Sky over Utah

"Sky over Utah", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

Sometimes when doing a painting, the simpler, the better. And quit while the bandito is still holding out her arm, showing how far it is to the horizon, before that cranky sheriff comes around looking for evidence of wrongdoing. If only I could do that every time. But it means I have to start without the sheriff standing behind me in the first place.

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Colors of the Reef

"Colors of the Reef", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

Have I said before that I keep going back to Capitol Reef? And that the backside of the Reef is a different world? I looked at this painting when I got back from Utah and thought, "Did I paint that? Do I dare show this?" And I think now, yes, it was visceral and visual--one with the brush.

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Nisqually Color

"Nisqually Color", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
This painting was from our annual paint-out to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge in March. The Nisqually River flows from the Nisqually Glacier on Mt. Rainier, elevation 14,411 feet, to sea level in 50 miles. The Refuge is surrounded by the estuary of the Nisqually River. In 2009, dikes that had been built in 1904 were removed, reclaiming over 700 acres to the estuary. The old barns remain on the land. https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Billy_Frank_Jr_Nisqually/about.html

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Green Dress

"Green Dress", 12 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This is another of the portrait studies I did in early January.

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Mountain Path - NFS

"Mountain Path", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This painting was an experiment in color, a good way to escape habitual thinking and approach related to a specific element.

NFS

Crystal Cove Tideland

"Crystal Cove Tideland", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This was painted on the paint-out day of the American Impressionist Small Works Exhibition in Costa Mesa, California, March 9, 2017 at Crystal Cove State Park. Some painted along the beach, like me, and others painted on the trail where there were gardens and restaurants. The day was sunny with ocean clouds and turquoise water. This painting was hung on the "wet wall" section of the Exhibition. Striking to me on this beautiful beach, was the amount of plastic and plastic shards and various other forms of garbage. I can't remember seeing anything like it on beach near Westport, here in Washington State, but it is no doubt there, somewhere along the coast.

NFS

Shadow and Light

"Shadow and Light", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
Its difficult to take photos of paintings, whether strong sunlight outside the studio windows or gray fog. The light catches on the brush strokes and the values and colors are never quite the same. Many adjustments can be made in Photoshop to try to make it true, but it seems more or less impossible. Sometime the painting looks better in the photograph, which is a big enough concern, but in this case, I just couldn't get the photograph to do justice to the painting, at least in my eyes. It was one of those fast, "don't think about it," paintings.

Clouds over Utah

"Clouds over Utah", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
I'm not actually sure exactly where this is in Utah--it is somewhere between Capitol Reef and Escalante. I went through all my photos of the trip, but couldn't find this particular view. So I hope the painting speaks for itself--

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