On February 12th, I knew the sunrise had the potential to be beautiful!  The night before, as our sailboat rocked gently in the gale-force winds, I decided to be up and off the boat before 7 a.m., just in case the sunrise was spectacular!  Most of my paintings are inspired by "just in case" scenarios:  just in case the light is perfect... just in case the clouds turn golden...  just in case those flowers in that pretty field are finally blooming...

Our sailboat is safely tucked in at Pillar Point Harbor just north of Half Moon Bay on the coast of California.  Yes, the drive to my studio is twice as long... Now I have to go 'over-the-hill' as we say here on the coast, but the drive along Highway One is also twice as inspiring! 

This day, I pulled off at Surfers Beach to photograph the sunrise over the coastal mountains.  I sat on a concrete bench and set up my camera and tripod.  Even at this early hour I wasn't alone.  There were others on benches nearby enjoying the sunrise and watching a few hardy surfers catching the last of the big waves from the storm. 

The dawn was spectacular, as I had hoped!  Over the next several days, I painted "Sunrise at Surfers Beach" (16 x 20") which is now showing with UGallery.  Click on the image below to see this and other paintings now showing with UGallery!