A Colorful World

I wanted to share some photos from our day in Reno last week. Even though it was scheduled full of appointment and errands, we enjoyed the day. We don't often get the timing right to eat at a nice little Thai restaurant in the most unexpected spot - a shopping center on the edge of town between an Albertson's and a McDonald's. You wouldn't think you were in a suburban strip mall inside though.

Isn't it pretty. I love the colors. Hubby looked around and said "Hey, these are the colors in our house." Well, yes, that was the plan when I started painting. Although my original inspiration wasn't this place, it was a restaurant in Ashland Oregon called Pilaf's.

We splurged on big glasses of Thai sweet tea. These babies each have about a cup of cream in them - definitely to be considered dessert in a glass.

I visited a fabric and foam supply place in an industrial area near the Truckee River. A new building had been built next door since the last time I'd been to this place. I was intrigued, it was quite an attractive building with large columns painted with animal tracks on the front of it. It turns out that it's a regional tribal medical clinic. I didn't take a photo of the front but as I drove past it, I did a double take at what had been done in the back of the building.


All around the building someone had landscaped it with trees, rocks, and wildflowers! Instead of large water thirsty lawns that were never meant to survive the high desert, they created a beauty out of natives. How wise! How clever!


Do you imagine a girl, a scarecrow, a lion, and tin man nearby? Aren't these poppies beautiful?


And pink, I think they're called a clarkia, and yellow California poppies. I like the shadows on the rock in this image.


And a bit of blue.... as you moved around the corner of the building the palette changed.

Blue, and white, splashes of yellow.

And just across a back courtyard and entry, the beautiful Truckee River. You wouldn't know from these pictures that this is less than a mile downriver from the lights and glitz of downtown and the casinos. You can see the buildings peeking through the framework of the bridge.

Do you prefer a calmer palette in shades of white? Check out the photos for the Shades of Inspiration challenge I've put up on Laume's Studio.