You can’t go to Salinas or Monterey without thinking of John Steinbeck. Though it’s been nearly forty years since his death, the agricultural valley where he was born and spent his life writing about is still known as “Steinbeck Country”. I visited the area last year, and I painted this landscape from a photo I took while driving through Salinas Valley at sunset on my way to Carmel. One of my painting goals is to go back there, spend a little time and do some plein air paintings as a Steinbeck Country series. The title of this painting is a quote from “Of Mice And Men”. The main characters were two hapless drifters who’s ultimate dream and desire was to have a couple acres with pigs and rabbits and sheep…. they would “live off the fat of the land”.