Glass at Dusk

3rd day on the road, 9th painting completed, 3rd one this day

Not so long ago, and prior to the age of plastic’s dominance, one coastal town decided it’s beautiful bluffs overlooking the sea would be a great place for the town dump. It made all sorts of sense, what with the flat ground being suitable for simple pushing the refuse over the cliff onto the rugged beaches below for the ebb and flow of the ocean to do as it’s always done and make it all go away.

Well, it’s almost all gone now and you’d hardly know it ever was used as a dump, but what’s left behind is a bit of a wonder. All the glass bottles that were thrown away (this was maybe before recycling made economic sense) simply broke up, and worn by the sea and sand, filled entire beaches with translucent fragments. At first glance it just appears gravel, upon closer inspection it seems entire coves are made of glass.

I’d wanted to attempt a painting at beach level with afternoon light pouring through the beach glass, but the weather turned and I was left to wander around in the thick overcast evening air looking for a suitable cove. The first one I had in mind was blocked off from public access. No worries, I’d find another. Cove after cove was blocked and/or inaccessible. Well, I’ve hopped fences for paintings before and on account of the quickly fading light, I saw no reason not to add one more to the list.

It’s a perplexing conundrum this town faces now that it’s marketed this place as a destination for tourists, needing to keep them away from the best coves so the tourists don’t remove all the town’s old trash. Wait, what? Hard to believe that’s a real sentence, but there you have it. 


Artwork Information:


Artwork Title: "Glass at Dusk"
Original Size: 12" x 12"
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Year Painted: 2017

Additional Artwork Information:


Method: Plein Air
Date Painted: 07/09/2017
Region: The California Coast > Northern California > Mendocino
Road Trip: Mendocino/Sonoma 2017

Artwork Logistics:


Miles Hiked: 2-4 Miles
Access Logitics: Prohibited Area (on Public Land), Fence or Gate Hopping Required
Geological Hazards: Steep or Unstable Cliffs
Biological Hazards:
Anthropological Hazards: People Drinking
Weather Logistics: Threatening to Rain


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