World Tree with Ignes Fatui

One of the reasons I began a (nearly) daily blog of an image of my art or a photograph that celebrates nature is to revisit work that I didn’t give much attention to after making. I’d rather move on to making more art than talk about it. This is how it ends up lying in my flat file waiting for wildfires to rage westward during a Santa Ana wind event and consume it rather than hanging on a patron’s wall being appreciated.

Trees pervade my work. Often their outlines are only alluded to in my dreamscapes, other times they’re more defined like in this piece. It’s all about what I feel like working on in the moment and how. Like most of my tree-inspired art, this was a take on a particular live oak I’ve paid my respects to repeatedly. It’s growing in Tecolote Canyon Natural Park near downtown San Diego. Clearly I took liberty with the piece and added ignes fatui (foolish fire), or will-o'-the-wisp, known for leading travelers astray in some folklore.

The original mixed media painting is available and prints on a variety of surfaces may be purchased by tapping on the image if you’re interested.

World Tree with Ignes Fatui. 2014. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 18" (36 x 46cm).

Refuge

I’ve taken to checking the bromeliads for Baja California tree frogs (Pseudacris hypochondriaca) and am often rewarded with an adorable sight. Queen’s tears (Billbergia nutans) seems to be a favorite. I’ve also found them under the spines of cacti multiple times…there are many options around here for hiding from predators and strong sunlight.

Embrace

Belding’s orange-throated whiptail (Aspidoscelis hyperythrus ssp. beldingi) is a striking lizard subspecies that calls southern California and Baja California, Mexico home.  I was in the right place at the right time today (and with a telephoto lens on) to witness multiple stages of mating behavior between these two.  I also saw one that's regenerating its tail.  They like foraging in the leaf litter under the plants that's putting nutrients back into the soil as it breaks down.  I do maintain things a bit in that respect with fire safety in mind, but having a picture perfect garden in the traditional sense is at odds with my goal of creating habitat for wildlife.  Sightings like this one often make my day.

A first bloom

I saw Matilija poppies in bloom for the first time years ago at a trailhead in Rose Canyon here in San Diego and my jaw dropped.  Miniature flowers that I have to keep my nose down to find and appreciate hold a special place in my heart, but the attention this giant poppy commanded was undeniable.  I germinated some seeds given to me by a botanist friend, rushed their move into the ground and they didn’t survive.  This nursery acquired plant is blooming for the first time today after two years of being planted and another will follow shortly.  Its fragrance is reminiscent of roses. 

Flight

Vanda (formerly Neofinetia) falcata ‘Unkai’ is filling the evening with its suburb fragrance. I purchased this small beauty from a dear friend in Manchester, Michigan who owns New World Orchids.

Coast cholla (Cylindropuntia prolifera)

This is my favorite cholla species. Yes, I have a favorite cholla species. The one I purchased from Moosa Creek a few years ago bloomed for the first time this spring. This photo is of one growing in situ near the waterfall in Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve.

You can learn more about this plant here.

Dolphins with Bioluminescence and Anthropogenic Starlight

My latest mixed media painting is the third I’ve made in response to San Diego’s 2020 red tide event that lit up our beaches. There were a few moments enjoyed during multiple visits to appreciate this phenomenon late at night when few others were around when I thought, yeah, I have to make a painting inspired by that. Dolphins, sea birds and California sea lions making big splashes in the water resulted in the bioluminescent glow emitted by Lingulodinium polyedra, a dinoflagellate species. In this dreamscape rooted in reality, I’ve shown the light pollution trapped by the marine layer in contrast to the subdued glow of nature. It’s dark over Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve to the right of the composition and the open ocean to the far left due to humanity’s more limited physical presence in these places.

Dolphins with Bioluminescence and Anthropogenic Starlight. 2020. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Conflagration included in 'OCCCA@40'

My mixed media painting titled Conflagration was accepted into the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art’s invitational exhibition celebrating their 40th year. It’s an online event for obvious reasons.

Conflagration. 2019. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb rough press paper. 15" x 20" (38 x 51cm).

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)

White Dove

Echinocereus pentalophus ‘White Dove’

A new litter

Discarded gloves and masks now litter our streets, parks and beaches. How many of them were accidentally dropped? How many were tossed aside purposefully?

