Artwork Notes

These paintings contain notes, thoughts, and written scribblings for those inclined to read…

Mourning and Remembrance

Plein air artwork of a shipwreck near Cayucos on the San Luis Obispo coast of Central California
By day they theorize, philosophize, and lay their eyes on this predicament from old lawn chairs behind a makeshift barrier of plastic tape. By night they await the higher tide under the spotlight, searching for answers, but generating none. Once a proud vessel, named for nobility, now on the rocks, without the gin, or perhaps […]…

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The Sea Before Dark

Plein air painting of the cliffs over Pismo Beach on the San Luis Obispo coast of California
A focal point for those just passing through. After miles of inland panoramas the road opens up to a view of the ocean here. But only for a moment or two. Then it’s back to the cows and the farms and the country music. It’s hard not to stop once in a while. It’s just […]…

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Leave No Trace: Side A

Plein air painting of the coast at Cave Landing near Avila Beach on the San Luis Obispo coast of central California
Arrival: Late Afternoon.  Look west, hike to bottom of trail. View from top was better. Plus creepy creepers lurking in the reeds everywhere down here. Trash strewn. Beautiful place, but yuck. Back to top. Look east, hike toward cove on that side of this headland. Trash strewn. Starting to feel guilty. Might head back to […]…

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Leave No Trace: Side B

Plein air painting of graffiti and rock formations at Cave Landing near Avila Beach on the San Luis Obispo coast of California
Arrival: Late Afternoon.  Look west, hike to bottom of trail. View from top was better. Plus creepy creepers lurking in the reeds everywhere down here. Trash strewn. Beautiful place, but yuck. Back to top. Look east, hike toward cove on that side of this headland. Trash strewn. Starting to feel guilty. Might head back to […]…

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Economy of Scale

Plein air artwork showing the view of Morro Bay and Morro Rock from Black mountain on the central California coast
Geology trips me out. They always say that the large rock formation at the mouth of this bay is some sort of plug in a volcano. Okay… well I guess that’s pretty convenient. Maybe that’s why they are so strict about not letting climbers set foot on the thing- don’t want to risk any climbers […]…

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Hole in the Fence

Plein air artwork from the San Luis Obispo county coast near Ragged Point in central California
Under the barbed wire, across a bluff top meadow, promising lines appeared bending around the nearshore reefs. Don’t let the painting of this dreamy lineup fool you. Sure, in a still moment, it was a vision of perfection, but taken in the 4th dimension of time, it was nothing more than a broken promise. At […]…

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Most Wanted

Plein air artwork from Point Estero in San Luis Obispo county on the central California coast
I’d been wanting to paint this stretch of coast for years. It’s not a place I’ve visited much, but even driving by as a kid learning to surf years ago, this area called to me. The deepwater reefs and powerful surf were out of my league and no doubt when things get real out there […]…

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B.Y.O.B.

Plein air artwork from the trail to Sierra Nevada point on the san luis obispo county coast of central california

We came in search of gold. We’ll leave with pockets full of solitude. We speak to the wind. We live here now, everything else is dreamtime. The cars and houses, the monies and the media, the interconnected web of information that ties us all together… none of that can truly exist at all. We know […]


We’ll Cross that Bridge When We Get to It

California coastal plein air artwork of Rocky Creek Bridge on the Big Sur coast of Montery county
Under the authority of a king in Europe, there is land in California, owned and private today, that was divided up and given to friends of the throne. It’s wild to think of the history behind some of the barbed wire we see all over the coast here. I don’t blame anyone. I’d have accepted […]…

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Dressed in White

Not a fun place to attempt to park this huge van… Drive around, drive around, drive around, repeat for an absurdly long duration, ok, finally, park! Then get out and walk around looking for one spot to paint, knowing the time is short and I’ll be long gone by dark, my one chance to paint […]…

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Stick a Fork in It

Plein air artwork from Spooner's cove in Montana De Oro State Park on the San Luis Obispo coast of Central California
I’ve been on the road for 2 weeks now. I’ve slept in my van in grocery store parking lots, picking ticks off my face that must have crawled out of my painting gear as I slept. I’ve wrestled the sun and cursed at the wind. My back is tired, my feet ache, my lips are […]…

