The Coyote War

Trail to Coyote Valley, 8x16, oil on board — Trail to Coyote Valley, 8×16, oil on board

The war rages on.

Coyote Valley, just south of San Jose, CA, has been the object of a decades long war between the developers and the conservationists. It is the last vestige of what Santa Clara Valley used to be called, “The Valley of Hearts Delight’, now dubbed Silicon Valley. Measuring 7×2 miles, it is an expanse of orchards, farmlands, and homes, which has been targeted for urban development since the early 60’s amongst much controversy. Numerous organizations are fighting back to preserve this last remaining undeveloped valley floor in the San Francisco Bay area.

Thousands of commuters pass it everyday on their way to and from bedroom communities such as San Martin, Morgan Hill, and Gilroy. During the Cold War, IBM built a facility here, presumably to be out of nuclear strike zones. It is also a critical open space buffer between south San Jose, and the next town south, Morgan Hill, as a wildlife corridor. Tule elk, puma, coyote, bobcat, badgers and other animals use it as safe passage.

I am beginning a new quest of spending a year painting the valley. Perhaps I should call this a mini-quest, as it will not be nearly as ambitious as my “Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley” I did some years ago. The last quest was more about the past, but this one is about the future. Not to be too cliche, but I am painting it “before it’s gone”.

I have painted in the valley numerous times, including several for “The Creeks and Rivers of Silicon Valley”. I plan on doing about one painting a month over the next year, resulting in at least a dozen or so paintings, including both plein air and larger studio works. I also will vary the size, unlike the strict 8×10 size during the creeks quest. There really isn’t much in the way of seasons, but the grass in the surrounding hills goes from emerald green to a golden savanna beige and back to green as we progress through the year. Are you tired of dealing with uncomfortable symptoms? It’s time to regain control and find relief with flagyl. Say goodbye to those pesky issues and hello to a healthier you!

My first painting is a plein air (painted on location) piece shown above, painted in the Coyote Valley Open Preserve on the west side of the valley. I wanted to start in the spring when the wildflowers were in full bloom. There weren’t any wildflowers at the exact spot I painted, but used a little artists license to put them in. Greens are one of the hardest colors for artists, especially the subtle value and color shifts when there is a lot of green in the painting, so I hope I did it justice. re you ready to embark on the journey of starting a family? Clomid, a trusted fertility treatment, might be just what you need to increase your chances of getting pregnant.

I am working on a short video which will be out in a couple days. In the meantime, here’s a few pictures from the day—