Notes

1. Sunrise during the Camp Fire. The painting shows an ominous sunrise above Oyster Point during the terrible Camp Fire of 2018. The fire brought large amounts of smoke to the San Francisco Bay Area, creating atmospheric effects like those shown in the painting.

2. View of the Sørfjorden from Odda. A view of the Sørfjorden from the town of Odda. Norway. This is a beautiful fjord but for some reason not as popular with visitors as other nearby areas. The town of Odda itself is a bit rundown, with many derelict buildings showing it's previous importance as an industrial center. Most people who come to Odda do so as a base for a trip to Trolltunga, but we chose to visit the nearby glacier arm at Buerbreen.

3. View of the Nærøydalselvi River towards the fjord. This is a view from the village of Gudvangen, Norway, one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my travels. We stayed in a cabin with a view of the waterfall Kjelfossen, 18th tallest in the world. From here there is easy access to the ferry, which travels down the Nærøyfjord towards Flåm. Flåm is the true tourist center in the area and therefore best avoided. Where Flåm was crowded and noisy, Gudvangen was silent and peaceful. I recommend staying in Gudvangen, take the ferry for the views (but be prepared for crowds), and if possible take a hike to the church at Bakka.

4. Sunset, Fertile Minnesota. The painting shows a view of a lake near the tiny town of Fertile, Minnesota. I was there to visit my good friend Joe Bergeson, who kindly gave me work at the Bergeson Nursery, despite my total lack of gardening skill or experience.

5. Landscape near Finse, Norway. This place is somewhere near here on the map. I saw this seen from a train on the famous Bergen Line.

6. Moon. This painting was one of my first attempts to paint a picture of the moon. It was here that I discovered the main obstacle to this undertaking, which is: When I draw the moon as it appears in the sky to my mind, it appears ridiculously large in the context of the work. On the other hand, when I draw the moon the size it actually is in the sky, it appears ridiculously small. This problem is worthy of study.

7. Bay of Naples with Vesuvius. I saw this scene during my honeymoon trip to Italy. From Rome, we took the train to Naples and from there to Sorrento on the Circumvesuviana. We were warned that this train is full of pickpockets and other thieves, so kept our eyes open. In my vigilance I noticed a man eyeballing me and became suspicious, so kept an eye on him too. After a while I realized he was just another tourist who suspected me of being a thief.

Sorrento is a beautiful town. Probably in some seasons it is overrun, but when we visited in November it was quiet and peaceful. The painting contains a remnant of the camera, which I dislike, but I am happy with the appearance of the waves and reflections on the surface of the Bay. I learned from this painting that some effects are not as hard to render as one might think.

8. Study after Honthorst. I was unable to find out where the original of this painting is located. I encountered the work as a reproduction in David Hockney's book "Secret Knowledge", an interesting but controversial work on Old Master technique. The book mainly concerns the use of optical devices by Old Masters and uses works such as this one by Honthorst to defend the thesis.