PLACES WE'VE BEEN
PLACES WE'VE BEEN
"Places We've Been" is an on-going graphic journal project of past and present travels with my wife since 1984. I will create a series of illustrations that will eventually be compiled into book form.
Embedded Files
CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON, SC
CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON, SC
Our first trip together was on our honeymoon in 1984 to Charleston, South Carolina. It was somewhere neither of us had been before. To be fair, we were so young that we hadn't really been many places at all. We had seen pictures of Charleston in magazines. We thought it looked like an interesting place so off we went. We returned a few years later for a short anniversary trip. This town will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Travel Year: 1984
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 3, 2025
CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON, SC
CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON, SC
We walked the streets looking at all the historic buildings and houses. Church Street contained many handsome structures. The colors and shadows made the distinctive architectural features really stand out.
Travel Year: 1984
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 4, 2025
ROAD TO ISLE OF PALMS, SC
ROAD TO ISLE OF PALMS, SC
We headed out to see the beach one day toward the Isle of Palms. I don’t remember which highway this was, but on the way we drove through miles of these oak trees. The trees cover the road so extensively that they create these shady mysterious “tunnels” which are iconic in many areas of coastal South Carolina.
Travel Year: 1984
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 8, 2025
COASTAL MARSH, SC
COASTAL MARSH, SC
Before we reached the coast, we passed another iconic South Carolina view; the coastal wetlands and marshes. Home to many bird species, this landscape also yields a variety of grassy colorful hues and shadows.
Travel Year: 1984
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 14, 2025
LONGBOAT KEY, FL
LONGBOAT KEY, FL
We went here for the first time in 1985 with my family. We returned again on our own in 1986. The beautiful white sand and emerald green and blue gulf water was something we had not experienced before. We would spend the morning and mid-afternoon at the beach and then watch the distant storms move across the horizon in the late afternoon.
Travel Year: 1985 & 1986
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 24, 2025
JOHN RINGLING HOME, SARASOTA, FL
JOHN RINGLING HOME, SARASOTA, FL
Built in the 1920’s, this was the home of circus promoter and millionaire, John Ringling. It was built in the Italianate style with architectural references to Venice. The Ringling Museum of Art is also located on the estate. Both were definitely worth the visit and quite memorable.
Travel Year: 1985 & 1986
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 24, 2025
MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDEN, SARASOTA, FL
MARIE SELBY BOTANICAL GARDEN, SARASOTA, FL
Not knowing anything about botanical gardens or plants in 1986, we went to this one in Sarasota on a whim. It must have resonated with us because we have enjoyed going to botanical gardens everywhere since then. We enjoy learning and appreciating the artistry of plants and garden design.
Travel Year: 1986
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / August 26, 2025
NASSAU, BAHAMAS
NASSAU, BAHAMAS
This was our first exploration outside of the United States. We took a cruise in 1987 on a very small cruise ship. We returned again in 2001 with our extended family on a much larger cruise ship. The British building architecture in Nassau is very similar to the architecture we found on our honeymoon in Charleston, South Carolina. The difference, for me, was the brightness of the light; the ultramarine blue skies paired with the brilliant pink hues of the buildings.
Travel Year: 1986 & 2001
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / September 29, 2025
SEDONA, AZ
SEDONA, AZ
Sedona is in the north-central part of Arizona. Temperatures are usually a bit cooler here, allowing the landscape to be a little greener than the rest of Arizona. In the fall of 2018, the greens and golds of the trees were layered against the iconic red rock formations. We would visit here often while visiting family in Phoenix. This particular rock formation is called Snoopy Rock, formerly called Saddle Back Rock.
