[ Suspenseful music plays ] -My name is Sean Diediker and I'm a painter.

♪ I've always designed my paintings based on travel and chance.

I love exploring the human condition as I look to find beauty in true, unscripted reality and then documenting that experience with paint.

♪ [ Animal calls ] ♪ [ Owl hoots ] I love merging the craft of Old World masters with modern-day media to create and share unique windows into humanity.

♪ Join me as I canvas the world to explore the interplay between art and the human condition.

Every episode a place, every episode a painting.

♪ ♪ ♪ -♪ Find the hidden ♪ ♪ What's been given ♪ ♪ Given to you ♪ -Ah, Santa Barbara, one of the brightest gems in California's crown.

-♪ Uncover the truth ♪ ♪ Uncover, yeah ♪ -It goes without saying if you live in Santa Barbara, you love the sea.

-♪ What needs you ♪ -The coastal vibes of the American Riviera act as a beacon for those who enjoy her small-town feel and don't mind paying her uptown prices.

-♪ What is you ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ -The uniquely diverse marine environment of the Santa Barbara Channel draws both visitors and locals year-round.

-♪ Ooh ♪ -I met up with captain of the Condor Express, Dave Beezer, to learn a little more.

-Pirate's life for me, but a little more modern pirate, which is great.

I am very lucky to be a full-time captain on a boat like this.

Ever since I was a kid, I was on the water, and it's just been a passion of mine my entire life.

I grew up in the East Coast.

I came here to California many years ago, and I've been here ever since.

Santa Barbara is a beautiful place, and this is a beautiful place to work.

The fabulous thing about the Santa Barbara channel is that we have year-round whale watching.

We have different species that come and go in the channel, but they're always here.

So it's a very, very special place to see a lot of marine life.

We still got time.

We'll see what else we can find today.

One of the best things about being a full-time captain on a boat like this is that you get to show people the beauty of the environment.

So you bring them out on the boat, you expose them to the beauty of the whales and the dolphins and the Santa Barbara Channel itself, and you show them what it's all about, and it's a fabulous experience for these people.

♪ It's really nice to have people that come from all over the world to see the diversity of species that we have here in the Santa Barbara channel.

♪ Some of the most exciting moments is the time we spend with the whales, especially the humpback whales.

They can be quite boat-friendly.

They do a lot of activity, a lot of jumping, a lot of breaching, and people really love that and interact with that.

♪ It's a fabulous place to be.

The ocean got into my blood, and it's been there ever since.

♪ -I've always been drawn to marinas.

There's something about the sway of the boats as they await their captains and the constantly changing light dancing on the water.

It creates a series of visuals that make it hard for a painter to resist.

♪ I love watching the boats coming in and out of the harbor, and every time I see a vessel enter or leave, you just know there's a story attached to them.

I remember back in the Boy Scout days, we'd always come to Santa Barbara, and we'd sit on the pier over there, and we'd throw our lines down, and we'd pull up big spider crabs.

Saturday morning, I wandered down to the fish market, and I met a couple of local fishermen, one of which being Ron.

-Whoa.

-He was an urchin diver, and he was selling urchins there at the docks.

And to my surprise, he offered me a sample.

He split it open, cleaned it out, and then put the roe on his arm.

-Perfect color -- Gold-yellow is what you want to see.

-And then he split it in half with his finger, and I ate it right off of his arm.

And it was delicious.

-Salty, buttery with a sweet aftertaste, and the sweet aftertaste is what makes Santa Barbara urchins the best urchins in the world.

♪ -I think the most interesting character I met was a fisherman named Paul.

-You know, there's an old saying, "If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day, and if you teach a man to fish, he'll steal your spot."

-That's a good one.

I like that.

-I'm the one-man show.

I don't have a crew.

I go out on Tuesday morning at about 3:00, and then I come back Friday night at about 11:00 or 12:00.

And I won't see anybody for four or five days straight.

It's just, you wonder, "Where is everybody?"

-You like that?

-Oh, yeah, yeah.

I like the feeling of solitude.

It's a pioneer spirit.

-And this is your boat right here?

-Yeah.

-Paul had a 90-year-old boat, and as I was talking to him, a diver emerged from underneath, surprised me, and he was checking the rudders for rust and barnacles or whatever they check for down there.

-But this all looks okay?

It's in okay shape for the shape she's in?

