Painted down in the surf at Cabrillo. for sale
Here in San Diego, we are spoiled by “perfect” weather but in reality, there are many deviations from “perfect.” For example, it might be 75 degrees instead of 72 and we will feel a little hot.
But today was not like that. It was absolutely perfect.
Painted sitting on a bench outside the Hotel Del, in the morning before people arrived to enjoy the umbrellas and lounge chairs. for sale
Sunset on East Beach. for sale
Commission, headed out the door. Turns out 5 commissions at the same time is a little overcommitted, and everything is weeks or months late. I think this one is ready to go out the door though.
This turned out to be a very fun place to paint. The people on the trains waved as they rolled past, and there were an incredible number of pedestrians.
Painted on the beach in PB. Today we dropped off a painting at the gallery in Santa Barbara, also had lunch and visited an orchid nursery. Driving back I longed to stop and paint the mountains in Ventura. They look like a painting already. Next time. for sale
Painted on location in Coronado. Another Santa Ana event with warm temps and high winds. for sale
Off to the gallery in Santa Barbara first thing Saturday AM.
On top of the Ledbetter cliffs in beautiful Santa Barbara, CA. for sale
The bike path along the San Diego River at Dog Beach. for sale
Painted on location in Ocean Beach. 
Painted on location in OB, San Diego. for sale
Painted on the bluffs at Sunset Cliffs. for sale
Our thoughts are with the families affected by the wildfires currently raging in San Diego County.
Point Loma seen from Coronado. For sale
While I was painting this, a guy offered me LSD so I could “see those faces in the cliffs better.”
A hot morning. I went down to the beach to cool off.
The Santa Ana winds carried a mini sandstorm with each 50 MPH gust. These weren’t ideal painting conditions, and I decided to leave halfway through this piece and finish it in the peaceful, cat-filled, air-conditioned studio.
Some people have a big fancy philosophy of plein air painting. Well, I am not one of them. There is no shame in working from photo references, I just like to be outside and that’s why I like to paint on location.
On Sundays we like to get breakfast, and I like to paint a watercolor wherever we eat. Today we went to the stellar Donut Bar, home to fancy donuts of all types. Though there are serious ergonomic issues with the layout of the place, I have decided to believe it adds to the charm. These are extremely good donuts, truly. They are inventive and made from scratch with perfectly balanced flavors and I advise them if you are visiting our fine city.
We took the donuts today to the rowdy port, where Japanese tourists wandered under their umbrellas, bicycle rickshaw drivers griped about medical paperwork, and vagrants yelled about everything on their minds. It was a lovely morning, sunny and warm with moisture in the air giving everyone a lesson in atmospheric perspective as the skyscrapers stepped off into the distance.
Here is my donut- something called a Strawberry Split, a giant sugared soft cake donut split in half, filled with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. See what I mean? It’s not even the best one they sell.
And here’s the in-progress shot of the painting:
