Southern California can be a land of great beauty and interest, or a murky place hidden by smog and the collective debris of too many people throwing too much away. Mountains, seascapes, suburban, urban, ghetto, Hollywood mansions, valley retreats, desert oases, rivers with paved beds, passable only by freeway—a land of casual abundance, uninhabitable without a car. I grew up there. It was okay for the most part, as I recall—but never did I see a Grunion...
The painting, South California, obviously looks at the murky side—which has also led to a number of digital landscapes no less murky.