took another upward trail off to the left, leading to Great Sierra Mine to see the few remaining stone structures.   The wind was fierce here, and we were glad to have our jackets.  I can’t even begin to imagine what would make anyone want to have a settlement on this windy, harsh, rocky, and desolate place.  It is beautiful, but not exactly habitable.

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

By this time, the day was winding down and I still wanted to take a few photos.  We slowly backtracked to Middle Gaylor Lake and I took photos along the way.  

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

After a bit of rest and snacks back at the lake,  it was time to say “see you later.”  The mountains always reply “we will be here.”   There is another set of lakes here that we didn’t have time to explore this time.   We both know we will be back here again.   

 

 

Gaylor Lake Basin Tioga Pass Yosemite National Park photo by Soma Acharya @ inktorrents.com

 

Eastern High Sierra is a very special place for me.  As soon we cross over one of the mountain passes to Hwy 395, my heart feels at home.  As you can see, I would go to any lengths to get a little closer to the mountains.  I hope you enjoyed this tale and the photos of our adventure.  Next time I will share the painting inspired by this magical place.

 

Until next time,
-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please consider paying a visit to some of them.

 

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