I watched the weather forecast get worse as the big day drew closer. I cleaned my lenses the night before anyway and attempted to calmly sip a coffee in Bee Cave, Texas that morning knowing we’d either get our moment or we wouldn’t. We did. The frustrating yet beautiful racing cloud cover obscured some of the phenomena I’d have liked to experience and capture, but there was a parting during totality and for that I am so grateful.
Totality with prominences
There are many more on the way.
Narcissus bulbocodium
Freesia alba is stop-you-in-your-tracks levels of fragrant.
Narcissus 'Tête-à-tête'
Calochorus uniflorus
***
rainbow over Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens)
Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) cruising
possible mating behavior in this Risso’s pod
monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) congregating on eucalyptus at Monarch Grove Sanctuary in Pacific Grove
black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes)
three southbound gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus)
southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Menzies' wallflower (Erysimum menziesii)
Debbie Downers are exhausting, yet I can't help but express dismay at the level of trampling by humans and their dogs in sensitive areas that are clearly marked with signs asking us to stick to the trails. I'd never seen it this bad at Asilomar in years past. Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve at home has become a free-for-all as well with rock formations cracked by our hooves and the flowers of threatened species that need to sow their seeds thrown to the sides of the trails. Plant blindness is a thing and one that’s detrimental to our own survival as a species.
Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) grove at sunset
The next six photographs document a predation event by a Steller sea lion on a bat ray.
This was another Steller sighting of a young bull in the company of California sea lions and cormorants near Moss Landing.
Note the massive difference in size between the California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and the juvenile Steller male (Myliobatis californica) at right.
The Sun is out, but it’s not going to stay that way for long.
After being up late/early observing both a pair of barn owls considering their backyard nest option and keeping my eye on a SpaceX launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, I chose to combine the two inspirations into one mixed media painting.
Robin Street-Morris. Taking Flight (Barn Owls with Rocket Plume). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13" x 19" (33 x 48cm).
My dream of seeing killer whales (Orcinus orca) locally finally came true on December 25th, 2023. The orcas in my photographs are Eastern Tropical Pacific killer whales hunting bottlenose dolphins. They’re more often spotted in Mexican and Central American waters and they also visit Hawaii. For anyone who may see this post and be concerned by how close we were, I was shooting with a 100-400mm telephoto lens and when they approached San Diego Whale Watch’s boat, the Privateer’s engines were cut. Quite a few of my photos here are cropped while maintaining the territorial views that give the sighting some context.
Experiencing the Mexican free-tailed bat population waking up at Old Tunnel State Park and the annular eclipse on separate days led to daydreaming. I asked if any had stirred there when the sky was briefly darkened and was told they hadn't. I created my fantasy of the future total eclipse anyway.
Tapping on the image of the art will take you to my print on demand site. Please contact me directly for inquiries about the original mixed media painting.
Robin Street-Morris. Syzygy with Awakened Bats. Transparent watercolor, soft pastel and colored pencil on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 19" (36 x 48cm).
My media painting titled Rising Comet with Morning Star was selected for inclusion in the 2023 Earth & Sky Exhibit at University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The exhibition will be on display Friday, November 24th through Saturday, December 30th. The reception is Sunday, December 17th from 2:00 to 4:00pm at Matthaei Botanical Gardens which is located at 1800 N. Dixboro Rd in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Matthaei is my alma mater's botanical garden where I took botany courses and fell in love with the orchids, cacti and succulents I grow in profusion.
I’m quoting myself here from a previous blog post about the piece:
“This mixed media painting was inspired by my sighting of C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) while in Avalon, California looking toward the mainland before sunrise. As always, I packed my DSLR, lenses and binoculars, but no tripod because I can be an idiot at times. I carried a sturdy chair from the hotel room to a high spot around 4AM accepting that I was being overly optimistic thinking it and a towel under my camera might reduce shutter shake enough for some long-ish exposures. I captured the green dot in focus once there was sufficient light in the sky to shoot handheld at f/2.8 with a high ISO. Still, the comet was there above the smog, more or less in the presence of ear-tipped feral cats and me before the din of golf carts and boat motors drowned out the lapping waves.”
