Before the speedboaters and jet skiers wake up, I drag my $98 inflatable kayak to the pier, load it with a book and a thermos of coffee and row out on a still lake. It’s from that vantage point on the lake that I see a dark palette of redwoods, and cabins made of redwood, that is interrupted with colorful flags announcing that we are in the land of lake summers–bright beach towels hanging off decks, floating in the breeze, drying, ready for a new day of life.

The beach towels are the star of this painting. The challenge became finding a way, through composition, to depict the perspective from the water and the awesomeness of the redwoods surrounding the cabins and the vastness of the sky above. This is a tiny painting–just a few inches.