East from Molera, Big Sur

East from Molera, Big Sur

Original Painting by Erin Lee Gafill
24″ x 30″ – Oil on Canvas

You can’t wait for the weather to change if you want to paint Big Sur on the regular. You just have to go with what is and grab the moment.  Fog, rain, wind, fire, mudslides, road closures, too much traffic, too little traffic – life on the coast is deeply entwined with weather, and the road, and you simply must carry on.
A day like this – high cloud masses and no blue sky, bright sun through thick atmosphere, dry brush and little wind – it is a day like so many others I would have hesitated to set out in.  Too bright, no shadows, not enough drama.

And yet.

I swallowed my misgivings and carried on.  As I set up my easel and squeezed out my tubes of paint, I felt a gentle breeze stir my collar.  Hot tea in my thermos – bird song – an occasional car going down the road. I felt joy in my heart contemplating the landscape, the old oaks and tawny hills, the billowing sky.

Joy in my heart – so glad I had made the journey.