Bird, As a Weapon

Plein air artwork of Belmont Shores in Long Beach on the Los Angeles county coast of Southern California
Written on March 26, 2020 This may look like social distancing in effect, but this was painted on a weekday last May. There were people, but they were moving and since plein air painting is in some ways like a hand-made photograph with a 3 hour exposure, the moving objects (people, cars, etc.) don’t always […]…

► CONTINUE READING

The Deep South

Plein air painting from the border between California and Mexico looking toward San Diego skyline in southern California

Written on March 23, 2020 Looking north from about as far south as you can go on the California coast. The showers that threatened and taunted all morning finally passed, the sun burned the darkened watery grays right off the earth, evaporating in a humid mist rising, an all-hands invite to the impending mosquito feast. […]


The Other Side

Plein air artwork the border fence between California and Mexico in San Diego county on the coast of southern California
Due to late season rains, the road here was closed so I had to walk in the last 2 miles to the spot. After tromping off in the wrong direction and ending up at the border about a mile from the coast under the watch of border patrol agents and confronted by a myriad of […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Just the Basics

Plein air artwork of VW buses at San Onofre State Park in San Diego County on the Southern California Coast
Written on March 24, 2020 Back when I painted this one and called it “Just the Basics” it just made sense. What I meant by that expression then seems today almost extravagant. Surfers generally tend to have a simple mindset. It doesn’t take much to make a good life, no need to chase money in […]…

► CONTINUE READING

From the Shadows

Plein air painting of a dark morning on the La Jolla coast of San Diego in Southern California
I painted this one alongside my friend Norm Daniels on a wet, dark and gray day, that began with a lot of grumbling on my part. I didn’t leave the rain in Humboldt and drive all the way to San Diego for this… Norm is a great artist and a great guy to hang out […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Not Exactly a Picnic

Plein air painting from San Elijo State Park looking toward Cardiff Reef on the San Diego coast of California

Painted from the roof of my van. I put a platform up there just for this purpose. It’s great to return to places I’ve been before and see them from just a little higher up. To be honest though, I wasn’t all that into this scene at the start, even from my lofty perch. But […]


Respect the Elders

Plein air artwork of concrete benches as PB point on the San Diego coast of southern California
In other times what appears to be an old road must have collapsed into the sea here, the slabs of concrete line the point and have been beaten and weathered into pieces, at times rounded smooth, at times broken and jagged. The locals here have gathered together some of these slabs and arranged them into […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Decommissioned

Plein air painting of the power plant in Carlsbad on the San Diego coast of southern California

With a long-term goal of painting as much of California’s coast as I possibly can, I end up all sorts of places. Sometimes it’s out on the edge of an offshore island marching off into the distance without a trail to follow, other times it’s being invited to visit some of the more exclusive and […]


I Shall Be Free

Plein air painting from the Hollister Ranch on the Santa Barbara coast of Southern California
The third of three paintings from a quick trip last summer. The titles for the three are all chosen from Dylan tunes for various reasons. This one was chosen because the actual name of this creek comes up in the song. Also, as an artist I often do claim the right to freely edit a […]…

► CONTINUE READING

The Ceremonies of the Horsemen

Plein air artwork from the bluff over Bolito Poin on Hollister Ranch on the Santa Barbara coast of California
The second of three paintings from a quick trip to this slice of California paradise last summer (I posted the first a few weeks ago with no commentary). The titles for these three are all chosen from Dylan tunes for various reasons. In this case it’s a double-meaning referring to the occasional cattle roundup on […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Holy Ground

Plein air painting from a volcanic hill on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park in southern California

This is the view from the top of a hill that overlooks the entire crescent of this coast. Though there was no trail up here, and no clear signs of humanity in this refreshingly pristine landscape, I know I wasn’t the first to stand in this exact spot. The way the peak looms over the […]


An Unfamiliar Song

Plein air painting of East Point area of Santa Rosa island in the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California
This was the endpoint of my longest hike on this trip, 11 miles total, and it took me past several miles of coast I’d hiked and painted on a previous trip. On that trip, I thought I’d gone about as far as I could reasonably go in a day’s work of hiking and painting. But […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Wish You Were Here

Plein air painting of two barns and the pier at Becher's Bay on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Southern California

