The early morning view from Mt Laguna is inspiring. Light bends at the horizon to create prismatic colors orange, green, and blue. The blue of the sky becomes deeper further up into the atmosphere. Having telescopes there makes sense because of the dark skies far from city lights.
Mt Laguna is a favorite winter play spot for people from San Diego just an hour west by car. The altitude makes for colder nights and sometimes snow. The air is dry and clear so it is easy to see for a long distance. From this height and direction you can see Arizona and Mexico.
My painting is a studio painting because the light was changing fast. I wanted to include the telescope / Observatory to create interest in the composition. Also a nod to my father who built motor drives for telescopes at Kitt Peak and Mt Lemon in Tucson where I grew up. He worked for the University of Arizona but moved to Tucson after the Navy in San Diego. He may have spent some time at Mt Laguna Observatory.
Here’ the layout and the painting.
If you have Google Earth installed on your computer, you can visit this location at https://earth.app.goo.gl/?apn=com.google.earth&isi=293622097&ius=googleearth&link=https%3a%2f%2fearth.google.com%2fweb%2f%4032.84441267,-116.44367935,2045.45556288a,0d,35y,102.33302563h,88.75721883t,0r The red line is the Pacific Crest Trail. The Peak is Mt Laguna.
