Artwork

Nothing is Easy

1st day on the road, 2nd painting completed I pulled off the highway here on my first day down the coast. The light was of the flat midday sort where the shadows are still hiding underneath their rocks staying cool in the heat of the sun, waiting till things cool off to come out again […]…

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The Usual Difficulties

First day on this road trip, first painting completed. I’ve driven past this dirt road for years, knowing that it was there, but a bit wary of taking my giant van down it’s length, not wanting to get stuck in a situation where I’d need to reverse a mile of dirt road with no turnaround. […]…

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No Turning Back

I’d tried to get to this place, Rubicon point, located in D.L. Bliss State Park for two days in a row only to be denied by a full parking lot. On the first day, I was with my whole family and we looked at a map and decided to walk in on the Rubicon Trail. […]…

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The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

The bold get up early and seize the day. They also seize all of the parking spots on the southwest shore of Tahoe by 9 in the morning on hot summer days. Earlier this day I was rather bold myself, rising before 6am and seizing a primo spot just about the falls in the previous […]…

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Heaven’s Fourth Foundation

How’s that cryptic title? Don’t worry I’m not starting some sort of religious new age cult or anything. I just have a tradition with my coastal paintings of not naming locations in the titles, but often providing obscure wordplay cues to the locations. I do this partly because as a surfer, no matter how much […]…

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Eden Revisited

Just after I had things blocked in on this one with a crisp afternoon light, a thunderhead developed to the south and within minutes the whole sky went gray. Had to make a choice, follow the changing conditions, or just wing it and make stuff up. Sometimes clouds bring out colors that sunlight washes out […]


Fit for a King

Named for the stretch of coast nearby, King’s beach, it’s easy to see why a place this beautiful would belong to a King. That said, he’s lost some territory this year as the heavier than normal snowfall melting into the lake has the water level several feet higher than normal and this beach, like many […]


West of Heaven

I was undoubtedly the highest I’ve ever been while painting this one. Wait. not like that. I mean the highest elevation- 9,123 feet above sea level to be exact. Heavenly is the name of the ski resort here on the California/Nevada border and we arrived to the first day of the summer gondola running visitors […]…

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In the Beginning

Arriving to Tahoe for the first time we approached from the south after traversing Echo Summit. The exposed granite boulders of the Pie Shop (what they call that hill in the mid upper right) in the distance gave just a hint of the aroma of the delicious feast of Earth’s wonder that was to come […]…

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A Strong Inclination

This is the first painting I did in Tahoe. It was a real puzzle for me trying to sort out the values in the painting with that blinding white snow on the surrounding ridges. I kept feeling like everything should be lighter because of the distance, then I’d lose the contrast that would make that […]


I’m Going In!

Close to the water’s edge and just around that boulder point known as Bonsai Rocks. By the time I was done with this one, staring so closely into that crystalline water while sweating in the sun, there was no holding back.  I’m going in! Wow, Tahoe. You’re cold. That hurt.


Geometries of Love

Not plein air, but quickly painted in a public setting from a blurry overcast bootlegged photo, so not exactly a studio painting either… This was done as a gift for the family that opened their home to me during my recent stay in San Diego. They spend their anniversaries down here every year, and though […]


Observation: North

The view looking north from this science research pier. I could have approached this totally differently and used the perspective to really go after the unique view of the coast from just offshore, leaving out all the railing and hoists and sciency stuffs, but that wouldn’t really tell the whole story would it? Big thanks […]


Observation: South

While I am generally drawn to cliffside overlooks with sweeping views out to the water, I also find the occasionally more unusual perspective pretty irresistible, especially when it’s one that requires a key and a scientist on your side to gain access to a pier and observation deck that are otherwise closed to the public. […]


The Glider

Skip Frye Tribute. An interpretation of a classic Ron Stoner image of Skip paddling out at Cojo, from the Surfer Magazine Archives Painted live start to finish last night with Skip in the room. Think about that for a second.


Cliff Hanger

While I tend toward the pulled back views looking up or down the coast until the atmospheric haze obscures the landscape features off in the distance, it’s nice to change it up from time to time and absorb a more intimate view of the unique coastal features in a given location.