Pleasure Point is a beautiful section of the coast in Santa Cruz, California. It's a surfer's haven — Jim O'Neill (inventor of the wet suit) surfed here every morning until his death at 94 in 2017. His home still stands on the edge of the cliffs, just behind me on this walkway where I was standing as I took this photo. I walked along East Cliff Drive every morning for many years and Jim was always there to greet you with a smile and his surfboard as he made his way down the stairs to the beach.
The whole Monterey coastline is famous for its predictable fog that rolls in around just as the sun sets and lifts as the sun comes up. I loved painting this view. This isn't my first painting of this scene and I know it won't be my last. This time, the tide has gone out and a patch of kelp floats on the surface just offshore, along with a batch of kelp that the bay has pushed up against the cliffs.
Folks in Santa Cruz are always up early (certainly surfers are when the tides are high), walking, cycling, and strolling on the beach. This morning, for whatever reason, no one was around when I was ambling along with my camera. Breathing in the sea air, listening to the waves and the sea gulls. A sense of peace enveloped me. Anxieties, worries, cares all floated away. I always hated leaving to return to the real world. Time always seems suspended by the ocean, with me in my own world — especially when the fog is so thick and sound is muted. The sun was just beginning to appear over to my right and a pocket of fog was lifting, letting the pink ice plants glow.