-Yeah, the wood is so old that there's, like, mussels -- There were mussels growing inside of there.

-Yeah.

-Paul had told me he used to clean it the old-fashioned way, which is just running his boat through a big bed of sea kelp.

♪ I have nothing but respect for these seafaring merchants... ♪ ...constantly braving the sun, salt, and waters uncertain and perhaps even a little loneliness as they drop in their lines and cast their nets... hoping to pull up a little gold.

♪ ♪ -I love a good story well-told.

♪ Tour a museum with a mathematician, and she'll point out the angles built into the artwork, the proportions of the figures.

Tour one with a painter, and she'll fixate on techniques, brushstrokes, palettes.

♪ A powerful narrative can puncture our cynical veneers and inspire us to imagine, to empathize, even to act.

Soccer moms are not hot, we're not.

We're the opposite.

Children who don't know how to hop a subway turnstile... ...to examine the snarl of stories corralled in our head... ...cliche in yoga pants... distant sirens... Are they too content?

To be fair, any dad who coaches any sport is kind of yummy.

Our inner narratives, once written, resist editing.

I'm Starshine Roshell.

I'm a columnist with the Santa Barbara Independent.

I've written three books.

They're all collections of my columns.

I love telling stories because my father is a songwriter, so I think of my columns sort of the same way.

They have a rhythm and a sort of musicality to them.

So I really love to play with language.

I like to have sentences that you can sort of chew on.

I love to write about personal things that are going on in my life, and I then broaden them out so that other people can relate to them.

I grew up in a big city with billboards and litter and bellowing horns.

We lived in a concrete jungle with beggars and highways and smog, and we vacationed, naturally, in charming, palm-tree- punctuated beach towns.

Now I live in this charming, palm-tree-punctuated beach town, and it's lovely -- a safe, peaceful, pretty place to raise kids.

Living in paradise, one can get awfully smug.

My friends and I have a ritual of meeting at sunset on the beach about once a month.

Plopped beach chairs, toes in the sand, eyes on the horizon and a Syrah on our lips, we toast to our extraordinary good fortune.

"Aren't we lucky?"

we gasp, as dolphins and even whales dance past in the surf.

Santa Barbara has as very mellow vibe.

There's a lot of outdoorsy people.

People here like to spend so much of their free time out in the hills, hiking, or at the beach.

It's just a really nice place to be outside.

♪ Santa Barbara is called the American Riviera because it looks very much like the European Riviera.

Landscape-wise, it's got this beautiful coast with sailboats and a pier, and then it's got this city with red-tile roofs and white stucco buildings, and it feels like everyone who lives here really recognizes how wonderful it is, that we're lucky to live in such a special place and that you go through the town, and everyone you run into has this sense of like, "Aren't we fortunate?

How grateful are we to be here?"

Everybody, it's like we have this sort of in secret with each other.

I have so much to say to the world, and I have said it all in my books and in my columns.

I will continue to say it, hopefully, for a very long time.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -My favorite people are generally self-made.

♪ They find the means to amplify their passion, whatever that might be, and oftentimes become one with their craft.

This is the case with Tom.

His is the story of how a waiter became the owner of one of the finest restaurants on the West Coast and in the process, took most of his fellow staff members with him.

-This is the house-made gnocchi with rock shrimp and black truffle butter.

-True success comes from the heart, and you can't buy that.

You have to earn it.

It really comes down to, you are the leader of a group of people that have that same philosophy.

My chef, Nat Ely, who has been here at Toma since the beginning, is a true professional.

He is an artist, and like any artist, he has a passion for what he does.

He is able to create dishes, not only with flavor but with artistic ability.

♪ ♪ ♪ Toma sources much of the menu locally.

Nat buys from the local fishermen.

He also buys from the local foragers, who bring us chanterelle mushrooms at certain times of the year.

One of the areas that I've always wanted to experience is getting out to some of the beekeepers.

They have this unique honey that is just indigenous to this area of Central California.

So much of the farm-to-table really did start in Santa Barbara.

Some of the unique dishes that Nat has put together are his own creation.

It's his expertise and his palate that really brings this menu to what has become the greatest menu in Santa Barbara.

-Sean, I have the Badia a Coltibuono.

One of my loves is to travel to Europe and search out hidden gems for the wine list, and to pick those wines personally and bring them back, people love a story behind that wine.

