One of the most remarkable things about Santa Barbara is the flowers. This is Pete's garden. When I returned here in 1978 I discovered this garden, and proceeded to paint it about fifteen times over about seven years. This is where I really learned how to color a painting. This is one of my best pictures. It was painted at a point in my career where I could divie into any mass of colors and work my way out, but didn't really know how to achieve the effect I wanted. This painting and its mate have a certain life to them that's a direct result of that search that comes from jumping in way over my head and fighting my way back out.