ART  is very, very often inspired by, and often expresses, the physical environment within which the artist works/lives.   Few painters paint the North or South Pole, of course, few live or work there. Viewers can also have the experience – of viewing art which reflects the immediate geographic locale -  by going to small, low profile regional museums.   Without massive endowments and “star power” those  provincial museums  often exhibit the artistic efforts that come out of their community.   These grass roots artists often capture the ambiance of the neighborhood with satisfying interpretations of the local environment.    I recently visited a small museum in Southern California  where the center painting (in the above photo collage banner) was on display with other art depicting SoCal views.    The photos to the left and right of the painting are shots taken at a nearby botanical garden and in the nearby orchards.   Although it’s too cold to swim in SoCal in January or February, the washingtonia robusta palms, brown sage-brush barren hillsides, and lemonade by the poolside – seen through dark glasses - caught me as iconic.  Though the scene pictures a sunny, apparently healthy lifestyle, what came through to me was vapidness.  There is a little undertone of that in Southern California.