I recently returned from a beautiful trip up the California coast to Cambria, a quaint town just off Highway 1. Beautiful rolling hills, dramatic cliffs, and wonderful light provided plenty of inspiration for painting. Here are a few of my sketches from the trip.

 {North side of Morro Rock}

8×10

oil on linen

{Evening Light at Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, Cambria}

12×12

oil on linen

(Sold)

I’m still working (as I suppose I always will) to get better, to practice, practice, practice, and thinking about why I paint. There is something crucial about capturing the world truthfully, about communicating that arresting moment of seeing something that causes one

to stop,

to focus,

and to appreciate the beauty of the world.

Some scenes are more naturally picturesque than others, but it’s not about recording the postcard views. I’m trying to share my experience of the feeling of a place, to bring that home and into my life and hopefully others’ lives too.

Painting as a disruption of our distraction.

Beauty to counteract our busyness.