Robin Street-Morris. Rising Comet with Morning Star. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14” x 21” (36 x 53cm)
Sunspots were visible through the light cloud cover that dispersed in time to view the event at its peak.
The Sun shining through the Moon’s valleys moments before and after the central phase of a solar eclipse result in broken points of light, a phenomenon known as Baily’s beads.
Crowds gathered near and far cheered.
The trees cast dappled sunshine of a strange sort.
Texas live oak (Quercus fusiformis)
***
Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) emerging to feed on insects at Old Tunnel State Park just north of San Antonio, Texas is a wondrous sight. In addition to having intrinsic value, bats are of enormous economic importance to us: “Recent studies estimate that bats eat enough pests to save more than $1 billion per year in crop damage and pesticide costs in the United States corn industry alone.”
My mixed media painting titled Crescent Moon with Venus and Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms is one of 75 artworks selected by juror Jonathon Glus, executive director of the San Diego Commission for Arts and Culture, from 1,149 submissions for inclusion in the 2023/24 Artist Alliance Biennial at Oceanside Museum of Art. The exhibition will be on display November 18th, 2023 through March 31st, 2024. The reception is Saturday, November 18th from 5:00 to 7:00pm at the museum which is located at 704 Pier View Way in Oceanside, California.
Robin Street-Morris. Crescent Moon with Venus and Offshore Oil and Gas Platforms. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 21" (36 x 53cm).
This mixed media painting was inspired by my sighting of C/2023 P1 (Nishimura) while in Avalon, California looking toward the mainland before sunrise. As always, I packed my DSLR, lenses and binoculars, but no tripod because I can be an idiot at times. I carried a sturdy chair from the hotel room to a high spot around 4AM accepting that I was being overly optimistic thinking it and a towel under my camera might reduce shutter shake enough for some long-ish exposures. I captured the green dot in focus once there was sufficient light in the sky to shoot handheld at f/2.8 with a high ISO. Still, the comet was there above the smog, more or less in the presence of ear-tipped feral cats and me before the din of golf carts and boat motors drowned out the lapping waves.
Robin Street-Morris. Rising Comet with Morning Star. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14” x 21” (36 x 53cm)
Wanting this bobcat to have a good life in our yards that border nearby preserves is why I rooted for AB-1322 via emails to elected officials. Predators like bobcats, mountain lions, coyotes and raptors are skilled hunters that too often fall victim to rodenticides that travel up the food chain.
This bobcat captured a midnight snack.
Presumably this is the same bobcat returning to continue the hunt.
Rufous/Allen’s hummingbird (Selasphorus sp.) working one of the Dudleya pulverulenta I planted on the slope a few years ago
Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) with Dudleya pulverulenta
Callianda x Sierra Starr® is a robust hybrid between Calliandra eriophylla (pink fairy duster) and Calliandra californica (Baja fairy duster) that keeps the hummingbirds very busy.
Great Basin western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes) on the house
Very adorable and tiny Baja California tree frogs (Pseudacris hypochondriaca) often find cover in our potted plants from Andy’s Bromeliads, in this case a Hohenbergia.
A southern pacific rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) was eyeing me from beneath a chaparral mallow (Malacothamnus fasciculatus) I planted on the slope. Our yard and the preserve is clearly a great place for neighbors’ dogs to be permitted to run and dig off-leash.
greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus)
This may or may not be the racoon who flipped our container water garden sending the water lilies and lotuses everywhere. The garden is now caged.
chaparral yucca (Yucca whipplei) seed pods with full Moon
Platanthera ciliaris
Bletia purpurea
Stanhopea embreei
Paphiopedilum philippinense
Paphiopedilum hangianum
Calopogon tuberosus
Brassavola appendiculata
Lycaste locusta
Paphiopedilum Lynleigh Koopowitz
Laelia Santa Barbara Sunset 'Showtime' HCC/AOS
I could have fed and petted "Jasper," as the Catalina Island Company employees called him. I didn't and it wasn't because he was being treated for a nasty case of fleas by biologists. The more accustomed island foxes become to hanging around us for snacks, the more likely they are to come into contact with our vehicles and pets. This often ends poorly for the foxes.
