Decades ago, when I shared a printmaking studio in Hermosa Beach, I was taking a shortcut along Vista del Mar, near the LA Airport. I was struck by a scene I had always missed—lonely palm trees lining an abandoned street. I thought the palms had a noble look of pride and perseverance, left forgotten behind their chain-link fence.
I later learned that there had once been stately homes along those streets, but they had been moved or destroyed when LAX was expanded in the late 1960’s.
I made this lithograph of the scene in 1982. It has always been one of my favorites.
Captive Palms, 1982. Original lithograph, 22” x 30”, in five colors on cream Rives BFK paper. Edition of 77, $500.
Since then, that fenced-in area, now called the LAX Dunes, has been anything but neglected! In fact, its isolation has made it a perfect place for rare wildlife to thrive. While planes roar overhead, burrowing owls find a home in abandoned squirrels’ nests. Legless lizards enjoy dune habitat, and the El Segundo blue butterfly, an endangered species, feeds on seacliff buckwheat. Volunteers regularly clear the area of non-native weeds to preserve the habitat for hundreds of unique species. It is the largest contiguous dune system in Southern California.
I visited the area again recently. The palms were still there, and the vegetation was lush from recent rains. I wonder if there are more artistic possibilities to explore.
Captive Palms today.