Born of the Mountain of Gold
Sim Simma Down Now begins with love, and with a place. In 1975, Frankie and Gail Freiler were married above the cliff overlooking Coralina Cove at Montaña de Oro State Park, on California's Central Coast. The love they found and consecrated there, high above the waves, is the wellspring this art flows from. Every year they came back to that same cove to celebrate with friends, family and beach potlucks. Montaña de Oro means "mountain of gold," after the wildflowers that blaze across its hills each spring. Here, the pace of the world slows to the rhythm of the tide.
From Coralina Cove, the inspiration flows along the coast. At Spooner's Cove, a sheltered crescent of sand is framed by dark, rugged sea stacks, and the afternoon light turns the water to hammered gold. Farther along the bluffs, the Point Buchon trail runs to the edge of the continent, where the waves crash white against the cliffs and the horizon goes on forever.
Every dragon we paint rises from these places: from the swell of the waves, the glow of a Central Coast sunset, and the ancient stone of Morro Rock watching over the bay. They're guardians of the wild beauty and the family love we hold dear, rendered in oil-painting light, pearlescent scales and golden filigree, then made into art you can wear.
In Thailand they say Jai Yen Yen: cool your heart. That's the spirit here. Breathe in the salt air, let the raw nerves ease, and carry a little of Coralina Cove and Montaña de Oro with you. Sim Simma Down Now.