Maritime Inversion, Big Sur

Hearing about all the very high temperatures people are experiencing keeps reminding me of the  summer of 2006.  In July, I travelled to a convention by car from San Diego to Albuquerque via Tombstone and back again!  This involved crossing two deserts in a heatwave(!) and my sketches started to record the temperature as well as the place and date (You can see the sketches in USA Sketchbook - Southwestern States)

On my return to San Diego, I flew north to San Francisco with a plan of driving down Big Sur in glorious sunshine.

What I didn't realise is that when it's very hot inland California tends to get a maritime inversion along the coastline.  This is what happens when cold marine air underlies warmer air and gets trapped.  So my memories of Northern California mainly involved grey skies and not very warm weather!  (Not very warm being relative when when you've been living with 100+ degrees Fahrenheit for quite some time!)

 Maritime Inversion, Bixby Bridge, Big Sur

8" x 12", coloured pencils on Arches HP

copyright Katherine Tyrrell

You can read the blog post behind this drawing here - Friday 28th July - "Driving down big Sur - at last" which is aboout the drive along the Pacific Coast Highway down Big Sur.  You can also see the original sketch which was done while stood at the top of some very high cliffs staring down at the very turquoise sea below.

The inversion produces fog and I think there was nearly as much moisture in the air as there was in the water in the Pacific Ocean way down below.  Trying to draw fog is a bit of a challenge!