From the Back Burner - Day 15 - 30 Paintings in 30 Days

Here in the northeast, I haven't seen the sun for more than two weeks. Maybe that's why I'm dreaming of sunny California. Today's painting , A Piece of the Rock, is from a photo I took in Morro Bay. There's a huge rock there sometimes referred to as the Gibraltar of the West. You can see it from miles away. In fact, I frequently stop at a high point on the way back to Templeton, to see Morro Rock in the distance bathed in mist and the pink light of sunset beyond ridges of green hills. But that's another painting waiting to be made. As large as Morro Rock is - my painting shows only a tiny piece of it - It's actually the relatively small plug of an ancient volcano. The remnants of part of that volcano form the shape of the coastline of Morro Bay. At one time, the rock was quarried. Now it's a sanctuary for sea birds. A narrow drive goes about three quarters of the way around the rock. It's amazing to look high above and see hundreds of birds perched on ledges like people on the balconies of a luxury high-rise. 

A Piece of the Rock - oil on linen panel - 9x12
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