Night Sky Over San Miguel

  Night Sky Over San Miguel, 24 x 24 Water Color on Yupo

I love this painting.  It started one day in September of last year on an amazing trip I took to the Channel Islands just off the coast of California.  I went to San Miguel, Santa Cruz and Anacapa Islands on a dive boat with twenty-five artists and a crew that waited on us hand and foot.  I'm not sure why anyone goes on a luxury cruise when you can do something like this!

One morning we took turns being ferried over to the island.  I took a leisurely walk and decided to hang out in the location you see in the photo at the top of the page.  I just sat and soaked in the day and the magical place along with the elephant seal you see here!

 From an artistic point of view it was a little overwhelming.  I basically set out to learn how to paint in oils on a dive boat in the Pacific Ocean with an easel that was falling apart.  I was also amazed at the other artists aboard.  They were painting gorgeous work, two and three pieces a day!  I felt incredibly inadequate.  (needed to remember that beginner's mind) I doodled around and ended up with some studies in oil which will never see the light of day, and some pen and ink watercolors.  I did the watercolors at night.  Wonderful!  Painting at night was one of my favorite things on the trip.

Taking all of these experiences to my painting has been a task I've thoroughly enjoyed. I've started a series based on this trip using a plastic paper (yupo) with watercolor. The San Miguel photo was a reference piece.  In swirling the paint around I got some beautiful effects in the sky area.  They remind me of the Milky Way which was very visible over the island. So I decided to turn the painting into a nocturne.  I've developed it even more than the photo at the top of the page.  It's ready to be framed and go to Santa Barbara for a show in February. 

There's a lot more I'll be doing in the next week to prep for my upcoming month.  I'll fill you in on that another day.  The "laundry list" approach I use will help me out!

Trivia:  The book Island of the Blue Dolphins was based on a true story about a native American girl who lived on San Nicholas Island, part of the same chain of islands as San Miguel.  She was "rescued" by the missionaries in Santa Barbara where she quickly succumbed to dysentery.  She's buried at the mission.  Anne, we'll have to visit next time you come out.  You'd love the mission.

http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/score_lessons/dolphin/teacher/karana.shtml