"Inspiration Point", 10x20, oil on linen, paintings of Yosemite, Inspiration Point, Maryanne Jacobsen art, palette knife

"Inspiration Point", 10x20, oil on linen

It was rather daunting to attempt to paint a place that has been imortalized by the likes of Albert Bierstadt, Ansel Adams and Thomas Hill, but after some coaxing from my husband, I decided to go ahead and give it an effort.

We visited Yosemite National Park back in April, and spent three lovely days there hiking and enjoying the beauty of this incredible place. Normally the road leading up to Glacier Point is closed in April because of snow, but there was very little snow in Yosemite this winter, so we were able to go all the way up and enjoy the splendor 7,000 feet up!

Inspiration Point is a popular spot to stop as you drive into the valley because from there you can see El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and other highlights of the park. I forced my husband, son and daughter-in-law to stop there each time we went through in order to capture the different light effects throughout the day.

This was a morning shot and although pretty, it was harder to see the falls. We did miss the wildflowers unfortunately, because the Meadows were still closed, but there's always next time!

The painting was painted with a palette knife and has nice impasto throughout. I hope you enjoy it and if you've never visited Yosemite, put it on your bucket list!