My wife, Vicki, and I own and operate Toma, and we are not only business partners, we're lifelong partners.

She and I work together harmoniously.

Welcome.

-Hello.

-And I've always said that this business is almost like a play.

The hour before setting up is running around, setting the tables, polishing the wine glasses, making sure that everybody understands the specials, and then at 5:00, the curtain goes up, and everybody is on cue and the waiters are the actors in the play and I am the director, if you will.

People come to the restaurant to have the touch of the owner come to the table.

In the end, it is a restaurant, and you have to have a wonderful menu.

But it's more than just the food.

It's a love for creating an experience for the customer, and as they walk out the door, they will look at me in the eye and say, "This has been one of the top restaurant experiences I've ever had in my life," and that's the gratification I get when I know that I've pleased somebody to that extent.

♪ -While strolling through one of Santa Barbara's many farmer's markets, I was invited to something special.

♪ -How are you?

-Good, how are you?

I'm coming through.

-Yeah.

[ Chatter ] -How does that one feel?

That one good?

-Mm-hmm.

♪ All right.

There you go.

-Thank you.

I'll see you at the mountaintop.

-All right.

See you up there.

♪ One of the primary reasons I travel is to absorb unique experiences.

Sometimes, they are generated by circumstance, and sometimes, they are created for you.

In the case of Nicole, it's the latter.

-♪ The people you will meet ♪ -And if a cornucopia of tasty delights, fine wine, and shockingly gorgeous views is your thing, and let's face it, if you live in Santa Barbara, it is, perhaps you should investigate the Santa Barbara Picnic Company.

-♪ What a ♪ ♪ What a wonderful life ♪ -We're on the Santa Ynez Mountains on East Camino Cielo, Santa Barbara, and it is one of my favorite hidden spots of Santa Barbara.

Not too many people who come up here know about it, and it just has a beautiful 360 view of the mountains and the ocean.

♪ -♪ What a ♪ -I would say that picnics are quintessential Santa Barbara culture.

♪ -♪ What a ♪ -Hi!

-Hey!

Picnics are a social event.

Gathering your closest friends and just being out in nature, I think, really helps connect you.

-♪ What a wonderful life ♪ ♪ -My company is basically just pop-up picnics anywhere out in nature.

I just really love the idea of a pop-up experience.

I always like doing picnics for my friends, and I started to add more things to my own picnic experiences.

I gave myself a name, Santa Barbara Picnic Co., and I made my Instagram page.

And from that, that's when I knew it was the right choice.

[ Laughter ] I'd say Instagram is really vital for my business.

It's all about the looks of it and taking photos of it and for people to see such an eye-catching image on Instagram and like it and tag their friend and talk about it, it creates a lot of organic growth.

-Grab your goodies.

-Before a picnic, I'd like to go to the farmer's market, and I also like working with florists and other local vendors.

In the spring, I like to serve citrus and fresh fruit from the farmer's market.

In the fall, I definitely like incorporating more dried items like dried fruits and figs.

-Cheers!

-Cheers!

-Whoo!

-My ideal clients are those who enjoy fine wine and dining and an overall really boutique experience.

-Food just tastes better in fresh air.

-I love eating outside.

-It makes me feel really good.

It makes all the stresses and hardships of setting up picnics worth it when I'm being a part of someone's special moment.

♪ -♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Wonderful life ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ [ Scatting ] ♪ ♪ ♪ -I came across robotics engineer and somewhat mad scientist Kelton Temby.

I learned that chance and a swarm of bees that made their home in his garage gave him a new life mission.

♪ And he discovered a way to literally measure the heartbeat of a beehive.

♪ -Look at her, cute little bee.

My name is Kelton Temby.

By day, I work in medical robotics.

By night, I work on helping to save the bees.

So I started thinking about how we can help patients in health care, and I wondered, why don't we have something similar for technology to help beekeepers help their bees?

So Eyesonhives is a tool for beekeepers to be able to remotely check on their bees, but it's a device that's able to watch the beehive all day, every day and monitor the beehive's activity.

How do I tell that a hive is healthy?

I'll open up the hive and I'll look for the queen, brood, and eggs, but also with the Eyesonhives device, I can actually see a signature pattern that tells me that that hive is healthy.

It's just like a heartbeat, and so if the bee activity is in decline or I don't see the pulse, then I'll go and investigate.

