I associate with California: dry, dusty air; golden grasses; heat; the smell of eucalyptus trees; hills; and tons of hiking explorations as a kid. This is a view of a hill of Palos Verdes with the Pacific Ocean behind me. My favorite tree in the whole world is the eucalyptus. They are messy, elegant, tall, and have a powerful, musky smell with a hint of mint. I used to climb one behind my home as a kid and spy on pigeon nests. Plein Air painting is fun but challenging. You have to gather up all your visual information and associations and pour them onto the canvas as quickly as possible. At 11 years old, I remember running down a hill, just like this one, and stepping into a beehive in a hole, the swarm of bees was unbelievable. I crawled down the hill under the cover a bushes to escape the sting of the bees. I lost one of my shoes. My mother ordered me to go back to the spot to retrieve my shoe. There was no way that was going to happen. As an artist, I do wonder at the subconscious element of what I am visually attracted to and it what manner that goes across to the viewer.