View from the Tracks

If you’ve driven down Highway 1 from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, you’ve passed through Davenport. It’s a nice place to stop for lunch. Afterwards be sure to take the short walk to the beach, the path crosses the railroad tracks. I painted this scene while standing a few feet from the tracks. From there I had a good view of St Vincent De Paul Church. The church is a local landmark and was also the subject of famed photographer Ansel Adams.

Landscape painting on location, painting plein air, requires a warrior spirit. It’s a battle between you and the elements; moving sun, flying bugs, and the wind. The wind can be your nemesis. On this day I had to hold my palette to the easel with my belly against or it would have beat me home.

View from the Tracks, Oil on board, 16″x20″, 2012 – Sold