NEW Paintingsby Steven John KoeppePlease click here to download Mr. Koeppe's catalog PDF
All paintings are available for sale unless noted as part of a collection.
In the late 1800s, Santa Monica served as the Port of Los Angeles and the California Incline was just an unpave road leading to the beach. At the foot of the grade it met a railroad track that made it's way past city hall, through the McClure Tunnel and then north tracing the route of Pacific Coast Highway to what's known today as Will Rogers Beach. A mammoth pier then carried tracks 4900 feet over Santa Monica Bay into deeper waters. At the structure's bayside end were 6 sets of rails, several warehouses, passenger and crew facilities and coal bunkers sharing a wharf 130 feet wide by 1600 feet long. Able to service 3 large vessels at once, it's reign as the world's longest and largest pier did not last long. In 1899, Los Angeles decided to build a new port in San Pedro. The long warf remained as a big fishing and pleasure pier but fell into disrepair. After damaging winter storms, it was shortened by half in 1916 and finally removed completely in 1924. Consider how different today's view might have been had the Port of Los Angeles remained in Santa Monica Bay. This painting is based on an antique photo. The stray penguin and post-Victorian ladies riding a horseless carraige were added just for fun.
In the 1940s, a stop light, not even a stop sign, was necessary to control traffic at the corner of Wilshire and Westwood Boulevards. Today, it's one of Southern California's most busy intersections. Note that only the original landmark buildings had been built. The painting is based on this antique photo.
Acrylic on canvas, 36"x72", by Steven John Koeppe, 2005
Looking back across Whaler's Cove toward the Carmel Valley from the end of Pt. Lobos, that's the Carmel Mission beyond the bluffs at left. It's a wonder that this place has been preserved for posterity, unlike Monterey's 17 mile drive, just to the north.
Acrylic on canvas, 24x36", by Steven John Koeppe, 2004 This view north from the top of the California Incline features the famous Malibu coastline, where the Santa Monica Mountains abruptly meet the Pacific.
High-quality Giclé prints of this painting are available at any size.
Here are a few of the studies of various sizes painted from photography I took on a recent visit to the new Disney Hall, Los Angeles' premiere concert facility. Oddly enough, my camera was confiscated as I was taking a picture of the interior before the concert. (Yes, they did give it back.) I have seven or eight sketched up but may do a few more of architectural details and, possibly, the interior.
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