Wenatchee Clouds and Sunlight

"Wenatchee Clouds and Sunlight", 9 x 12 In, Oil, 2021

Thank you to Aimee Erickson for awarding this painting First Place for Plein Air in the Plein Air Washington Artists show currently on view at the American Art Company Gallery in Tacoma, Washington. Congratulations to all the other award winners and all the exhibiters.

I am happy to contribute my award to two local Western Washington environmental organizations: Friends of Burley Lagoon near Gig Harbor and Protect the Peninsula's Future near Port Angeles Both these groups are fighting the installation of industrial aquaculture in their respective waters. You can go to their websites to learn more about the devastation these industrial operations cause in Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As Plein Air painters--we touch the land and the waters around us with our hearts and our souls.

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Columbia At Genelle

"Columbia At Genelle", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

This painting was from a series on a "virtual" paint-out of the Columbia River, a few weeks ago. The Columbia River originates from Lake Columbia in British Columbia and travels north, then south across the border and through Washington State to become the largest river in the Pacific Northwest.

NFS

Chelan Reflections - SOLD

"Chelan Reflections", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

This painting, like most the last few weeks, is from a photo--a photo of one of my favorite painting areas in Washington State. Glacier formed and over 50 miles long, Lake Chelan was the longest lake in the state even before it was dammed in 1927. Our favorite place is Stehekin--a long ferry ride to the northern end of the Lake--the eastern gateway to the North Cascades. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Chelan

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Utah Peaks

"Utah Peaks", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board, Framed

This painting is from one of my many trips to Utah.

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Columbia At Donald Bridge

"Columbia At Donald Bridge", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Panel

This weekend was the virtual paint-out of the Columbia River for Plein Air Washington Artists. I traveled from the origin of the Columbia, which is Columbia Lake in British Columbia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Lake), and headed north along the path of the river without many glimpses of the river itself. The road isn't always next to the river and when it is, there are mostly big trees obscuring the view. Additionally, apparently not many photographers take shots of this road or the river in this remote country and post them to Google.

I also didn't realize how many dams there are on the Columbia River. In some respects, the Columbia is one long lake. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dams_in_the_Columbia_River_watershed).

In the small town of Donald in British Columbia I "stood" on the bridge and painted the Columbia as it heads north.

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Wallowas

"Wallowas", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board, 2011

This is an older painting from 2011. I have been taken with the Wallowa Mountains in Northeastern Oregon since we stayed there years ago in a little town called Halfway. We drove into town as the sun was setting. It was so beautiful I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!
Halfway, Oregon

If you are fascinated by geology, like me, go to this website:
Wallowa Mountains

And for a further dose of geology--read the NPR article on the Grand Canyon. I listened to it yesterday on the radio while painting. According to the author, the Grand Canyon on "...the Colorado Plateau —130,000 square miles — there's really no place on Earth that even approximates what we have right here in the southwestern part of the United States.”

This brought back more memories--in my 20's I backpacked down to the bottom of the Canyon from the South Rim and then west along the Tonto Platform to Hermit Creek. And I've been three times on raft painting trips from Lee's Ferry through the Inner Gorge.
Grand Canyon National Park Centennial

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Ebey Fishermen

"Ebey Fishermen", Oil on Museum Board, 9 x 12 In

This was painted on the beach last summer at Ebey's Landing State Park on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound. I was painting with friends from the Plein Air Washington Artists group.

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Bay Hay and Feed - NFS

"Bay Hay and Feed", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

This is another of my paintings from the Winslow Art Center plein air competition on Bainbridge Island in September.

