"Glass Beach Reef of Life" - 2012
This is the complete decalcomania drawing developed from a photo I took at ground level of some eroded rock formations at Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, California. The finished drawing is so detailed that it really needs to be viewed at a much higher resolution than shown here or better yet as a print.
I distorted and mangled the photo with Photoshop filters and effects. Using my imagination and the virtual painting and drawing program Painter, I then responded to, emphasized, and announced image fragments that I saw in the distorted photo. That process began November 4, 2011. I worked on this drawing several hours a day, seven days a week completing it in late January, 2012.
There are several enlarged details posted in my February, 2012 archives.
bobcomings.com 
Very richly rendered, Bob. I’d like to see it about 5′ tall or larger. Oddly, the longer I look at it, the more I see my own fantasy faces, big and small, and writhing movement. Also it evokes the unlikely conglomerated items in the sands of glass beach. Haven’t been there in a while, but 30 years ago the worn and softly deformed metal and glass fragments were plentiful. A real treasure you’ve made. I still intend to come borrow your old painter soon. Judy
Today we printed several of the decalcomania drawings. This one is about 12″ x 18″ and is very rich to look at. I think it is my favorite so far. It is a real treat to be able to enjoy these images printed on paper at a size that makes it easy to get into all the details. Seeing the printed versions makes me want to keep doing more of these drawings. And yes, it is sadly amazing how changed Glass Beach is from when I first visited it in the early 70’s. Although it is odd to find myself mourning the gradual disappearance of a municipal trash dump at the ocean’s edge! Decades ago people threw what they did not want to look at into the ocean at that spot. The ocean slowly made all the trash so beautiful that people came back and picked it all up as a new kind of treasure and took it away.