Happy Holidays!

Wishing you Happy Holidays 
& an adventurous, creative New Year!

Pirates, Waves, & Fire.....

 Black ball!? Arrrrr!

Whoosh!

Despite Bonfire's warnings, 

a young campfire sets out to explore.....

8" x 8" prints available here.

Circles & Sea Lions

Over the weekend

I went foraging for a fresh fish taco.

It was a beautiful fall day

perfect for a walk

on the pier.

I saw the neighbors were home

and went to visit them.

They have a cozy pad.
Archival quality 8 x 10 prints available here.

Kelp

Mohawk

Ribbon

X

Curlz

Banister

Strandz

Amber

Dos Kelp

Tangle

8" x 10" Archival Quality Prints available here

Heat Wave

We're having a heat wave.

Oh My!

Random Collections

Time, art & inspiration.....

Light, things that fall off of trees, things that wash up on the beach, earrings.....






















Reading glasses, fortune cookie fortunes, more things that wash up on the beach, sticks & twigs.....






















Juniper berries, sea glass, plastic & metal.....

Balls, dried white jasmine blossoms, shells, & pens.....

Feelin' Free on the Beach

Some of my best childhood memories are of 4th of Julys spent on the beach. I especially remember the bicentennial, I know, this dates me! I went to the beach early that year, & there was so much more activity than usual. The regulars at my local beach were setting up their sites early with blankets, chairs, food, etc. & there was excitement & a sense of community in the air. I eventually got hungry & went home for lunch, but afterwards as I was heading back to the beach I saw what I thought was Paul Revere wearing a costume complete with three cornered hat riding his horse down Pacific Coast Highway.....

Over the last few years I've become rather grumpy about the crowds & the trampling of nature on the 4th, but this year I felt like going to the beach. I went to my favorite spot on a usually sparsely populated stretch of coast & there was excitement & electricity in the air. Kids, dogs, umbrellas, tents, massive sandcastles, large gatherings......there was a lot going on. I decided to do a long walk through it all, & was reminded of my childhood in Southern California. 

I didn't have my camera with me, which is probably good as a heavy marine layer was settling on the crowd blocking light, but mostly because there was so much going on I'd probably still be there clicking away. Something that has always fascinated me about the beach was out in full force.

I love the way that people open up there. They become free & somewhat feral. They stop worrying about what other people think about them. They have fun. They dig holes, draw in the sand, get dirty. They run & play. They create driftwood structures. They build fires. They spend hours collecting pebbles. They climb rocks, splash in the water, giggle, swim, surf, & fish.

On my walk I found a group carefully stacking sticks of kindling creating a tall square tower, presumably for later lighting, & a beautiful full scale sunken living room with semi-circular sofa & round coffee table with inset ice-bucket all sculpted out of sand oriented towards the firework launching area, of course.  The beach turns regular people into sculptors! I'm not the only one who gets all fired up creatively when I hit the sand!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As much as I was brought up to growl about tourists crowding our sand & water, I think that they sometimes demonstrate this power that the beach has over us the best. There's just something cool about seeing really out of shape pale pink people in swim suits dropping their inhibitions & having fun in the great outdoors. It demonstrates the healing power of nature. And what better way to celebrate our freedom.

Hands Across The Sand

The colorful scene at the Cayucos pier this morning.....



A mellow group with lots of love for the ocean.....

My neighbors in the line were friendly & well informed.....
 

I love how visual this event was.....Hope it sends a strong message to keep our Oceans clean. 


More information about Hands Across The Sand here. 

The Ocean's calling you.

Please join me on the beach this Saturday to help create the largest anti-offshore drilling gathering in history!

This international event is a simple, visual idea. 

At noon (in your time zone) join hands for 15 minutes forming lines in the sand against oil drilling in our coastal waters. 

Click on the logo above for more information & to find a participating beach near you. 

Our oceans need us.

C'mon meet me at the beach. We'll hold hands.

"This is what an oil-soaked wave looks like" via stoke report

Just a few thoughts. On recycled cardboard.

I was lounging on the beach when the light shifted in the late afternoon sun infusing the log lounging next to me with a golden glow. We shared a quiet moment.

Years ago I worked with a sculptor from Mexico. It was a rainy, cold winter. I was tired of the rain. He told me that he would have a talk with Tlaloc for me. Huh? Who? I asked. He smiled & told me that Tlaloc was a rain god. Sort of. Cool! He spelled it for me. I recently found his sticky note in my desk drawer. This is the result.

 

Sometimes it seems we're digging (drilling?) for the wrong things in the wrong places. Just a thought, in color.

8" x 8" Prints available here.

Shoreline Paintings on Recycled Cardboard

I've been enjoying working on a smaller, medium colored ground. It's refreshing to start in the middle & work towards both light & dark. The color & texture  of the cardboard pick up metallic paints nicely too.  

8" x 8" prints available here.
6" x 6" originals available here.

Freshly Stretched......

Can good things be far behind?

 

Ahhh, life in a small town.....

Sometimes I miss the excitement of living in the city, but then I have a day like today, & I remember exactly why I'm here..... I had a book to return to the library. It was busy downtown, so I had to park near the top of the parking garage, where I found this view. 

No complaints here.

It was such a nice day that I decided to check out 
Growing Grounds Downtown,
the retail outlet for a local non-profit wholesale nursery and farm which provides employment, vocational training, and socialization opportunities to adults with mental illness. 

Not only did I find competitively priced Cinnamon Basil, Arugula, & Dill beautifully arranged with flowering plants & gift items in a historic building, but I was surprised with this wonderful repurposed shopping bag.

These people rock! It made me happy just walking back to my car with this great package.....

Just around the corner, in the historic Chinatown area I captured this sign on film.

I've been meaning to for awhile, because this area is undergoing earthquake infrastructure reinforcement, which has uprooted many of the historic buildings. Even small towns move forward, fortunately, progress is relatively slow here.....

I had a nice little walk & completed my spring garden shopping, not a bad day at all :  )