Happy Holidays

Back from the Wild

I am back from Alaska and it was an amazing experience. I spent 9 days in the wilderness with the US Forest Service kayak rangers of Tracy Arm Fords Terror Wilderness. Big thanks to the rangers for keeping me alive. I am currently keeping a Facebook journal over here. Stop by and follow along as I detail everything I've learned and experienced. I'll be posting paintings once I'm done touching them up.

Secret L.A.

While I'm gearing up for Alaska, the adventure club trekked out to Escondido Falls above Malibu.
Would you believe this is L.A.?

On the trail up we encountered strange and menacing wildlife. We dubbed this the rare armadillo tree spider.

 In all seriousness the trail is a great and adventurous hike. Anticipate a bottleneck at the rope crossing and the falls can be rather packed at the top.

This is my trash haul I picked up along the way and at the falls.  Mostly stray water bottles... a selling point for reusable water bottles if ever I saw one.

No trip is to Malibu is complete without a stop to Malibu Seafood on the way home. 

Into the Wild

I've been holding off on announcing this thinking I must be dreaming or there must be some clerical error. But after booking my flight and talking more with the rangers I think it's safe to say this is actually happening. I'm excited and honored to announce I am selected to participate in the Voices of the Wilderness artist residency program in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, Alaska. I'll be spending two weeks in July with rangers helping to perform Forest Service duties while learning about stewardship, conservation and the importance of wilderness to our national character. And as an added bonus I have the privilege of painting some of the most beautiful pristine wilderness on this planet. I feel very fortunate and honored to serve the U.S. Forest Service as an artist. It's humbling to be able to use my skills as an artist to add to the dialogue of past artists and naturalists who fought long and hard to preserve our nation's wilderness for future generations. I'm currently working on a facebook page that will document my journey into the wilds of Alaska. I will post the link when it is live. Here is a link about the program.

Quick Sketch

A quick sketch I did at my mailbox. Too hot to venture further out right now. The beach paintings will be starting soon.

Devil's Punchbowl

Recently a group of friends loosely named the "Adventure Club" trekked out to the Devil's Punchbowl located in the Angeles National Forest for a session of painting and hiking. The Devil's Punchbowl is amazing. A scooped out valley behind the San Gabriel Mountains with stunning rock formations. It's a bit of a drive but well worth the trip. A hidden Los Angeles treasure! Be sure to stop by Vasquez Rocks on the way back!

More Painting

You know how I keep saying I'm going to post some new paintings... I'm currently touching up a stack of paintings I did in the field. Here's a couple that are almost done. The top one I did this weekend over at Bronson Canyon. The area has sort of an ominous feel as you are surround by high canyon walls that echo eerie sounds. They filmed many a western here and it's the home of the Bronson caves where they filmed scenes of the Batmobile entering the Batcave in the original Adam West TV series. The bottom painting was done in one of LA's aqueducts running along the LA river. I loved how the light valued concrete vibrated this intense blue as it reflected the sky canopy above.