Convict Lake
20x24

This place is spectacular. Its only about 5 miles off the main Highway to Mammoth. I feel like going there now. April is a good time of the year for fishing. The air and water are warming up and the trout are starting to get hungry again. All the insects are hatching, spring is bringing everything to life. The painting opportunities in the high sierras are endless. I feel like I could pop up my easel anywhere up there and make an alright painting. I think I'll go again soon.

Onion Valley
30x30

When I'm on the coast I'm often painting in a hurry because there is usually something to ride (surf) within a hundred yards of my easel and only so much time in the day. I don't mind painting in a hurry. Sometimes I think they turn out better when I don't have time to contemplate every stroke, I have to rely more on my intuition. The same thing happens in the Sierras, but up there the streams and rivers are tugging at me. Directly behind me here lay Independence Creek that flows through Greys Meadow. Unlike the Upper Owens and their Native Browns we always manage to catch a few of those smaller hatchery plants.

The Upper Owens River
24x30
sold

My brother and I had been wanting to fish this river for those elusive monster browns for years. Its like gambling, you can get lucky on your first cast but the odds are definitely not in your favor. We tried and tried....lures, flies, shallow, deep, afternoon,.. dusk even. On each cast we were as optimistic as the last,   but nothing worked. I knew that if I could get my line into just the right section of river it would be MY name that graced the plaque attached to that world record trout hanging in the local liquor store that decades of anglers admired with envy. Well, it goes without saying,...we got skunked. At least we didn't walk away empty handed on that picture perfect day.

High Sierra Lake
18x24

I'm going to need this painting for an Oak group show in September. This lake brings back good and bad memories. This day was good, painting and fishing with my brother. The first time I went there I nearly froze to death, but it was worth it because I landed the biggest native trout of my life. It took two days for three people to eat.

Rock shadows
11x15
$275

The Joshua Tree National Park is another must see. Its one of the closer national parks to so many of us here in Southern California. There are some truly amazing rock formations to take in, climb, or even paint. Its a place worth going back several times, and I will. I don't know what it is about rock formations that I like so much. Maybe its all the variety of tone and form with such strong contrast.

Gateway
6x8
$150

This here water tower is right outside my friends place in 29 Palms called The Hungry Bunny Ranch. Look them up if you need a great place to stay while visiting the park. These little paintings aren't anything that take too much time or energy. Just quick sketches, sometimes they turn out, sometimes they dont.

Saggy shack
7x15
$150

Some good friends of mine live out in the desert near The Joshua Tree National park. I love it out there. The peace and quiet and wide open space is always a nice change from the southern California rat race. There is a clarity to the sky that makes for some of the best star gazing on earth.  Land is cheap, you can buy a fixer upper like this on five acres for under ten grand. I'm actually quite tempted.

Fresh water stream on the west end
15x30
oil on canvas
$1300

Christy's Beach is a desolate place. The whole island is extremely dry. To see fresh flowing water in a place like that is a real delight. Its a survival instinct. There's a place inside our subconscious that tells us, "yes, we are going to be OK, we can survive here"  There is even one swimming hole in the central valley that is deep enough to dive into.