We headed to the beach over the weekend. We were headed to Malibu, but the traffic was a bit heavy so we stopped off at Santa Monica.
It was a bit chilly and cloudy, as you can see from the photos, so we headed over to a local watering hole in Venice.
The sun finally came out, and life was good. We made some new friends in Venice, and before we knew it, we ended up at a drum circle on Venice Beach, and I thought, this is what a day at the beach is all about.
Yesterday I went took part in a guided hike in the Santa Monica Mountains. The hike was sponsored by the National Park Service, and the goal was to find local wildflowers in bloom. While the guided hike turned out to be more for hardcore botany enthusiasts, it was great to get outdoors, and we learned some things along the way. 
The photo above is one of my new favorite local plants. This is a yucca plant, which comes in many different forms. It is closely related to the agave and the lily, and actually is not a part of the cactus family. These plants grow long flower stalks, and after they bloom, the original plant dies. 
These photos are from the Mishe Mokwa Trail, which is close to Mailbu. The drive alone was beautiful, as we drove all the way through Malibu along the ocean, and then turned inland to the mountains. It was pretty amazing that we were only an hour outside of Los Angeles.
The vistas were incredible. We were about 2,000 feet above sea level. 
Runyon Canyon Sentinel, oil on canvas, 2009, 22 x 22 inches I first visited Runyon Canyon shortly after moving to LA. It is an incredible resource, an easy hiking trail centrally located in Hollywood. Within a few minutes of hiking on the trails, you can see amazing views of the downtown skyline, and the ocean to the west. On clear days you can see all the way to Long Beach. It is really breathtaking, and intensely beautiful.
It was in Runyon Canyon that I first got a sense of what the natural environment is like in this area. It is dry, with little rain. We are entering the rainy season now, and it is raining as I write this—-a welcomed interruption here. The lush plants in Los Angeles are watered, and palm trees, found in the wild only near abundant water sources, are no exception.
When I was hiking in Runyon Canyon, I saw this palm tree, and it immediately struck me; I knew I had to paint it. My paintings are about my observations, and my associated experiences and thoughts. This palm tree has layers and layers of dead leaves, suggesting that it has been here, watching over the entrance of Runyon Canyon, for a long time. It is a sentinel, testifying to the history of Los Angeles, and to our future. Like innumerable others, this palm tree has become deeply rooted in the new, natural environment.
Behind the palm tree, a narrow cloud delineates the course of the jet that preceded it. Both elements contribute to this depiction of natural beauty.
Sunset from Mulholland Drive, oil on canvas, 2009, 19 x 14 inches
Mulholland Drive is a road in Los Angeles that loosely follows the ridgeline of the Hollywood Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains. Famous for having some of the most exclusive homes in the world, Mulholland Drive is also surprisingly accessible. The road was created as a scenic byway, and there are scenic view points perched along the road. The east stretch of Mulholland Drive reveals sweeping views of downtown LA, while the western stretch displays vistas of the San Fernando Valley.
My friend Lisa was in town from Boston the night of this sunset, and we witnessed the sun go down over the Valley. There is a quality of light in LA--Magic Hour--that is stunning and unique to the area. It never ceases to bring a smile to my face.
West Hollywood, oil on canvas, 2009, 30 x 24 inches
Today I decided to put my worries away for awhile and go for a walk down Santa Monica Blvd. The weather was great, and after painting in the morning, I needed to get out of the house. I moved to Los Angeles from Boston in June, and this is my first fall here. It is still somewhat shocking to be in a place where the seasons don't really change. But I'm not complaining - it was a gorgeous day.
Gotta love it!
Heading west on Santa Monica Blvd. out of West Hollywood, you will eventually reach Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills is filled with orderly streets, many of them lined with palms. I have to admit, even though the palm trees are not native to the Los Angeles basin, they are attractive. They suggest a tropical place, and while this area used to be more of a desert, it has become an oasis of sorts, albeit a contrived and bit unnatural one. This idea of the natural vs. the unnatural is the basis of my current paintings, Natural Beauty. 
Beverly Hills is a bit ostentatious. Other wealthy areas in Los Angeles would not have a large sign advertising their neighborhood, but in Beverly Hills, anything goes. There were many tourists taking photos of this sign, as there always is, and today, I was one of them. It was kind of fun.
I ended up on Rodeo Drive. I had never been there before, and while I will likely never shop there, it seemed like a good final destination. My favorite part of the area was this naked woman statue that watches over Rodeo Drive without eyes. This small street does have a bit of a village feel, and it was fun to walk around the area.
Yesterday I built five canvases. I went to the art store in the morning and purchased the materials, and what was once a pile of stretcher bars and fabric is now five painting supports. New canvases are so exciting because they are filled with so much potential.Before you can apply oil paint to a canvas, you must cover the canvas with three layers of gesso. The solvents used in oil painting, as well as the oil itself, will eventually leach through the canvas and damage it without the protective gesso layer. “Gesso” is the Italian word for “chalk”, and traditionally, gesso was a mixture of chalk and rabbit-skin glue. This mixture is fairly brittle, and is suitable for wood or masonite. Modern gesso has an acrylic polymer base. This is much more flexible, and can be used on canvas.
So here are five canvases, drying on my porch, fifteen coats of gesso later.
