Painting Month: Day 1 Recap

For day 1, I planned to paint Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero, CA and Mori Point in Pacifica, CA.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pigeon Point Lighthouse is located in Pescadero, CA, which is roughly an hour and a half drive. I wanted to beat the morning rush hour traffic so I left the house at 5:15am. With me I had some cold weather clothes (it can be so windy along the coast), my lunch, and a large hiking backpack filled with all the gear I need to paint outside.

When I arrived at the lighthouse, it was still dark and it was foggy so visibility was limited. I could hear the waves crashing into the beach below the parking area and once the sun started to rise, I decided I’d go check those out before scouting out where I wanted to paint from.

Unfortunately, once I panned up to the lighthouse, I realized I would not be able to paint it – the lighthouse is undergoing a restoration started in mid-2024 and won’t be completed until early 2026.

Pigeon Point Lighthouse wrapped in restoration scaffolding on its grassy point, golden early light, ocean and rocks below.

Rather than paint another scene at this location, I decided to just head to Mori Point.

Mori Point

Mori Point is located in Pacifica, CA which is about 45 minutes up the coast from the lighthouse. I arrived at the trailhead and oriented myself for the 1 mile hike in.

The fog had been coming and going as I drove to this location and I was hopeful there would be some visibility once I got to the top. After seeing the waves crashing into the beach and disappearing in the not-so-far distance, I was not optimistic:

And alas, when I got to the top, what should have been a dramatic view of cliffside dropping into the ocean was just a blanket of fog:

Mori Point's overlook reduced to blank fog, only a wooden 'Danger: Unstable Cliffs' sign visible at the grassy edge.

First painting

I walked out to the edge of the point and all I could make out were a few large rocks in the ocean. I decided to go ahead and paint that despite visibility being low. Here was the scene I decided to paint:

Dark sea stacks breaking through whitewater off Mori Point, the horizon dissolved in fog.

In the end, this was a really challenging painting because the fog was lifting while I was painting which really changed what I was looking at. Here are some progress shots and the painting I ended up with:

Pochade box on a tripod above the fog-wrapped sea stacks, canvas holding only a loose orange line drawing of the rocks.

Closer view of the panel: two rock masses blocked in dark brown with the white canvas still showing through as sky and foam.

Full painting setup on the cliff edge, water bottle and mixing cup at hand, the sea-stack study now built up in grays and browns.

Finished study of the sea stacks: three dark rock shapes with warm edge light against pale fog and foam.

There are a lot of self-critiques I have (shape design, atmosphere, composition) but I did end up having a great time and I learned a lot from this painting.

Second painting

After finishing the first painting, I turned around and saw that the fog lifting had completely revealed the view I initially came to paint.

The view fog had hidden all morning: rocky headland, hillside houses, and surf, now visible as the fog lifted.

I decided to paint a small 6x8 study of this view.

Small 6x8 study of the newly revealed coastline, dark cliff and rock in the foreground under soft gray hills.

Wrap up

Despite the challenges, I had a really great first day painting during this month. I met several interesting passers-by, spent time in nature and came away with 2 paintings.