Carmel, Sunset on Ocean Avenue

Ten years ago I painted Carmel, Ocean Avenue on a Rainy Afternoon, and from the day I finished it, I dreamed of working on a second view of the famous scene. Carmel, Sunset on Ocean Avenue is that long awaited painting! Like the first piece, this painting is overflowing with the kind of details I love to paint: the old mission bell in its stone portico, the stately Monterey pines that shroud the avenue, and the bustling people – even a dog or two! – that are so much a part of the ambiance of Carmel.

My two older girls peer out of a vintage blue convertible while my two younger daughters make their way across the street, any my wife Nanette pauses beside her bicycle to watch an artist at work – guess who posed for the artist! Even Clint Eastwood had to make an appearance in Carmel, Sunset on Ocean Avenue in order to properly give Carmel’s mayor – at one time – his dues!

My romantic vision of Carmel is also enlivened by many vintage cars and the charming buildings of the seaside town – the lights of which reflect, jewel-like, in streets moistened by the passing of ocean mists. And, of course, a luminous sunset bathes the entire scene in a warm glow, as though a tranquil moment has been frozen in time.