I love painting in Laguna Beach. The canyons and hills are just as inspiring as the coast. This afternoon I was attracted to how rich the colors in the shadow were and how the last light illuminated just the crest of the hill and the distant mountain.

A photo of the same view clearly shows how a representational painting does more than just copy a scene. The artist translates the physical world through his or her own vision and communicates something (hopefully) truer, more focused, and more personal than a copyist.