Watcha got?!
No, you may not have anything he’s having.
Catalina ground squirrels and a pair of common ravens both helped themselves to what was left of other animals’ breakfasts.
A common raven was eying a piece of bread that was shared tenderly with their mate.
Hello again!
Good, you’re foraging at least somewhat away from the lodge.
This warry fox didn’t want to be watched and made haste.
The Catalina Island quail have good reason to be alert.
The aloof fox trotted up the hill with at least two quail hatchlings and disappeared into the vegetation, perhaps to feed a young family of their own.
I’ll never forget meeting you. I hope you live a long and healthy life.
***
Through the curtains toward Catalina Harbor at twilight
Passage XIII (San Diego to San Francisco) has been selected for inclusion in Maryland Federation of Art's American Landscapes: Scenes from the Americas exhibition.
My long-running Passage series is a reflection on trips through storms, over mountains, deserts and water. Once twilight falls, humanity is represented by points of light that emanate from our homes, headlights and other anthropogenic beacons.
Robin Street-Morris. Passage XIII (San Diego to San Francisco). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14” x 20” (36 x 51cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage I (Detroit to St. Louis). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 11” x 14” (28 x 36cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage II. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 9" x 13" (22 x 33cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage III. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 12” x 19” (30 x 48cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage IV. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 12” x 20” (30 x 51cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage V. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14” x 20” (36 x 51cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage VI. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 14” x 20” (36 x 51cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage VII. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15” x 19” (38 x 42cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage VIII. Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 16" x 20" (41 x 51cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage IX (Victoria to Vancouver). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 12" x 19" (30 x 48cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage X (Homeward Through Mojave Wilderness). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb hot press paper. 15" x 19" (38 x 48cm).
Robin Street-Morris. Passage XI (Comet with Venus). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 15" x 20" (38 x 51cm).
San Diego Comic-Con 2023 is here and my display in the Art Show is up. This is my ninth year participating counting the online pandemic versions. Much of my favorite art hanging in my own studio and home was purchased there. Artists from all over can participate in person or by mailing their work in. Our inspirations extend far beyond superheroes and our personal styles are varied. This is a really good thing in my opinion as only we can make our own work. What I create is simultaneously a reflection of and a piece of myself.
Heron Island, located in Queensland, Australia, is a dream come true for a birder, snorkeler and lover of sea turtles. One is also immersed in nature's brutality. Turtle hatchlings must brave a silver gull and blacktip reef shark gauntlet. My eyes watered more than once.
Robin Street-Morris. In Memory of Sea Turtles (Heron Island). Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 13.5” x 21” (34 x 53cm).
Prints may be purchased by tapping on the image of the art. Please contact me directly if you’re interested in owning the original painting.
I'm pleased one of my mixed media paintings inspired by a place that's dear to me has been selected for inclusion in the 92nd Annual Statewide California Landscape Exhibition at the Santa Cruz Art League.
The exhibition runs July 12th through September 9th, 2023. The gallery's location is 526 Broadway, Santa Cruz, California 95060. The reception is Friday, August 4th from 5-8PM.
Robin Street-Morris. “Trail to the Clouds (Catalina Island).” Transparent watercolor and soft pastel on 300lb cold press paper. 14" x 20" (36 x 51cm).
This watercolor painting is an homage to one of my favorite locally native species I visit on a regular basis. The starry blossoms that appear on these miniscule plants in late spring are roughly the size of my pinky fingertips.
Robin Street-Morris. Short-lived Dudleya (Dudleya brevifolia). Transparent watercolor on 300lb cold press paper. 5.5” x 8.5” (14 x 22cm).