Those two old barns standing together in this distant outpost reminded me just how much I miss my best friend, my wife, when I’m out wandering around on the edge of the earth. I hope to bring her back here soon. One of the nice things about this region of California’s coastline is that this […]


Island Time

Plein air painting of an Island Poppy and a cow skull on Santa Rosa island looking toward Santa Cruz Channel Islands

I sort of saw this one developing over a few days out here. First off, the evening light over the nearby island as the full moon rose was always a subtle delight. Secondly the poppies out here, only grow on these islands. Unlike the poppies of California that are very deep orange, or the poppies […]


Moonshine

Plein air nocturne painting from the pier at Becher's Bay on Santa Rosa island off the coast of southern California

Painted on location from a pier on one of California’s offshore islands during a full moon back in April. We’d bodysurfed that right in shorepound on this very beach earlier in the afternoon. Super fun. I can’t imagine too many paintings have ever been painted at night on this pier though. Pretty cool eh? The […]


The Apex of Spring

Plein air painting from Santa Rosa Island's Lobo Canyon trail in Channel Islands National Park in Southern California

Visiting this hard to reach outpost of California’s coast during the Spring Equinox after a few wet months, I was hunting not just new corners and vistas, but had wildflowers on my mind as well. Elusive creatures, they can be, I didn’t see as many as I’d hoped. But I did spot this little patch […]


Strata Various

Plein air painting from the coast of Santa Rosa Island in Channel islands National Park in southern California
This headland took some serious work to get to. All said, this ended up being the furthest point reached on an eleven mile round trip solo hike, which required several creek crossings up to my calves, washed out bridges, wet sloggy socks, and by the end of the day getting soaked to the bone in […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Prey For Rain

Plein air artwork from Santa Rosa Island's Lobo Canyon trail in Channel Islands National Park in Southern California
Deep in this prehistoric canyon, I was watching the weather shift quickly as I made my way back to the cabin. I was still a solid hour and a half of hiking from dry shelter and warm food. A spattering of occasional raindrops peppered the hike with questions of doubt. Will I make it back […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Trifecta: Ticks, Wind, and Poison Oak

Plein air artwork from Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Southern California

I didn’t have to hike far from the cabin for this one, I just wanted to peak a little around the corner of the beach straight out in front. There’s a small hill that blocks the view here, so I made it my mission to get on top of this hill and paint from there. […]


Hold Your Ground

Plein air artwork overlooking Becher's Bay and Santa Cruz Island from Santa Rosa Island off the coast of California
I spent this morning drinking a bit too much coffee in the kitchen of a bunkhouse with a group of college students. Well not drinking coffee with them, I was just on a trip here with them. They had science to do, and science doesn’t care if it’s raining or not, so they were out […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Distant California

Plein air painting of wildflowers on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Southern California

It’s not the California coast that most of us are familiar with, but good to know it’s out there. These old barns down at the bottom of this valley are no longer used, the sheep and cattle ranch ceased operations years ago. In some ways its sad to see this era come to a close, […]


Water Under the Bridge

Plein air artwork from Carrington Point on Santa Rosa Island off the coast of Southern California
This was my first day on a trip to this fairly remote piece of California. I wasn’t alone out here, I was a guest artist travelling with a group of science students from the CSU system. Right on arrival the group decided to jump right in to a 7 mile round trip hike to a […]…

► CONTINUE READING

The Onslaught of Spring

Plein air artwork of California Poppies superbloom near Walker Canyon in Southern California

Back in March I made the effort to immerse myself in this infamous superbloom* in southern California. I had so much fun painting these flowers the first time that I stopped on my way back through a few days later, on a weekend no less, and braved the daunting prospect of immersing myself into the […]


Movers and Shakers

Plein air artwork from La Jolla cove looking toward the Shores on the san Diego Coast of southern California
A quick trip to the southerlies of California brought me to this vista in search of a similar but different scene I’d painted for a friend a few years earlier. Apparently after some flood damage their place needed extensive work done and movers were hired to take all the necessary belongings out and store them […]…

► CONTINUE READING

Just Past the Ice Cream Truck

Plein air artwork of California poppies superbloom near Walker Canyon in Southern California
Right before heading down on this trip I started hearing about these epic poppy blooms and being a color junkie I ended up juggling my plans around to get to see this bloom in person. I thought I’d meet up with my friend Wade Koniakowsky and go paint this place with him. Neither of us […]…

► CONTINUE READING