"Hospitals”

"Watercolor - 11 x 15" - $450

This picture was taken by my good friend, Bruce Jamieson, on a day when Hospitals looks like Pipe.  Its a great shot, and I hope the painting looks good too. Bruce now has his own website - circa78.com - of his travel and landscape and seascape photos. Check it out.

"Blacks Shadows"

watercolor - 12 x 16" - $575

This shot was another one taken by Bruce . It was from those big days in 2005. I love the shadows and the haze on the water, and I hope the painting is close to how great the photo was.

"The Goat Trail 2"

Watercolor - 12 x 16" - $425

This is the northern view we had while sitting on the cliff, watching the swimmers while lifeguarding. It looks hot in this painting, even though I was cold most of the time sitting under the umbrella in the wind. I am always a little sorry when the summer is over and I don't get paid to be at the beach all day. Its not a bad gig.

"Waimea Shorebreak"

Watercolor - 10 x 16" - $425

I was playing around in the shorebreak at Waimea (it was a fun size - not a scary size) with my camera, and got a few shots. Mostly I got pounded. I looked back at the shots I took, and for every picture there was, I got worked getting it. The worst part is only like 2 out of the 75 were any good. I did like this one though.

"Chinamans Hat Again"

Watercolor - 6 x 22" - $450

I may be able to paint Chinamans Hat for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. It has such an interesting shape, like maybe. . .I don't know, but it is sure appealing.

"Pipes"

Watercolor - 14 x 20" - $650

Pipes is a real nice area. The spot is great, and with Swamis in the background, the scene is beautiful.

"More Cove"

Watercolor - 14 x 20" - $625

I'll probably get tired of painting the cove when people get tired of looking at it. The spot is beautiful, and the contrasting colors and mix of cliff and water make for an easy and beautiful painting. Some paintings are a lot of work to make look good, but the cove just lends itself to good paintings.

"Flat Rock"

Watercolor - 14 x 20" - sold

These cliffs are so beautiful and interesting. As the day progresses, they change colors as the sun hits them differently. They make me want to know more about geology, and how they were formed.

"Tower 25"

Watercolor 10 x 15" - $475

Another shot of the famous tower at Sunset Beach - on a calm day. I did this painting to go on the cover of the Cuyamaca College Summer Preview class schedule. I think it'll look good even with words all over it.

"Goat Island'

Watercolor - 12 x 22" - $650

My favorite wave of all time. Not everyone likes this wave, but when it is on, I'd rather surf there more than anywhere else. If you can see whitewater from the shore, its a guaranteed good time. And when the kona winds blow . . . it’ll be perfect.

"Big Lefts"

Watercolor - 11 x 22" - $550

When Waimeas big, people hardly ever watch the huge lefts that roll in on the other side of the bay, unless they close out the whole place. Too bad they're not rideable, because they are always there.

"Palms"

Watercolor - 10 x 16" - $450

This wave isn't Windansea, or Simmons. Is the wave in between those called Middles? If it is, then this is middles. It doesn't breat that often, but it made the painting of these palm trees look better. I wanted to paint these palms for a while now, and now I did.

"Empty Wave"

Watercolor - 10 x 16" - $375

In this crowded city with thousands of surf starved people, it is amazing a wave as big and pretty as this could go unridden - at Blacks no less. There isn't even anyone paddling for it. The reason is because everyone was sitting 50 yards further outside hoping to not get caught inside by one twice this size. So many waves went unridden this day on Dec 21, 2005.

"New Shack"

Watercolor - 12 x 18" - $425

Here the late afternoon sun hits the rocks at Windansea, making them look redder. I know the shack was only moved like 20 feet up the rocks recently, but it really throws off the compositions of a lot of paintings I have wanted to do. People in the lineup had to get used to the shack in a different spot, and I guess all the artists and photographers had to as well.

"Blacks"

Watercolor - 12 x 16" - $550

The summer just ended when I did this painting in 2006, and this was the view I had while working as a lifeguard there. We rotated through two hours on the cliff each day, watching over three miles of water, making sure everyone was okay. It was a great summer, over one of the best beaches San Diego offers.

"Boomers"

Watercolor - 10 x 16" - $375

This is the second time I painted a lifeguard call box this year. I didn't even realize it until I was posting this painting on the website. This is of course at Boomers - the no board zone in La Jolla. It is a cool phone box there - an art project all on its own. The painting should really be in the surf section of the website, but the two surfers are very small in the shot, and they don't have boards.

"Windansea Splash"

Watercolor - 10 x 16” - $450

Perry Farrell sings that he has seen the ocean break on the shore with no harm done. Cool.

“Sunny Afternoon”

Watercolor - 14 x 20” - $650

I started this painting when I did a demonstration for the Foothills Art Association in La Mesa.  I wanted to bring a painting that I knew I would be pretty comfortable working on, so that I wouldn’t try something in front of 50 people and mess it all up.  That would be embarrassing.  I only got a small start on it though, and had to finish it in my studio later.  I think It worked out pretty good.

