Our painting group met down at Crystal Cove this morning, which is an amazing collection of old shanty buildings, right on the beach, left over from a bygone era when this place was a well kept local secret. For decades families lived in these little houses, enhancing them with the flotsam and jetsam washed up on the shore, as well as with shells and nets and all manner of other bric-a-brac to create truly charming and unique little cottages. Sadly, for the families especially, when the owners of the land turned the acreage over to the State of California, everyone who had been living here, some families literally for generations, had to leave. Happily for the rest of us, many of the cottages have been renovated and are available at a very reasonable rate for up to a week's rental. So far about 1/3 of the cottages have been restored. The remaining ones awaiting their make-over are slowly crumbling, making them for us artists, very attractive indeed.
Here is one of my favorites. This tall white house, built up into the cliff catches the morning light and still just sparkles, even though with each season its roof sags a bit more, and the paint on closer examination really doesn't sparkle at all. The fog this morning couldn't decide whether to come in or go out. I've painted it with just a hint of fog on the left, as I can't resist that bright white wall contrasted with the deep blue sky.
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