Bobcat

We were recently cited by the San Diego Fire Department for having overgrown foliage. Coastal sunflowers (Encelia californica) and other natives to this area experience a dormancy period in summer and early fall that make some of them appear dead even though they’re not. As I trimmed them back to appease the powers that be, I encountered green wood immediately. While green in outward appearance, the nonnative bank catclaw (Acacia redolens) planted by the developer to stabilize the slope has been removed. I’m replanting the slope myself with more species that are native to our address. This bobcat recently walked past a newly planted Del Mar manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. crassifolia) and marked its Acacia stump.

Speaking of chaparral, a piece of mine titled Nemeton VII, inspired by a tunnel of oaks in nearby Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, was just selected for The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild 2020 Online International Winter Exhibition which in online for obvious reasons. The original is available. Prints may be purchased by clicking on the image of the painting below.

Robin Street-Morris. Nemeton VII. 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Chaparral Sunset

My latest mixed media painting was inspired by my love of our dwindling chaparral here in southern California due to development. It's far from being my first and likely won't be my last. I often head up to Del Mar Mesa Preserve to appreciate the sunsets while surrounded by a sea of native foliage that’s habitat for local wildlife.

Please click on the image of it below if you’re interested in purchasing a print or send me a message if you’re interested in the original. Living artists such as myself appreciate your patronage.

—Robin Street-Morris

Robin Street-Morris. Chaparral Sunset. 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15" x 21" (38 x 53cm).

Climate fires

It’d be pretty easy to get overly emotional here about the fires that are consuming places I’ve seen and love and more I’ve wanted to visit but hadn’t gotten to yet before they burned. Being who I am, for better or for worse, my sadness and tears quickly turned to fury. It’s frustrating to read chaparral, a unique and vanishing habitat, being referred to simply as "fuel.”  There's nothing like the scent of it and coastal sage scrub.  In one inhale after a heavy fog or rain it can make me feel as though things are going to be alright even though the writing on the wall is clear that this is not the case.  Anthropogenic (man-made) climate change has sped up the frequency of catastrophic wind-blown fires which are most often begun by human carelessness, including not putting money into the most basic of infrastructure in order to appease shareholders.  Invasive grasses and other weeds will continue to take the places of our native plants adapted to fire before they can regrow leading to more frequent fires—again, most often started by us.  Building large developments in San Diego's East County and other inland areas of California is a recipe for more disasters.

If you’d like to help (having a better understanding of this place regardless of where you live does), please take a moment to learn more about our chaparral at the California Chaparral Institute's website .

Cleveland National Forest buckwheat.

Buzzard's Roost Lookout in Big Sur.

Cleveland National Forest looking toward Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

San Bernardino National Forest manzanitas.

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

Old growth chaparral featuring magnificent Nuttall's scrub oak (Quercus dumosa) in Del Mar Mesa Preserve.

My latest mixed media painting is titled “Fire in the Wind.” It was completed before the beginning of the Valley Fire in San Diego’s East County. No crystal ball was required.

Comic-Con Art Show 2020 and Comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)

The Comic-Con Art Show began online today via Tumblr and you can check it out here. Typically this is the day we head downtown to hang my work after I’ve framed it myself with archival materials. That was understandably not in the cards this year to avoid potentially spreading the plague. The silver lining is that the powers that be have made it possible for us to come together this week to enjoy each other’s work, attend panels and visit booths virtually. This is a great year to enjoy all there is to online in respect to said event. As per usual, my mantra is “support living artists” and that always includes my colleagues. Supporting artists can come in the form of purchasing a piece or print, or simply sharing and showing general appreciation of what we do.

My latest piece was inspired by seeing comet C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) in the Laguna Mountains an hour east of here. Our coastal fog had cloaked it for days and I realized we had to head eastward in order to make sure we saw it. It’s the closest it’s going to be to our planet today until roughly another 6,800 years.

