The new seawall that is being built at Pleasure Point is almost done at the west end. This was shot at sunset when I was walking the boys. The lights on the right upper side of the frame were the work lights of the crew working on the new seawall that has been completed in that area. This view is looking at Sewer Peak, First Peak, Second Peak coming down toward the bottom of the picture is Inside Pleasure finally coming into 38 Avenue. The tide was one of the spectacular low tides of the winter months. This is the last month when the "Men in the Grey Suits" are usually seen in the water as they head toward the open ocean in the month of January for breeding. But one must always be aware that we are always in their ocean.

This is a picture of an annual get together at my friend's (John the guy on the extreme right of the picture - best friend, shooting partner, and Navy retired Captain) house in Atherton. We started calling this the annual "clam bake" fifteen years ago and it is still going strong. This is our 2009 calm bake. The guy on the left is another best friend who I worked with for fifteen years at MacArthur Park in Palo Alto. We were the senior bartenders and are like brothers. The lady in the picture is my wife Catherine. This is an event we look forward to all year round. You cannot see them but Charlie and Pablo are under our feet at the moment. They love coming over to John's place because it is quite large and they go crazy running around the yard. It is friends and times like this that make life worth the effort. We have had many themes for the party but now it is more just easy food, good wine and good conversation. We were doing a blind tasting for Sauvignon Blancs this year. It started off the warm summer night on the right note!

The boys of Pleasure Point - Charlie (the little red guy) and his brother Pablo. They guard the apartment and supply endless love and devotion to my wife and I. They are formally registered as Charles Darwin Fernandez, and Pablo Picasso Fernandez. They came into our lives five years ago at eight weeks old. This is the only home that they have known. They are known on the beach as "the punks of the Point"! Charlie is a fierce little dog who does not know how small he really is at any one time. He is the hunter and main guard dog. He has surprised many red faced owners as they watch their stout pit bulls cower behind them when he gets into his fighting stance. Pablo is so mellow but he has that dachshund temperament. They have been together since they were puppies. Born from the same litter with a mom who looks likes Pablo and a father who is a long haired dachshund with coloring that is black and tan. These guys are our children. A couple of the many advantages are we do not have to pay for college and their teenage years were a breeze! Oh, and they never asked for anything! If you want a breed of dog who will keep you laughing dachshunds are for you! These guys are the mini end of the breed.

I have often taken pictures off of the television. I love the dream like exposure. This one was about Eva Braun and Adolph Hitler. This was Eva waking up in the morning coming out on to the balcony of the Berghof located at Berchtesgaden where Hitler had his retreat. "Moloch" the title of the film a fictional biographcial film portraying Adolph Hitler as a humanistic figure. The character of Hitler was not convincing as a humanistic figure, but the photography was very interesting. The Russian actress Yelena Rufanova who played Eva was very good! She had the character of Eva down to the small details. It is always good to have my camera ready when watching a film!

The first page of my new notebook. It was a special present from my wife. It is a fine leather book from Hermes. I made a couple of collages that were inspired by my birthday which was October 28th. I like women who can handle guns. I am a gun collector and a proud life member of the NRA. That might surprise people - artist, guns, NRA no it all fits into the unusual package of a free thinking human being. I hate ideologies with a passion. They imply a "lock step mentality". I enjoy reading, hearing all different points of view. Yes, I have my views of the world but they would confuse most people. I am not a person you can put into a box and say: "oh yes, he is this kind of person". I find that people who are "so sure to be correct" get up my back. Most of the time they are just mimics of a point of view that they have never really examined nor have they given much thought to the idea in all it's forms. It is bold and refreshing to be a true thinker and not give a damn what the pack thinks. And above all never, never become politically correct!

I am posting a photo that I did with my IPhone one night while I was reading on the couch. I was playing with all the different options to color, contrast etc. I like to take advantage of thoughts and ideas that happen in the moment. Just good play time for the brain and soul.

Well, it has been sometime since I have taken the time to update this blog. I have made it a priority to make sure that I keep this up to date.

I am including a picture taken with my IPhone of the construction of the new sea wall at Pleasure Point where I live. It was late in November when this was taken, the tide was low and the sun was warming the autumn sky. I think this is one of the most beautiful times of the year in Santa Cruz. The tourists have left for the season and all the locals are out and enjoying the uncrowded beaches.

Steamer's Lane from inside looking toward Middle Peak and the Slot which is up against the far cliff. Another picture of Catherine looking outside with the view of the Santa Cruz Pier behind her.

My blogging efforts have been sorely left behind in my life's journey. I keep promising myself that I will not let this go to seed but I have not been pushing myself to keep up the work. I have been working on about five new paintings. I am also working on a book that I had started a lifetime ago. This book would be so meaningful for me to complete at this time in my life. I am well into the process. The only thing to do is to keep plugging away.

There is a picture of my wife Catherine at Steamer's Lane in Santa Cruz. We were checking out the surf. We live on the beach on the opposite side of town but love to come over to the "Lane" and check out the surf. It was very overcast and smoky from the Lockheed fire. The amazing thing was the absence of people in the water. The waves were small but were well formed and fast. A most unusual site for this surfing spot.

