Artwork

Pure and Simple

Plein air artwork from the hiking trails at Purisima point on the San Mateo coast of Central California
One of my favorite things when I’m out on the road (or at home for that matter) is finding a new trail to access a piece of coast I haven’t seen before. I’d seen some new trailheads on a previous trip past this stretch of private agricultural coastal bluffs and made a mental note to […]…

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A Wide Range

Plein air painting of a cattle ranch at Drake's Estero at Point Reyes National Park on the Marin coast of California

The fourth painting completed in one long day spent in solitude, hunting views and painting in one of the most beautiful parts of California I can think of. I’ve driven past this little ranch nestled along a finger of this estuary and always thought it would make a nice painting. The day was fading fast, […]


Nova Albion

Plein air artwork of Point Reyes National Park on the Marin coast of northern California
Plein air painting in strong winds is indeed a sport. Especially on the edge of a steep cliff. Painters know the challenges, but most folks just see finished paintings during their 10 seconds of social media fame and think whether they like it or not. Whether they should type a comment, hit the like button, […]…

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Her New Road

Plein air painting of a road to the beach at Point Reyes National Park on the Marin coast of Northern California
I imagine it was only a seasonal closure, something about nesting birds on the sand dunes, but it rattled my whole game plan. This isn’t a place one just passes through on the way down the coast, you have to really make the effort to get off the beaten path to find yourself out here. […]…

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The Light at the End

Plein air artwork of the Cypress Tree Tunnel at Point Reyes National Park on the Marin coast of northern California

First of four paintings I’d paint this day in one of my favorite parts of California. Thick morning fog prevented me from seeing the views I came for so I went with my standard back up plan- wander around aimlessly and grumble about that old nemesis- the Great Northern Pacific Marine Layer. Mid grumble I […]


Geological Chess: The King and His Rookery

Plein air oil painting artwork of Pebble Beach in Crescent City on the Del Norte Coast of northern California
I rarely paint with oils, but I’ve done several over the last few years, sneaking them in to the mix here and there as I feel like it, just to remind myself that the grass really isn’t any greener in oils, the morning dew just takes a lot longer to dry. Most of my paintings […]…

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Unagi

Plein air artwork of the mouth of the Eel River at Crab Park in Humboldt County, California

This is from a quiet little beach near our home. The inlet to the sea out there was letting these perfect little 8-inch waves into the bay and watching them spin along this quiet beach is a rather hypnotic way to spend an afternoon. These flat and expansive beach landscapes have always given me trouble […]


Moonlight Sessions

Plein air nocturne artwork of city lights over San Diego Harbor at Kate Sessions Park in San Diego
Fueled up after a feast at Besta Wan Pizza in Cardiff, and armed with a headlamp, moral support from my pals in mischief Pierce and Petra Kavanagh, and further fueled by the french fries and milkshakes they brought back after dropping me off in this park just up the way from a pack of howling […]…

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First Things First

Plein air artwork from the California coast near Carlsbad in San Diego County

A quick one first thing in the morning after spending a week painting with Wade Koniakowsky down in his neighborhood awhile back. I guess I wasn’t done painting yet. Pretty sure I did 4 paintings on this day to celebrate being done with a busy week of… painting? Don’t judge. Just like mourning, we all […]


Bass and Treble

Plein air artwork from the Swami's Beach carpark in Encinitas on the San Diego coast of southern California
3rd of 4 paintings painted this day- a larger piece for a single session plein air, but I was warmed up and found some shade so I settled into this one for the afternoon. Speaking of shade, how shady are some of the characters in this parking lot? Saw some things that can’t be unseen, […]…

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A Stone’s Throw

Plein air artwork from Stone Steps in Leucadia on the San Diego coast of southern California

2nd of 4 paintings painted this day- a quick study done in the midday heat. Figured since I mentioned my last one was the first of four in one day, I better own up to it and show the rest of them as well… bear with me Painted and titled this a year before the […]


48mph: The Speed of Memory

Plein air artwork of the Pacific Coast Highway at Carlsbad state park on the san diego coast of southern california

I’d driven past this little dip in coast bluff several times over the prior week while painting with Wade Koniakowsky, Norm Daniels, Jose Emroca Flores, and Greg Gorgas a couple summers back. One crispy clear afternoon the scene here really caught my eye. A day or two later I’d dragged Wade and Norm back here […]


Hot Water

Plein air artwork of the Powerhouse at Del Mar on the san Diego coast of southern California
I recall that I really wanted to focus on creating a graphic band of information across an otherwise quiet composition here. It was liberating to not feel the need to indulge in extra information in the sky above or grass lawn below. The busy action that cuts across the canvas puts the busyness of our […]…

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Dog’s Eye View

Plein air artwork of Dog Beach at the mouth of the Del Mar Lagoon on the San Diego coast of southern California

This was a quick one at the end of a longish day of painting with Wade Koniakowsky, Norm Daniels, and Jose Emroca Flores. I believe Greg Gorgas joined in for this quick later afternoon session as well. We’d been painting all week together so by now these guys knew when I wandered off with a […]


Eventually

Plein air artwork of the trail to Beacon's Beach on the San Diego coast of southern California
That’s my dad’s 76 VW parked in the prime spot for this painting of this busy beach access trail down in San Diego. I believe Norm painted a closeup of the bus while I tried to bite off this whole scene. I have a habit of doing that, often taking on a bit too much. […]…

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All You Can Eat

Plein air artwork of Tabletop Reef in Del Mar on the San Diego coast of southern California

This was a significant painting for me. I have a tendency to want to include everything, and break up every space on a canvas into smaller and smaller pieces. When painting flat beaches or spaces with a lot of empty foreground or sky I usually struggle with those empty areas. Here I finally just let […]


South Swells and Sunlight

Plein air artwork from Moonlight Beach in Leucadio on the san diego coast of southern California

Summer is kinda over, except fall really is the best summer around here. That said, rain is in the forecast once again, which means I’ll be hunkered down and catching up on a bunch of studio work over the next few months. Looking forward to spring and summer 2020 road trip season already. This was […]