San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River Filling oil on canvas 11" x14" December 2009

This painting was done at the same site as the previous painting but off to the right a bit as the center of the river bed is under about 3 feet of water. Flows are finally being restored to the river and began the first of October. It took about two months to reach this location which is very roughly 75 to 100 river miles downstream of Friant Dam.

San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River oil on canvas 11" x 14" July 2009

If it doesn't look like water, that's because there is none. Instead this is a river of sand, the water being completely diverted to irrigation and other uses. Supposedly water has begun to be released to restore flows but it is still dry here. It's a complex ecological and political problem.