Painting Garrapata

To the best of my recollection this is only the third ocean scene that I have ever painted. 3 out of hundreds. I'm not sure why this is so. I guess moving from the middle of the country the ocean seemed unfamiliar with new challenges and new colors.
Garrapata is one of my favorite places to spend time by the ocean and frequent it often.
I have wanted to do a timelapse of a painting and thought I would do so with this painting. Timelapse of creation processes is something that intrigues me. So why not do one myself.

You can see the video here.

Fresh Influence

He who lives without prayer,
He who lives with little prayer,
he who seldom reads the Word
and he who seldom looks up to heaven
for a fresh influence from on high,
he will be the man whose heart will become dry and barren

Charles Spurgeon

Cicadas

Certain sounds trigger memories in me so real it is as if I am there. For example, whenever I hear the sound of cicadas, I am immediately transported to a childhood memory. I am lying on the bed at my grandparents’ house in rural South Dakota. I remember the rigidness of the hand-made quilt and the grooves in the footboard that I would rub my feet across, like rosary beads, praying for sleep. A podiatric lathe, carving grooves into memories. I knew them well because I quickly became much taller than the bed, and so was forced to study the footboard.

Still warm from the hot humid summer sun I lay on the bed listening and studying. The window open, in hopes of a cool evening breeze to penetrate the room, provided a channel for the steady rhythm of the cicadas in the ether of the night. I remember the curiosity that I felt about what was just outside, and then farther outside. What sights, sounds, tastes, smells would I come to experience in my life? There seemed like so much out there.

As I witness more, I become increasingly more aware that there is so much more yet to see. I frequent roads that are familiar, unaware, but curious of what lies just beyond the hill. Whole new environments, and beauties I may never partake of. People I may never meet. Things that will never be added to my life experience. And so I cherish the memories that I have retained and experienced while striving to take opportunities to discover new places, experiences and people.
My memories of home: my memories of family, friends and of the world around me. Some are old and engrained, others new, fresh and awaiting deeper discovery.

Hiking Garrapata

Garrapata is one of my favorite places to hike in the area. You get the combination of great coastal views, some steep climbs to get the blood pumping, some great wildflower displays, a touch of redwoods and some creekside strolling. It really is the full package. Did I mention the view from the top is spectacular and well worth the effort. Here are a few shots with Larry from a recent trip.

Johnson portraits

I had the opportunity to shoot Jeff and Liz a few weeks ago. They wanted to go down to Pacific Grove and get some shots while the purpe flowers were in bloom. It was a great idea and offered an awesome backdrop for some portraits of the two of them.

 Thankfully, it was warm enough and the sun peaked through the clouds enough to get some good shots.

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From where I stand

From where I stand

There is so much beauty in the world. Much of it goes unseen or at least unappreciated. There are places where it may be difficult or at least take time to find the beauty in a place. There are places that are so saturated with beauty that much of it may go unseen, or at least unappreciated.

I think of a trip to Point Lobos often called “The greatest meeting of land and sea.” There are many scenic vistas, around every corner something new to see and something new to marvel. In the midst of such grandeur some things may get lost, if you let them. They exist as a brushstroke of a greater masterpiece. Yet, when one takes time to examine these brushstrokes a whole new world emerges. When the focus is shifted from wide angle to macro, whole new beauties begin to emerge. As I sat there on that beautiful peninsula with the Pacific Ocean rolling before me with a small field of wildflowers as a foreground I began to look through a narrower lens and was enchanted by what I encountered.

Amongst this field of gold, illuminated and made even more golden by the descending sun, sat a purple flower. An alien in this yellow world: a perfect complement to this golden backdrop. This “ugly duckling” sat a bit taller and a bit bolder in her brilliant field of gold swaying in the cool evening breeze in homage to their resplendent visitor.

Sunrise in the Valley

Sunday morning I got inspired at a quarter to five in the morning to go take some pictures. I had heard that it was going to be warm during the day and that often means that there is not very much fog in the morning. So when I woke up, awaken by nothing other than perhaps inspiration, I got out of bed to take a look at the sky. It was clear and a few stars were still visible. It seemed as though it would be a good day.


I threw on some clothes grabbed my cap packed up my camera gear(I think for future reference I should keep that packed just in case) snatched an apple and some water from the fridge and headed out in the wee hours of the morning to see if I could capture some light.


I headed out to Creekside Terrace to a point that I knew has a pretty good view of Salinas and the Valley and tried to find an ideal spot to capture the sun as it came out from over the hills. I waited around for a while and tried not to be worried about the rustling coming from the bushes around me.


And then it happened. The sun started to appear and the magical sky started to take the stage. Not a cloud in the sky and only a little fog in the valley. I captured the first few moments of the visible daylight and then hopped around trying to get as many different angles of the show as I could.


I think that I love sunrises a little bit more than I sunsets. Sunsets are beautiful, don't get me wrong, but there is just something inspiring in a sunrise. Maybe it the extra effort that it takes for me to get out of bed and experience it or maybe it's just a reminder of the hope that we all have. That even when the world seems dark that the sun comes each and every morning. I felt like church had started a little bit earlier that morning.


It was another reminder when I went to 'church', as we are in a summer study in Psalms. The first verse was from Psalm 19:1"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the works of His hands."


You can check out the video here