Travel Year: 2018
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 30, 2025
FRASER RIVER GORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
FRASER RIVER GORGE, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
We rode the Rocky Mountaineer train for two days from Banff on our way back to Vancouver. The train ride was a relaxing way to end our Canadian Rockies trip. We enjoyed amazing scenery along the Fraser River while eating delicious meals and sipping our drink as we descended the Canadian Rockies. This is a view looking through the gorge while the front of our train approaches one of the many bridges we crossed.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 19, 2025
LAKE LOUISE,
LAKE LOUISE,
ALBERTA, CANADA
ALBERTA, CANADA
This is a favorite tourist stop providing a spectacular view of Lake Louise in Banff National Park. The lake and the mountains provide a dramatic framework for Victoria Glacier in the distance. The glacier feeds the lake with its beautiful turquoise waters.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 17, 2025
LAKE MALIGNE,
LAKE MALIGNE,
ALBERTA, CANADA
ALBERTA, CANADA
The sheer scale of the landscape here was more than spectacular. It was a stunning experience being in a place where the mountains dominate the skyline. Again, the silence was palpable. The air was so clear that distant mountains were just as luminous as the trees and mountains in the foreground. I’ve never experienced colors in the outdoors that were so saturated and vivid.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 15, 2025
PYRAMID LAKE, JASPER, ALBERTA, CANADA
PYRAMID LAKE, JASPER, ALBERTA, CANADA
This scene was just a short drive away near our hotel in Jasper, Alberta. It was late afternoon, early evening when we stopped to take in the stillness of this lake setting. We were about a days drive away from the stunning views of the Canadian Rockies. But this was a nice introduction to the scenery we were about to see during our week in this part of Canada.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 12, 2025
ATHABASCA RIVER
ATHABASCA RIVER
JASPER, ALBERTA, CANADA
JASPER, ALBERTA, CANADA
Traveling from Vancouver to the Canadian Rockies you see an amazing variety of landscapes. The air and the colors become more brilliant and pristine. This is a scene along the Athabasca River in Jasper National Park. It is a scene filled with pine, spruce, fir, cedar, and hemlock with glimpses of mountains in the distance and the river flowing towards us. This was the first forest within Canada where we took a short hike. We became immersed in the sacred silence of this wild beautiful land.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 11, 2025
CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS AT THE GARDENS OF GOLDEN GATE PARK,
CONSERVATORY OF FLOWERS AT THE GARDENS OF GOLDEN GATE PARK,
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
SAN FRANCISCO, CA
The 12,000 square foot Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco opened in 1879 and is the oldest wood and glass conservatory in North America. It is a beautiful example of Victorian architecture with amazing displays of aquatic, tropical, and potted plants inside. This is a view of an entrance to the left of the main entrance. I was impressed by the attention to detail in the scrollwork above this doorway contrasted against a perfectly ultramarine sky.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 8, 2025
MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT, CA
MUIR WOODS NATIONAL MONUMENT, CA
When you reach this sacred place, you are struck by the sheer scale of the redwoods and the enveloping silence of these primeval giants. The light that reaches you is soft and filtered. This experience left me with the complementary colors of greens and violets revealing themselves in dramatic fashion.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 5, 2025
TOMALES BAY NEAR POINT REYES, CA
TOMALES BAY NEAR POINT REYES, CA
The variety of landscape in this part of California is quite idyllic. In this picture, the view point is looking west toward Tomales Bay from the drive up to the Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Beyond the hills behind the bay lies the Pacific Ocean.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / July 2, 2025
SONOMA VINEYARDS, CA
SONOMA VINEYARDS, CA
Sonoma and Napa are located in rolling hills covered with thousands of acres of vineyards as far as the eye can see. Row after row of supported vines attests to the perfect climate yielding what each wine maker hopes is the perfect grape.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / June 30, 2025
VIEW ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (LOOKING SOUTH), CA
VIEW ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (LOOKING SOUTH), CA
This is another view from the Pacific Coast Highway just bordering Muir Woods National Monument (2024). The late afternoon sun was at play here, creating a patchwork of golds and blues. My attention was also focused on the trees at the top of the hill. With the exception of the solitary tree in the center, the sea breezes roaring up the hill has forced the other trees to maintain a low wind-swept profile.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / June 29, 2025
VIEW ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (LOOKING NORTH), CA
VIEW ALONG THE PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY (LOOKING NORTH), CA
We were heading south along a section of the breath-taking Pacific Coast Highway just bordering Muir Woods National Monument (2024). I was struck by the sunlight filtering through the trees as well as the interplay of golds and blues of the earth and sea.
Travel Year: 2024
Watercolor & Pastel / Image Size: 6" X 6" / June 28, 2025
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