Researchers are now also using that data to ask deeper questions about both sustainability for food, as well as generally how the bees are able to tell us about the health of the environment.

The things that are killing the bees are actually really bad for us, as well.

If the bees in your own city are dying, it means that there's something nasty near you.

It's like the canary in the coal mine because it's probably affecting you, so a lot of systemic pesticides in the soil and in the creeks and really even in the nectar in flowers.

♪ That's a bee sting.

[ Chuckles ] -Did it get you?

-Yeah.

I like that the bees decided that they wanted to be part of the shoot.

Bees actually sting typically when they're either accidentally crushed, maybe you get them caught in your clothing, or when they're trying to defend the hive.

So if you're near a beehive, like we happen to be right now, and bees are trying to sting you, they're generally just telling you, "Hey, please give us a bit of room.

This is our home.

We'd like a bit of space, please."

The smoker is helpful because the smoke makes the bees think there's a wildfire in the area.

And then the nice slow one.

Yep, there you go.

Now that is a smoker.

The smoke also interferes with alarm pheromone, so the bees are less likely to become agitated.

So the honeycomb is this magical structure.

It's the strongest structure possible that's the most space-efficient.

♪ -I had no idea how important these little pollen collectors were... and how large their role was when it came to everything we eat.

I was fascinated to learn how a bee's surrounding environment affects the color and flavor of the honey.

-This is actually the local flowers of Santa Barbara.

-Yeah.

It's really good.

-[ Chuckles ] -It's not all that different to how my own changing environment affects what I paint.

♪ -The thing that I love the most about beekeeping is what's called Bee Zen.

You literally just have to be really calm.

You listen to the bees.

If you're really gentle with them, they're really gentle with you, and they're just fascinating.

There's something magical about bees.

What I hope people can take away from beekeeping is that it connects you with your community and nature in general.

You start paying attention to the things that really matter.

Like, are we on a sustainable path?

Are the bees happy and healthy?

How does the health of the bees connect me with my own environment and existence?

I feel like it's a real journey, and I'm just incredibly grateful that a swarm of bees chose to make a home in my life.

Good job.

Yeah, nice one.

-Did I achieve the coveted Bee Zen that Kelton spoke of?

I'm not sure, but I bought a hive of my own.

Turns out beekeeping is an art unto itself and, like any artful endeavor, requires a certain mastery, which I quickly found I do not yet possess, but I'm working on it.

And until the queen reigns supreme and the honey flows in my own hive...

I'll just have to enjoy my painting "The Keepers."

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -"Canvasing the World" fine art reproductions, printed on pearl linen and museum-quality cotton rag, are now available.

♪ To order your own fine art reproduction of The Keepers or any editions from the "Canvasing the World" television series, please visit ctwgallery.com.

♪ If you'd like more information on the series or a peek at what's currently on Sean's canvas, you can follow "Canvasing the World" on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, or visit us at canvasingtheworld.tv.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ -All right.

High five here.

♪ ♪ -Filming on a boat is challenging.

Everything is moving all the time, and especially whale watching, you got to have your long telephoto lenses so you can get the best shot of the whales.

As filmmakers, that's the challenging part.

We're trying to create these windows for the audience to have the same experience, but, you know, the elements can often play a huge role in making that not happen.

♪ Part of my exploration of the world as a painter was to try and absorb experiences and people and bring those back to the studio and articulate that.

We interviewed Kelton Temby, who was a beekeeper, and I just fell in love with this idea of being a beekeeper.

So both my producer and myself are now beekeepers.

[ Chatter ] -When we were filming in Santa Barbara with Kelton, he talked about Bee Zen, so I thought about, "What would bee Zen look like for me?"

So in the fountain of my courtyard, I kept seeing bees coming to drink but by the hundreds, and so I decided that I would start to put my hand amongst the bees on my fountain and see what happened and hopefully be Zen enough, be peaceful enough within myself that I wouldn't get stung.

Once in a while, a bee would start climbing on my fingers and moving around my hand, and so the answer was to not be nervous.

Bee Zen is about interacting with the bees, being calm enough that the bees don't anticipate an agitation and they don't sting you.

-Yes.

-I was inspired by Kelton to create my own apiary.

I now have two hives on my property, and I don't anticipate having honey any time soon.

Perhaps next year.

However, I'm excited to be a part of that dynamic.

♪ ♪