Nipomo Eucalyptus Tree

"The Sappling"

20" x 24" Oil on Canvas
Another scene up in the stand of eucalyptus trees in Nipomo, CA. I love this spot for getting great shots of eucalyptus trees and grassy meadows. If you've ever driven up the 101 fwy towards headed for San Luis Obispo then you've driven right past this stand of trees. Many of the migrant farm workers during the depression used these tree stands in Nipomo for shaded camps to live in. Dorothea Lange stopped in this area to take pictures of these workers as part of her work showing the conditions caused by the depression for the Farm Security Administration. When I walk among these trees I feel a deep reverence for the farm workers and families effected by the depression. To imagine people living in tents or lean to's and out of cars among these trees and in the heat of the day working in the nearby fields is a very humbling experience. It reminds you to never take for granted the lives we live because it all can be taken away like it was for so many back during the depression.

Life went on even during the depression and adversity as well as back breaking work is what got most people through it. During the depression my grandparents picked pecans in Texas and to help get by my grandpa broke horses. Once the horses were somewhat gentled he had my grandma get on the saddle first because she was lighter than him.

People, like trees, carry on in life. As time goes by they are replaced by the young. This sappling reminds me of that cycle...that life will go on despite the experiences, and sometimes ordeals, life will throw at us all.

Nipomo Project

" Nipomo Vista"

12" x 16" Oil on canvas

I was one of 12 artists asked to participate in an event sponsored by the Dana Adobe in Nipomo. They asked the artists to paint a scene of Nipomo past or present. I opted for the present but had a great time researching the town of Nipomo. It seems one of the most famous images out of the depression was photographed there by photographer Dorothea Lange. This is Mrs Lange posing on her car with her big box camera......
The pic she took while stopping in a farm workers camp was known as "Migrant Mother"...you might recognize it....
Lange took a group of photos of this woman and her children. One of them included the tent and some background where she was at while waiting for their car to be repaired on their way to Oregon.

Here is a pic of nipomo today with the same eucalyptus trees in the background...as you can see this area hasn't changed much....

These eucalyptus trees provided shade and a place to camp while working the farm fields of Nipomo. From this shot below you can see some of the pea pickers with the hills of nipomo directly behind them. At the time Dorothea Lange stopped it was because she had saw a sign that read "Pea Pickers Camp".

Anyway....I like history, especially local history! My grandma & grandpa broke horses and picked pecans during the Depression in Oklahoma and Texas. They met at a dance on a saturday night for the pickers...That was a tough bunch of people who made it through that. Next time you sit down to have a fancy coffee drink at Starbucks just think about what some of those people went through....just to survive.