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A Matter of Convenience

Plein air painting of San Simeon Pier on the Central coast of California in San Luis Obispo county
Chumash land: just the way it always was… Spanish imperialism: all of your earths is ours now Mission San Miguel: we graze our cattle on all your lands now Mexican land grant: all of your ground is Mr. Pico’s now George Hearst: I found gold, I buy your dirt from Pico. Willam Randalph Hearst: Thanks […]…

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From the Overflow of the Heart, the Mouth Speaks

8th day on the road, 23rd painting completed, 2nd one on this day. Last one of the trip. I’m exhausted. There’s something about a rivermouth sandbar that really holds one’s attention. I wanted to get the whole scene here: the inland valley leading to the now hot and dry heartland this river flows from, the […]…

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Machine Work

Plein air artwork of the Borradori Garage in Cayucos on the San Luis Obispo coast of central California
A bit of old California here. Not too many places are left like this along the coast. An old industrial building (built long before the man/nature dichotomy narrative had reached its current crescendo and even man’s industry was a thing to be celebrated as a wonder of nature itself) placed right above a small fishing […]…

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Russian Interference

8th day on the road, 22nd painting completed, 1st on this day The Russians are planning to claim this coast for themselves. It’s true. From San Francisco to Trinidad Harbor, they’ve left secret signs, “possession plaques” buried at various strategic locations. This painting is located near the first of these plates, and within a year […]…

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Soaring with Rick Griffin

7th day on the road, 21st painting completed, 3rd one this day Painting the California coast is something that rose out of my admiration for the California Impressionists of the early 1900’s. Before that I was painting skulls and bones and waves, which rose out of my admiration for Rick Griffin (1944-1991) and his artwork. […]…

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Avoiding the Evil Leaf

Some days are easy, other days you have to dig deep. Those are the days you find out what you are made of. I’m just a painter, but compared to working in the studio, plein air painting can seem like a battle with the universe itself. Confession. I am naturally lazy. A water person. I […]…

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A Reluctant Admission

7th day on the road, 19th painting completed, 1st one this day After collecting an official “Vehicle Immobilization and Potential Arrest Notice” on this private development the day before, I was careful on this day to stay in the designated public access area. These pay-to-play private coast mentalities have always struck me as odd. I’ve […]…

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Tea and Oranges

6th day on the road, 18th painting completed, 3rd on this day I had this place pinpointed on my map for months. Not for it’s beauty, though it doesn’t lack in that area, but because it’s a place that means a lot to a friend that commissioned me to paint it on my next trip […]…

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Get Off My Lawn

6th day on the road, 17th painting completed, 2nd one this day A big inspiration in my art life came from an unlikely source. It makes perfect sense in hindsight, but at the time when my older brother got a copy of Bank Wright’s classic book “Surfing California” when I was maybe 11 years old, […]…

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Open Lanes

6th day on the road, 16th painting completed, 1st on this day I was hoping to paint the view north from this location, but when I got here I wasn’t feeling it. The linear elements of this reef meeting the microscopic 8inch lines of windswell wrapping around it got my interest though, especially with the […]


Fault Lines

5th day on the road, 15th painting completed, 2nd one this day I’ve scouted around this cove a few times over the years, looking for an angle to paint this place, but never bothered to find a way out onto the cliffs that overlook it. Glad I finally did, I could spend weeks painting out […]…

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Ticks Are Evil

7th day on the road, 20th painting completed, 2nd one this day This is another place I’ve wanted to paint for a long time, but it’s quite a walk from the road and just hadn’t had the time on previous trips. I knew the angle I was looking for, but it would require a fair […]…

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In a Different Light

5th day on the road, 14th painting completed, 1st one this day Occasionally when I mention to folks that I travel up and down painting the California coast, they will suggest that I do paintings of all the lighthouses. I usually think that’s because someone once gave them a calendar with a different lighthouse on […]…

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We All Stand Alone

4th day on the road, 12th painting completed, 3rd one this day I came around a bend on the winding highway 1 a bit south of here today and a large RV was heading toward me in the oncoming lane. It wasn’t swerving or dangerous, we were both moving slowly and within our respective lanes. […]…

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