Thomas Hill's Palo Alto Spring"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill.

Thomas Hill is my great-great-grandfather and the inspiration of my middle name of Thomas.

"Thomas Hill (1829-1908) was an American artist of the 19th century," notes Wikipedia. "He produced many fine paintings of the California landscape, in particular of the Yosemite Valley, as well as the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Thomas Hill's Palo Alto SpringThomas Hill was my Great-Great-Grandfather. I have some of his facial features, including the eyes and nose. And I cannot grow hair on both sides of my chin, like him. In this photo, he painted himself standing over Leland Stanford's shoulder.

"At the age of 15, he emigrated to the United States with his family. ... With painter Virgil Williams and photographer Carleton Watkins, Hill made his first trip to the Yosemite Valley in 1865. The next year, Hill traveled to the East Coast and Europe.

"... Hill made yearly sketching trips to Yosemite, Mount Shasta, and, back east, to the White Mountains. Hill ran an art gallery and art supply store.

"Hill was loosely associated with the Hudson River School of painters. The Hudson River School celebrated nature with a sense of awe for its natural resources, which brought them a feeling of enthusiasm when thinking of the potential it held."

Thomas Hill's 'Mount Tallac from Lake Tahoe'Thomas Hill's "Mount Tallac" as sen from Lake Tahoe (1880).

He popularized En plein air, which means to "in the open air," where artists would paint the landscapes they observed on site. Hill incorporated en plein air into many of his paintings.

"... His 1865 View of the Yosemite Valley was chosen to be the backdrop of the head table at {President} Barack Obama's inaugural luncheon, to commemorate Lincoln's 1864 signing of the Yosemite Grant. A painting has been chosen for every inaugural luncheon since 1985.

'The Last Spike'"The Last Spike," painted by my Great-Great Grandpa Thomas Hill. This image is public domain.

"Hill's most famous and enduring work is of the driving of the 'Last Spike' at Promontory Summit, U.T., on May 10, 1869, to join the rails of the CPRR and UPRR. {Family legend says that Hill was never paid for his Leland Stanford-commissioned painting.}

"The huge 8 x 12 foot painting, which features detailed portraits of 71 individuals associated with the First Transcontinental Railroad, hangs at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, Calif."

Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'Thomas Hill was my Great-Great-Grandfather. I have some of his facial features, including the eyes and nose. And I cannot grow hair on both sides of my chin, like him. In this photo, he painted himself standing over Leland Stanford's shoulder. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill's 'Palo Alto Spring'"Palo Alto Spring" by Thomas Hill.