Robin Street-Morris. Passage XI (Comet with Venus). 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 15" x 20" (38 x 51cm).

Plastics Free California initiative

Please join me in helping this initiative make it to the ballot if you reside and vote in California: https://plasticsfreeca.org/#features4

These photos were taken at a beach in La Jolla. The California sea lions, harbor seals, fishes, sea birds, sea turtles and other wildlife who call this home shouldn’t have to live with our garbage.

Mariposa lily

When I first saw Weed's mariposa lilies blooming years ago in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, I was struck by their unique beauty.  Mariposa is the Spanish word for "butterfly" and it's easy to see how they earned that common name when one witnesses them fluttering in the breeze.  As with too many of my favorite species that have a limited range in our southern California and Baja California region, its conservation status is vulnerable due to habitat loss from development.  

Weed’s mariposa lily (Calochortus weedii var. weedii)

Paintings inspired by Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and Del Mar Mesa Preserve

I thought it was worth showcasing part of my ever-growing body of landscape art that celebrates views from the chaparral-covered mesas, hillsides and riparian corridors of Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and Del Mar Mesa Preserve. These are unique and beautiful habitats that are becoming increasingly rare in San Diego County as shortsighted developers continue their attempts to level them.

These mixed media pieces were made by combining professional, transparent watercolor pigments and powdered soft pastels of the highest quality on 300lb Arches hot or cold press paper to imbue them with an ethereal, dream-like quality.

Los Peñasquitos Canyon XVII. 2019. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15" x 19" (38 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve I. Watercolor and pastel on 300lb hot press paper.
14" x 19.75" (36 x 50cm).

Chaparral Path To Black Mountain I. Watercolor and pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 12" x 18" (31 x 46cm).

Afterglow. Watercolor and pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Crepuscule (Los Peñasquitos Canyon XIV)". Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon VI. Watercolor and pastel on 300lb cold press paper.
14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon VII (Approaching Storm). Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon with Black Mountain III. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon VIII (the Swallows Return). Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

Last Light with Moonrise over Iron Mountain. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 53cm

Los Peñasquitos Canyon IV. Watercolor and pastel on 300lb hot press paper.
12" x 16" (31 x 41cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon XI. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon XIII (Coastal Fog at Dawn). Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Chaparral Path to Black Mountain II. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper.
15" x 19" (38 x 48cm).

Coastal Preserve with Invasive Mustard Plant (Lopez Canyon I). Watercolor and pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15" x 19" (38 x 48cm).

Departure (Crows at Dawn). Watercolor and soft pastel on 140lb cold press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

Asterism over Black Mountain. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 21" (36 x 53cm).

Bank of Passing Clouds. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15" x 20" (38 x 51cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve XII (Walking with Bats and Owls). Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon IX. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 20" (33 x 51cm).

Westbound at Dawn. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon XV. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Crepuscule II. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

Waxing Moon with Chaparral and Power Lines. Watercolor and pastel on 300lb hot press paper.
8" x 16" (20 x 41cm).

Winter Storm (Mammatus Clouds over Black Mountain). Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Los Peñasquitos Canyon XVI. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

A bouquet of southern California wildflowers.

Sunshine has been a bit of a stranger here in coastal San Diego as of late. Our typical May gray and June gloom months have brought moisture that we typically only see in the form of heavy fog at this time of year. It’s a perfect evening to gather together a few of my favorite wildflower photos from this spring and summer as the bloom continues, albeit in a more subtle way than that which made national news. The desert “super blooms” attract large crowds, but there are always plants present to be appreciated no matter the time of year, particularly if you enjoy the hunt as I do.

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), beach sand verbena (Abronia umbellata) and common phacelia (Phacelia distans) overlook the Pacific Ocean at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve in La Jolla.

Ground pink (Linanthus dianthiflorus) growing in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve in San Diego.