“Windansea Afternoon”

Watercolor - 14 x 20” - $650

More glorious weather in San Diego.  And windan had the biggest waves in San Diego this day.  I’m surprised it wasn’t more crowded

“Shoreline”

Watercolor - 14 x 20” - $650

The day I took the photos that made up this painting was so beautiful.  I spent the whole day hanging out at Windansea and Marine Street, then heading down to the Shores and Blacks.  It was a whole day enjoying the beach.  After walking around for like 6 hours, I surfed at Horseshoe, and got some little barrells.  What a perfect day.

“Cobbles in the Sand”

Watercolor  -  14 x 20”

$750 (framed)

I am really enjoying painting the cobbles found around some of the beaches in San Diego.  I think they naturally lend themselves to interesting compositions with different colors and textures.  There is a huge variety in the rocks, and I think the paintings are fun to look at.

“4 High”

Watercolor  -  10 x 16” - $450

“Purple Cobble”

Watercolor - 14 x 20”

$625

This painting was a challenge, because I wanted only the stacked rocks in focus.  I have been painting watercolor for almost 20 years now, and it is still not easy.

“Winter Shack”

Watercolor - 14 x 20 - $650

A rare December day when there is still a lot of sand at Windansea.  The sun is so far south that there is a glare on the water almost all day.  If I looked north from this spot, the color would look like a totally different day.  I liked the quality of light in this scene.

“Chinamans Hat Again”

Watercolor - 11 x 13”

$225

Chinamans Hat on the East side of Oahu keeps showing up in my paintings.  Pretty soon I’ll have as many of these as I do of Pelicans and cobblestones.   Probably not as many as my surf art though

“Law Street”

Watercolor  12 x 17”  $550

I am always looking for different places to paint.  I don’t surf in PB very much, so I don’t go there as often as other spots, but all the elements for good paintings can be found there too. 

“Tourmaline”

Watercolor 12 x 17”  $550

Late afternoon, low tide rising, and a small glassy day.  There will be fun waves everywhere on days like this - just pick your spot.

“Birdrock”

Watercolor  12 x 17”  $550

This is a lot like another painting I did of Birdrock.  Small differences in color and foreground water.  I like them both, but this one worked out a little bit better.  Maybe I’ll try and enhance the first BR painting.  And I think I’ll keep going to this spot for further inspiration.  There is a lot of good stuff here

“Windansea Sunset”

Watercolor  10 x 16”  $450

I’ll never tire of spending time at Windansea.  I love the warm summer evening feel in this painting.  The water was really warm, and the air was still.  What a nice evening

“Pumphouse”

Watercolor  12 x 16”

I looked through some old photos I have for a new project for my watercolor class.  This painting has a lot of really nice elements for demonstrating and teaching watercolor.  The big sky, the small peninsula in the background and ocean in the middle ground, with the shack and rocks n the foreground.  I really liked seeing all the different interpretations that the students in my class came up with.  And I liked my painting too.

“Silver Almond”

Watercolor  12 x 16”  $525

I did this painting with my more advanced students.  It is a way more challenging painting to do than the Windansea one.  All the colors needed to relate to each other in this one - the sky and water and cliffs and reflections.  And more control needed to be exercised with the wet into wet portions.    It was a good learning experience and we practiced some good techniques.  

“Glassy Birdrock”

Watercolor 11 x 17” - $550

The good people at Birdrock Surf Shop in La Jolla are selling some of my prints, and images of the area go over well.  This was a glassy day I passed by and saw no one out.  I couldn’t believe it.

“New Fronds”

Watercolor 10 x 16 - $450

I started this painting for a demonstration in a high school in Carmel Valley.  I hope the students liked watching me paint.  I had some fun.  I finished the painting later in my studio.  The kids probably would have gotten so bored watching me paint for 8 more hours to finish.  Which leads me to think I need to paint faster.

“Simmons”

Watercolor 12 x 17 - $550

I took the shot for this painting after a full day of surfing and shooting.  I surfed out at Blacks with the 500 other people this day.  The water was beautiful and the waves were good.  I ended up at Windansea in the evening to check out the action there.  Simmons was the place to surf along this stretch of reef.  There were good waves all over San Diego this day. 

“Hot and Glassy”

Watercolor 12 x 17 - $550

This was taken from Little Point looking back to the Peak at Windansea on a nice day.  I wish all the days were as nice as this one was.  But, if they were, I would probably never get any work done - I’d just want to be out all day playing.

“Shoreline”

Watercolor  9 x 12”  $175

This is from the same day as the previous painting.  Just from on top of the rocks at little point instead of on the sand.  I worked on this one with my class of advanced watercolor students.  It was a challenge - like all watercolor paintings are.