A surfer's dream... perfect peaks, and lots of them. I went down to Bolsa Chica Beach early to paint. The clouds were so thick with "June gloom" that it looked like pea soup soup out there. Once I got my sketch in and some basic blocking done, the sun began to come up over my left shoulder as you can see the reflection of it on the horizon. The beginning of a beautiful day at the beach!

I spent most of my surfing days trying to figure out how to paddle out past the impact zone. There are several sets of waves to paddle over or through to get the best spot to catch one.  The paddle out 
can be difficult but  the power of the waves and cool water  is refreshing. As you can see by the guy out side that the rewards are great and he is ready to take off on one.
This little 11"x14"  is one that I painted on Sunset Beach. My scanner cropped off part of the sides and the bottom that shows more of the water. Will try to get a better picture later.

   I have many people approach me on the beach when I am painting that will will tell me that I have a wonderful gift and thank you for sharing. 
  What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of paintings don't ever get shared. They remain in the collection of the artist or are even painted over. 
   As artists we always want to grow and improve so we have to paint a lot to get better. Many non artists who wish they had that gift would be shocked to know how many beautiful paintings actually are  destroyed or put  away in closets of the artist.   
  This Laguna Seacape painting is what I call a complete painting because it is now owned by Mary.  Mary was amused that I had a funny price that all add up to eight and wanted to know why I did this.  I am not into numberolgy, but eight is the number of infinity. If you look at an eight there are two circles, one is you and the other is the artist. One loop goes to the other and it is the most complete number. 
  So, whether  you buy a painting to give as a gift or put on your wall you are completing the painting.  This painting will live on in some ones life and not be destroyed or hoarded by the artist.

After many days in of hiking in May to this spot to do plein air studies, this 15"x30" studio has been painted.  This is one of the last natural beaches on the southern California coast.  Take a walk down the shoreline to see the old houses then swim out in waves of clear water  near the tide pools. The morning fog is breaking, as the sunlight brings warmth and hope for a wonderful day at Crystal Cove Beach.