Although I have lived in Southern California for nearly 50 years, I still find it odd that we can have an 85 degree day in mid-December. While friends in other parts of America are shoveling snow and stoking their pot-bellied stoves, I was out painting at the Pt Mugu Lagoon. I woke up that morning thinking to myself “What a great day to hit the beach.” So, with that, I loaded up my painting gear and a towel into the VW bus, and went off to the coast. I was planning to use my annual State Park pass to get into the parking lot at El Matador State Beach, but I only made it 8 miles from my home to Pt Mugu Lagoon, next to the Seabees shooting range. I parked the bus, lit a cigar and while listening to Robert Plant belt out a live version on “Whole Lotta Love” I gazed at the scene. Plovers poked into the muddy ground looking for lunch. The sun danced off of the wet shoreline of the lagoon below and the distant sea behind. I never made it past this scene to El Matador, and soon was setting up the my EasyL to capture this scene. Here is what I saw…

Mugu Lagoon "10 x 12" oil on Birch Board