I grew up on these bluffs. Some of my earliest memories of driving on my Dad's lap on a Sunday morning with my brothers in tow, out along the bumpy dirt road, now known as the Artist's Trail. There were even mornings we'd bring our family's 22.cal rifle and shoot at some of the debris dumped out under these trees. Fortunately for us all, this area is now a public preserve and will remain wild and open for future generations to enjoy.
I was out walking my dog one morning when I caught the sunrise gleaming through the trees. I was interested in the patterns made by the shadows being cast over the trail, and the silhouette of the eucalyptus trees blocking the morning sun. It had just rained so the morning light was misty and warm.
Right around this time, in the Fall of 2007, I was helping Huell Howser produce a documentary for his, "California's Green" program. He wanted to produce a program on a group of artists I belong to called, "THE OAK GROUP". During this production he interviewed me, while on location painting this picture. Now, this episode can now be seen on PBS a few times a year.
An artist never knows where his paintings will end up. Whether or not they will be purchased, donated, stored in a closet, put under a bed, put into a collection never to be seen again, or destroyed on purpose or on accident. With any luck they will be placed in a museum collection and exhibited for ever. But this is rare.
After a painting is created it takes on a life of it's own. As an artist, I continue to learn to detachment from my, 'children'. They trail me like the wake of a ship, and every now and then when I see one of my paintings hanging in someones home, it is a great feeling; not only to reacquaint with it nostalgically, but to try and remember what motivated me to paint that scene in the first place. It's like deciphering a time capsule.
Sunrise on the Artist's Trail
18x18 oil/canvas 2007
Painting subject to prior purchase
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