We may be off to a cold start in San Diego, but it's spring as far as I'm concerned. Patience was required to catch this shot of an Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) working a grove of mission manzanitas (Xylococcus bicolor) today. Look at how tight that range map is for the mission manzanita, the only member of its genus (the fancy word for that is "monotypic").
chaparral
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.
Better late than never
Self-promotion is the dullest and most nauseating aspect of being a professional artist for me. If I were better at it, I’d have mentioned sooner that a mixed media painting of mine, Los Peñasquitos Canyon XI, was selected for inclusion in Into the Light, an exhibition at the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in Santa Ana, California. Though the receptions have come and gone, this piece and many other fine works I’m proud to have mine hanging near will be on display through March, 28th 2020. It was inspired by an afternoon ramble through the magical tunnels of oaks, sycamores and understory in the nature preserve I live, work and play at being a naturalist within. I’m so dreadful at pretending to be the interesting, artsy type people want to get to know that I didn’t even put on my name tag at the first reception of the show and scurried back down the 5 to San Diego after quietly making two rounds of the gallery to enjoy everyone’s contributions. The second I missed because I was exhausted after a day of hiking with a heavy backpack of camera equipment at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve while taking photos and picking up trash.
Los Peñasquitos Canyon XI. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 13” x 19” (33 x 48cm).
Two recent pieces inspired by our local preserves are more somber. Manifest Destiny is my visual response to a nearby canyon finger being bulldozed for development. While this had been the plan for a long time, hearing the destruction taking place from my home studio and then seeing how a once verdant section of chaparral had been flattened was distressing. There doesn't seem to be enough destruction of habitat to fill our insatiable desire for expansion. Had I not been a kid living many states away when our house was built, I'd very likely have been opposed to its creation where it is. I've been doing my best to give the land outside of the structure's footprint back to the local wildlife by planting native flora it can use. It's a joy to welcome all of the songbirds, raptors, insects, coyotes, snakes, bobcats, mule deer and others to the yard.
Manifest Destiny. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14” x 20” (35 x 51cm).
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve with Anthropogenic Starlight is an observation of our disappearing night skies. The pervasive glow exemplifies humanity's exploitation of this small planet we share with other living things. Light from our collective restlessness has snuffed our views of the seemingly timeless wonder that is the Milky Way in all but the most rural areas that some of us are hell-bent on developing further.
Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve With Anthropogenic Starlight. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14” x 20” (35 x 51cm).
Less depressing is this recent piece inspired by a cloud-top green flash I was fortunate to witness in La Jolla by the Children’s Pool, a beach famous for its adorable harbor seals who often swim right up to me in nearby La Jolla Cove when I’m there snorkeling.
Sea of Fog with Green Flash. Transparent watercolor with powdered soft pastel on 300lb rough press paper. 14” x 19” (36 x 48cm).
As is most often the case, clicking on any of the above images of my landscape paintings will take you to a reputable art print service with a money back guarantee. If you’re interested in owning one of my originals, shoot me a message through the tab here that reads “Contact.” Thanks for supporting living artists.
—Robin Street-Morris
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).