The Wilds of California

Believe it or not, southern California still has some wild areas. Even in somewhat urban places!

California Wilds                    11" x 14"

One of my alma maters is California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA, where I received my science degrees (Cal State L.A. is where I earned my BA in Art). Cal Poly is big on agricultural programs and has a lot of miniature farm- and ranch-like areas. But parts of the campus are natural, undeveloped land -- coastal sage scrub plant community typical of much of SoCal.

Many field biology classes (I was in some of those) take hikes out in this region to collect specimens, take measurements (i.e., what percentage of the ground is covered with plant materials), go on bird walks -- stuff like that.

So I had some opportunities to see some of this natural beauty -- things that many other students really don't even know about! And, of course, I've made a few paintings of it, with more to come.

In California Wilds, I made only a few slight changes to make the painting "work" better for me. The cluster of California sycamore trees on the left was actually another species of tree (black walnut). But I happen to like the sycamores (which do grow there), so in they went!

Also, the hiking trail is really a double track from vehicles that occasionally drive through here.

In all, I think I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish -- a dramatic, yet peaceful and contemplative, scene; a nice break from the concrete and brick of the buildings at Cal Poly.


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