I have not been keeping this blog up to date but that will change. Time has been spent painting and working on new projects for my art.

      One of the most disturbing trends that I see today is this need to become an ideologue.       What ever happened to being open to different ways of seeing the world and having differing opinions? Why is it that if one person hears one opinion that is not within the structure of "their world view" they shut down all intellectual curiosity and shun that person right away. What has happened to the idea of being open and comfortable with ideas that might challenge our prejudices? Many times it becomes apparent that a vast majority of people take objection to something that they have never really thought through to a logical conclusion. So many words, for example: war, peace, and love all are loaded with so many misconstrued cultural meanings. If one says: "war is sometimes necessary" there is such a violent reaction from so many misinformed people that there can never be a rational explanation of why this might be true because all dialogue ends right there. What is even more disturbing is that the attack becomes personal with no hope of a meaningful exchange. Reasonable persons can have differing views, which will enhance our capacity as human beings to understand this puzzle we call"Life".

   This is a picture of my wife Catherine taken at our favorite restaurant in L'Escala on the Costa Brava in Catalonia. We spent six weeks in the South of France and Spain. My sister has lived in Provence for the past thirty years so I have spent a lot of time in both Spain and France. Both of these countries have impacted and influenced my art work for years.

  My wife is my best friend and we enjoy doing everything together. She is a brilliant scientist (Her PhD is in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago. She graduated Summa Cum Laude). I am a most fortunate man! If anything disastrous were to happen to us she is the one I want to have my back. She is calm, wickedly intelligent and she knows her way around firearms. She is a very good shot!

    A perfect Santa Cruz evening on our back porch. Living at the beach makes one feel extremely fortunate. 

    This my view outside my living room window at Pleasure Point looking toward The Hook. This was a huge storm. The waves were overhead, big and stormy!

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The surf has some size today. Good waves. Last night I could hear it on the reef.

want to check this out.

  Painting and more painting. Seeking new ideas all the time. What strikes me as the most unusual aspect of this process is that at times the ideas just flood in and must be acted upon right away. It is almost as though it is like the rain on the Savannah during which all of the life that was parched and withering comes rushing back to life in all it's magnificent splendor. A time to work and a time to observe and feel the life around us.

    Still working on my reworked canvas. It is taking time because I am thinking of the last two important elements that will make it come to life. It is always worth the time to know what is going to go where. This does depends on what type of painting and content you want. Sometimes it all just comes to you but for me I never push it and it does come to me - ready to go.

   One of the most cerebral parts of the painting mosaic is knowing when to put down the brush. A twist on this theme is reworking a painting that maybe was put down and forgotten or you just want to use the canvas and rework the image. 

   There is a history there. There are reasons why you chose the image and what colors you used to bring this first canvas to life. It feels good to take a seat and stare at the old work before you begin the new. It is a reminder of what was happening in your life at that time. It is a way of having your own private "shrink" session between you and it. There is always a gold mine of material in every work.

   I rarely do this but for some reason I am reworking two canvases from the nineties that I rediscovered and saw a new life for both of them.

   It is about 5:10 am and I just finished a three and a half hour session. I have always painted at night. It is my favorite time to work.

BBC Earth Explorer

    I have spent the last couple of hours writing to the California State Assembly and the Senate to oppose the proposed new gun laws that the uninformed are trying to bring up to a vote as a "political" solution to the problems of gun violence in California. 

    There are several factors that must be taken into consideration before one makes a judgement about these proposed laws.

    First and foremost is the fact that no one really wants to take on the real problem of gun violence because most people understand that it would involve taking on minority groups that favor gang violence. This is not a "politically correct" position but it is the one with the most teeth. Gangs do not care about laws particularly gun laws. They will get guns no matter what laws are passed in California.

   The second factor is that this is an attack on the Second Amendment rights of responsible citizens in the state of California.

   These attacks on gun laws are lead by a political agenda that has decided that "it" knows better than people who understand and use guns what is good for them.

   What is most frustrating is that so many anti-gun people know nothing about guns and have never even fired a weapon but "they think they know" and that ignorance is just not acceptable to a law abiding citizen. 

    I did just complete and post to my website (www.laughingminotaur.com) a new painting, a triptych based upon a quote from Cormac McCarthy from his book "Blood Meridan" about war waiting for man. The idea has intrigued me for a long time so I put it to the canvas. McCarthy's idea is so potent because it challenges all of our perceptions and ideas of peace. Peace does not just come about. It must take into account that great line from Alfred Tennyson "...nature red in tooth and claw" which harks back to our evolutionary nature which we cannot afford to keep out of the discussion.

    This is why I paint - to attempt to give ideas a shape, a form, something we stare at and wonder.

    New to this idea of blogging. I am very interested in having people with similar interests comment and even those who see the world another way are more than welcome to weigh in on all of the subjects. I will be posting much more about me and getting my site up to speed very soon. 

    I am an artist (www.laughingminotaur.com), a big reader, a surfer (live right across the street from some of the best breaks in Santa Cruz California), and I am also a gun collector and target shooter. Keeping fit is also something I value for health and mind reasons.

   That is all for now.