This area of the California coast is one I hadn't explored much. There are many pullouts with trails to the beach and one day while traveling with my camper on an overcast, somewhat drizzly day, I decided to see what this beach had to offer.
Well, there wasn't much space to work with, but after some consideration I decided to have the design partially submerged (that's how I think about designs that merge with features of the beach- as though the design was prior to the landform that has been encroaching on the artwork over the millennia.)
Part way through working, the dark patchy clouds let loose, and within minutes I was soaked. I retreated to my camper, changed clothes, and had some lunch. As I was sitting in the parking area considering my next move, the rain lessened and then stopped. I decided to see what was left of the artwork, and surprisingly, there was plenty still there. So...I kept going.
I finished and was taking my photos when the clouds parted for a spell giving this dramatic scene.
The lesson I took from this day is a reflection of how much work goes into my successes. My goal when I go out to create an artwork is a photo that can be a print that someone would want to place on their wall. That requires so much to go right- the design worthy and not still needing further development, a cooperating beach and ocean (I can never take for granted local conditions or the impacts of regional events like storms. Overnight a favorite beach lost all of its sand!), good lighting or better yet a good sunset in which the sun is not obscured by ocean clouds. So for every design that is worthy of becoming a print, there are many many more that almost made it but lacked something. What I realized is that in order to get the good images, I must be willing to brave the potential of it not working out. I was ready to write this day off due to rain, but because I braved it at first and then went back out after being chased off, I was given this image as a reward. It recontextualizes the 'failures'- the times things did not turn out right for whatever reason. It's as though there must be a certain percentage sacrificed to the gods of art in order to be rewarded.
The design itself comes from design elements I picked up while traveling and working in New Zealand. I was very influenced by the Maori design aesthetic, which I explored extensively for a few years.
Here are two other pieces inspired by the time in Aotearoa (what the Maori call NZ).
