Six years ago, when I first moved to the Bay Area, I thought the land around the Dumbarton Bridge was stinky, ugly, and to be avoided by any way possible. The last several years have seen a restoration of the area, from a solar salt industry back to native salt marsh.
One of my clients is located in Palo Alto and once a week I drive over the Dumbarton Bridge. Last week, the bridge was a parking lot due to an accident near Facebook headquarters. Being stuck in my car for an hour gave me the opportunity to look at my surroundings and appreciate their beauty. I snapped several photos of the sky and the marsh. Later that week I began my first painting of the area.
Dumbarton underpainting, Lara Hoke, oil on panel