The carbon cycle

An Anna's hummingbird has built a lovely nest of spider silk, lichens and other detritus in our garden.   I was comforted by the brightness of her eyes and the knowledge that she's keeping two, minuscule eggs warm as I buried a pet goldfish of seven years who succumbed to his tumor today. He may as well nourish the grapefruit tree.

Lying in Wait

The black light flashlight I have on my key ring from the gift shop at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Ajo, Arizona helped me locate this California swollenstinger scorpion (Anuroctonus pococki) . As you can see, scorpions fluoresce under black light.

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

The northern elephant seals of San Simeon, California

Earlier this year, I was lucky to be able to spend some time observing and photographing northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) on a beach in San Simeon, a charming town on the Central Coast located roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The circle of life was on full display, a reminder of both the beauty and brutality of nature.

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).

A new landscape painting and two upcoming exhibitions.

I'm pleased to share that my mixed media painting titled Crepuscule (Los Peñasquitos Canyon XIV) was selected for inclusion in the 89th Annual Statewide California Landscapes Exhibition in Santa Cruz by artist and juror Ed Penniman . This piece was inspired by my evening nature hikes to look for owls and other fauna in the beautiful nature preserve that surrounds my home and studio here in San Diego.

The exhibition will run from Friday, March 1st through Sunday, April 14th, 2019. The opening reception is during First Friday Art Walk on March 1st from 6 to 8 pm at the Santa Cruz Art League located at 526 Broadway.

Robin Street-Morris. Crepuscule (Los Peñasquitos Canyon XIV). 2016. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

My mixed media painting titled Cloudburst at Sea, inspired by an incoming storm I witnessed over the Pacific Ocean, was selected by juror Gregory Jecmen, Associate Curator of Old Master Prints at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., for inclusion in the 2019 Art on Paper exhibition at the Maryland Federation of Art's Circle Gallery in Annapolis.

This exhibition will be on view from March 28th to April 27th, 2019. The reception is April 7th from 3-5 p.m. at 18 State Circle in Annapolis, Maryland.

Robin Street-Morris. Cloudburst at Sea. 2016. Watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

It’s been a decidedly wet winter here in San Diego, so getting out on our trails and even getting shots of my paintings in natural sunlight has been a challenge. When the wider trails in the canyon have been traversable, there have still been stretches with pools of water to navigate like the one that inspired the reflected sunset in this mixed media piece. Coyotes, owls and frogs were calling all around me.

Robin Street-Morris. Los Peñasquitos Canyon XVI. 2019. Transparent watercolor and powdered soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).

Prints of all three of these landscape paintings may be purchased on a variety of surfaces by clicking on their images. Originals may be inquired about by sending me an email. Thanks for looking and supporting living artists.

—Robin Street-Morris

Three birds

Two of these pieces are mixed media paintings, one a photograph. All are inspired by birds I’ve met recently while continuing to explore nearby Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve and Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve here in San Diego, California. Prints can be purchased by clicking on the individual images.

Walking Among Barn Owls. 2018. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 48cm).

Raven with Torrey Pine Branch and Cold Moon. 2019. Transparent watercolor on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).

Great Horned Owl with Winter Moon II. 2018. Digital photograph.

Crystal Cove State Park

Until recently, my experiences at this California state park had been limited to snorkeling. Winter is a great time to explore the tide pools a bit while the water is too chilly for many of us who don’t own wetsuits to swim in comfortably. I hope you’ll enjoy this brief photo essay about this beautiful park; I’ve only scratched the surface of what it has to offer visitors and will surely return to it.

Getting to watch this western snowy plover foraging in the outgoing tide was an utter delight. This is a threatened shorebird species that has been helped by the Endangered Species Act. You can learn more about this important protection here at the Center for Biological Diversity’s website.

These golden cliffs are filled with native vegetation that sustains wildlife.

Because the tide pools are part of the Crystal Cove State Marine Conservation Area, collection is prohibited, but I made an exception for this plastic water bottle cap. I remove a great many of these from our beaches and parks.

You can see both solitary and aggregating anemones here at low tide with sea jewels applied to their backs.

We humans are a part of nature. Its condition reflects our behaviors and values.

The inflow and outflow of tides create striking compositions in the sand.

This lone sanderling and I stared at each other for awhile.

With the sun setting over Catalina Island, it was time to drive home to San Diego. Prints of this soothing photograph are available. Feel free to send me a message if you’re interesting in owning another piece I’ve shared here. Thanks for supporting living artists.

—Robin Street-Morris