The West Coast Shorelines Series
In the song “Round Here’ by the Counting Crows we hear the words:
And she walks along the edge
Of where the ocean meets the land
Just like she’s walking on a wire in the circus
There is a bit of magic where the ocean, land, and air interact to create both visual beauty and a space where inner reflections can take hold. The coastlines of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California are particularly potent because of the dramatic mountainous geography that collides with the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean.
These coastal spaces on the margins of the North American continent are dynamic environments with their own microclimates created from cold, moist Pacific air flowing eastward and being forced aloft by the mountainous terrain.
Unique temperate rain forest and redwood forest thrive in this environment, and the near shore marine world is packed with kelp forest supporting magnificent ecosystems.
This series visually explores these intricate and beautiful coastlines.
Monterey Coast
The rugged shorelines on this stretch of the coast are fertile grounds for many artists. This particular artwork started as a photograph taken on a sunless day against a gray sky. Pacific Ocean mist was obscuring much of the horizon and the lack of sunlight rendered the rock in gray and brown tones. Slight rearrangements in the composition and separate modifications of the foreground and background in Adobe Creative Cloud led to the final image.
Walking on Rockaway
The artwork “Walking on Rockaway” captures a northward looking view along Rockaway Beach emphasizing the unique space where the mountains, beaches, sea, and sky intertwine into a calm, beautiful scene on a slightly overcast, hazy day.
Still Standing
Battered and bleached, a lone tree trunk clings to the Monterey shoreline, still standing to provide a compelling scene. Perched on Monterey Granite and perpetually gazing out over the Pacific Ocean, the tree provides a study in color and form.
Arcadia Beach
Just south of Cannon Beach you can pull off the coastal highway, park, and take a walk on Arcadia Beach. Out of season, you may have it to yourself. This artwork captures a northward view with the darkened edges of the coastal hills and offshore rock stacks separating the beach from the sky.
Oregon Coastal Mist
Oregon’s coastal mountains plunge into the Pacific Ocean, creating wet temperate rain forests along the northern coastline. There you can walk the beaches observing the ever-changing scenery as ocean fog rolls in off the ocean and coastal mist flows oceanward from the mountains. The back and forth opens up the views and just as quickly closes them again.
Twin Rocks
An art exposé of Rockaway Beach, Oregon would not be complete without addressing the Twin Rocks. These two 100 foot tall monuments sit just offshore from pristine,
Luminescent Beach Debris
The massive, weather root system of a logged tree washed ashore on Rockaway Beach, Oregon. Partially buried in the sand, it forms a natural sculpture on the beach front.
Sand Fractals
Patterns etched in the sand from an outwash stream along Rockaway Beach, Oregon provide a delicately formed array with contrasting deposits of black and yellow sand.
Alone
This work is a digital art rendition of the famous Lone Cypress. The tree is a Monterey cypress located along the coastal drive near Pebble Beach California.
This image places the cypress tree against a fading, horizonless background and emphasizes the natural beauty of the granite outcrop on which the tree grows.
The Lone Cypress looks out over the
Mist at Yaquina Head Lighthouse
Yaquina Head is located along the Oregon Coast just north of the town of Newport. The lighthouse has been active since 1873 and was originally know as the Cape Foulweather Lighthouse.
The artwork captures the interplay between the vibrant green of the Pacific Ocean and the rusty orange and red of the rugged headlands. The viewer’s eye can drift beyond the headlands into the developing fog.
California Gray
The northern coastline of California is an ever-changing landscape. A small tree-covered island is captured on a gray day. But even gray days in California have their charms along the Pacific coast. Subtle reds, greens, and purples provide contrast against the gray skies, with bad weather looming on the horizon.
Dancing
Monterey jellyfish caught in an intricate dance against the deep blue. Suspended in their aqueous home, they dance in three dimensions following steps choreographed by swirling ocean currents.
The Sentinels
Rock stacks rising from the morning mist stand like sentinels guarding one of the beaches along Ecola State Park, Oregon.