Impression Evergreen

Palm trees on the Pacific Our blue planet is dominated by the five great seas from which the Pacific is the biggest, deepest and most inhabited. The vast ocean fills the gap between the Americas on the east and Asia and Australia on the west. The massive body of salt water is an astonishing 64 million square miles and it's spread across one-third of the earth's surface. In the northwest section there's an incredible chasm known as the Mariana Trench. At 35,797 feet down, it's the deepest point in the world. The ocean's current name was given by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the globe in 1521. He called it Mar Pacifico or the Peaceful Sea because after sailing around the treacherous Cape Horn, the expedition entered into much calmer waters. The place is hardly peaceful, though. Enclosing the ocean, the volatile land that forms the Pacific Rim is known as the Ring of Fire because of all the volcanos and earthq...

"Laguna Beach" Colored Pencil It’s a warm, summer evening in southern California. The vast, Pacific Ocean is counterbalanced by steep, yellow cliffs that are decorated with a bouquet of complicated foliage. Rolling green waves are washed ashore in a white foam that laps against the rocky beach. The endless sea stretches into infinity, creating an obvious horizon line. Rigid clouds are dispersed casually across the upper part of the composition. They veil the blue sky with an opaque layer of pebbled white pencil. Crowned with a tussled canopy, sinuous palm trees form an intriguing silhouette against the fading light. Hinting at an untouched tropical paradise, the exotic growth is unfamiliar territory. The air is filled with the smell of salt and the sound of squawking sea gulls. As the sun begins to set, there is no doubt that the West Coast experience is a feast for all the senses.

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach is a beautiful boardwalk bustling with dynamic energy. The Pacific playground is crowded with people participating in volleyball, basketball and boogie boarding. Around the bend, rugged cliffs drop off into the turbulent sea as the green surf crashes about the jagged rocks. Up above, a tiered pathway to the overlook is lined with exotic palm trees. From the top, a spiral staircase is a safe way to get back down to the water where a lifeguard station surveys the scene. Here, the churning waves of the vast ocean are a relentless, hypnotic force. Taking a seat just before dark, there’s still salt in the air as the purple sunset is almost surreal. It was a good day spent watching sea gulls, studying shells and searching for sand dollars. The beach is dynamic A Pacific playground Rugged cliffs A turbulent sea Green surf crashes about the rocks The overlook is lined with palm trees A safe way down Laguna Beach Lifegu...

Full Moon over Epcot It was a normal day, up early, off to work, pickup kids from school, soccer practice and supper. But that night was different, my wife announced those five famous words "We're going to Disney World." Wait...what? I know what you're thinking, so was I. How cliche, a family of four on the obligatory pilgrimage to the Mecca of amusement parks. What about snorkeling with penguins in Antarctica or that photography workshop in the Galapagos or studying the Old Masters at the grande museums in Europe? Not Disney World, the symbol for everything that goes against what I believe in. As a humble artist living in the Colorado mountains, I cherish simplicity, peace, morality and spiritualism. Disney World is about complication, confrontation, decadence and materialism. I'm a sensitive soul searching for answers to life's great mysteries, not a seasoned tourist on a frenzied quest for fun. Try and explain that to my two boys who were dancing hys...