Desert or Ajo lily (Hesperocallis undulata) is both beautiful and wonderfully fragrant. I spotted this one growing in the Coyote Canyon area of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in Borrego Springs.

Desert five-spot (Eremalche rotundifolia) is a favorite desert sight of mine and one I got to enjoy during multiple trips to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park this spring. Unfortunately, my attempts at growing it from seed myself weren’t as successful as they were last year due to wildlife interference. I’ll sow more seed when winter rains arrive.

Rays of sunshine and Parish's poppies (Eschscholzia parishii) are framed by the ever sculptural and graceful ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) along the Cactus Trail at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

California centaury (Zeltnera venusta) glow in the setting sun on Del Mar Mesa Preserve near my studio.

Giant coreopsis (Leptosyne gigantea) blooming on Santa Cruz Island, part of Channel Islands National Park off of the coast of Los Angeles.

The citrusy fragrance of Sacred Datura (Datura wrightii) blends with the scent of ocean air at Torrey Pines State Beach just after dawn.

A splended mariposa lily (Calochortus splendens) glows in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

Calico cactus (Echinocereus engelmannii). Mojave National Preserve between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

I watch for the emerging leaves and developing buds of Weed's mariposa lily (Calochortus weedii) every spring in nearby Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, Del Mar Mesa Preserve and at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, the latter being where I took this photograph.

I believe the featured cactus here is Mojave prickly pear (Opuntia erinacea). A strangely cool for late May day that was mostly cloudy made for a memorable walk in Mohave National Preserve. It was exploding with colorful desert flowers and I wish I’d had many more hours there to explore.

Switching gears a bit, two of my mixed-media paintings inspired by California wildflowers I admired in situ were featured in “The Art of the Wildflower,” an exhibition during Wildflower Week at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, California. From their website: “Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden is the largest botanic garden dedicated to California native plants, promoting botany, conservation and horticulture to inspire, inform and educate the public and scientific community about California's native flora. The Garden is a living museum with curated collections of more than 22,000 California native plants, some of which are rare or endangered. Spread across 86 acres in Claremont, California, the Garden is located approximately 35 miles east of Los Angeles. The Garden displays about 2000 taxa of California plants and includes those native to the California Floristic Province.”

As with the wildflower photographs above, you will find prints of these paintings for purchase in a wide range of sizes and on different surfaces by clicking on the images. Please email me if you’re interested in owning one of the original paintings.

Thanks for supporting living artists.

—Robin Street-Morris

Weed’s Mariposa Lily (Calochortus weedii). 2019. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica ). 2018. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 19" x 13" (48 x 33 cm).

New works, the 2018 Comic-Con Art Show and a published piece.

Having lived most of my life so far in the Midwest before moving to San Diego, fireflies are something I look forward to seeing every summer on my visits back.  I still typically make at least one firefly-inspired piece each year.  Hotaru-gari VII is my most recent in this series.  I framed it and a handful of other pieces for inclusion in the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con Art Show at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel.  This sale and auction will run July 18th through the close of the convention that Sunday the 22nd.  You don't need to have a badge to stop in to enjoy the art show and bid on a piece if you're taken with it.  

Robin Street-Morris.  Hotaru-gari VII. 2018.  Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 140lb hot press paper. 9" x 16" (23 x 41cm).

What San Diego lacks in the way of fireflies it makes up for in another form of bioluminescence.  Our periodic algal blooms, known as red tides, can make the waves glow blue.   I got to see this spectacular natural phenomenon for the first time this year and made two mixed media paintings inspired by it.     

Robin Street-Morris.  Luminescence at Torrey Pines. 2018. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Robin Street-Morris. Luminescence at Torrey Pines II. 2018. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Finally, it's an honor to have Coastal Walk VII, a piece inspired by my beloved Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, included in Reed Magazine's California Edition. Issue 151 is dedicated to fine art and literature inspired by the Golden State and may be purchased directly through their website.    

--Robin Street-Morris