Lynwood Center - NFS

"Lynwood Center", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

I am happy to say that this little painting won First Place in the Winslow Art Center Plein Air Competition this last weekend on Bainbridge Island! My painting buddy, Jeanne Edwards, and I were checking out the shoreline on the south end of the Island and decided we wanted color--so back to this delightfully small business center with its outdoor cafes and old time theater marquee. I am still exploring the wisdom of the palette knife--the impetuous shapes of color with a lot of paint! My sincere thank you to Lois Griffel, the juror of the show, for supporting my journey with the award! Jeanne also did a wonderful painting of the same scene, which immediately sold off the wall at the show! Thank you to Martha Jordan, Director of the Winslow Art Center for this intense experience--we had to submit our daily paintings, framed, by 4 pm on the day of painting! No time to think twice or angst about it. Thank you to Syliva Carlton, Bainbridge Island resident and founder of Plein Air Washington.


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Zangle Cove Winter Morning - NFS

"Zangle Cove Winter Morning", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

This is the last of the Zangle Cove paintings that I posted on Facebook for the 5 painting challenge. I hope you all did not mind that I also took the opportunity to highlight the issue of the proposed industrial geoduck farm in Zangle Cove. I honestly wish this were not an issue and that the time I spend writing letters to Thurston County, the Department Ecology, the US Army Corps of Engineers and Governor Inslee about the permit could be spent in my studio. But it is both an important local issue for Zangle Cove and a Puget Sound wide issue. This painting shows the exact location in the Cove where over 43,000 10 inch long, 6 inch wide PVC pipes will go--one per square foot stomped into the tideland when the water is low. Thank you all for listening!

Before the Wind Came Up

"Before the Wind Came Up", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Panel
This scene in front of my studio is ever changing and often in the morning there is a stillness before the wind comes up.

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Harstene Island - SOLD

"Harstene Island", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Panel
In some ways this is another painting based more on feeling than "reality." Why is this a direction I feel I need to pursue? Hard to know.

Two Apples

"Two Apples", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Panel
Sometimes I just want someone to tell me what to do, so today I went to Carol Marine's lovely Daily Paintworks Challenge website and took the challenge.

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Dana Passage

"Dana Passage", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Panel
I'm starting off the New Year by posting a painting of the view outside my studio window because I am brought back, after all the intensity of the holidays, to just this. I can't remember when I actually did this painting, it was sometime during the fall before everything started to change color. I no longer necessarily post the painting I did during the day, I give them a chance to grow on me or need revisions or be just what they are. This is one is like that--just what it is.

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Grand Teton - NFS

"Grand Teton", 9 x 12 In, Oil on Panel
All bundled up with multiple layers and wind pants, I painted this at a turn out in the Teton National Park in mid-October. It was really cold and windy with stormy clouds and a few sun breaks, but an incredibly glorious place. I'm not selling any of these paintings--I'm still pondering the lessons learned. 

Medicine Lake - SOLD

"Medicine Lake", Oil on Panel, 9 x 12
Some subjects just call out to be painted, even though they are a challenge. This subject, with its nuances, was one of those for me.

Distance

"Distance", Oil on Panel, 9 x 12
Its always interesting to play with color to create distance. This is another scene from our painting trip along the east side of Glacier National Park. The Rockies are so grand compared to the intimate wildness of the Cascades, with the exception of Mt. Rainier and the other volcanos, of course. I often wonder what the Puget Sound area would be like without Mr. Rainier standing as a huge sentinel over the region, yet I have met people who have lived here for years who have never gone up to Paradise.

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Daybreak - SOLD

"Daybreak", Oil on Panel, 9 x 12
This is Mt. Wilber, directly across the lake from the lodge. Its difficult to really portray the grandeur of these mountains.

Early Morning Mt. Gould

"Early Morning Mt. Gould", Oil on Panel, 9 x 12

This is mainly a color study of the early morning light on the lake and Mt. Gould at Many Glacier.

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Mt. Grinnell

"Mt. Grinnell", Oil on Panel, 9 x 12

This mountain stand across the lake from the Many Glacier Lodge. This view is from behind the lodge a short ways down into the canyon where the lake empties to a series of falls. There is a horse trail down to a valley and another lake, apparently a popular spot for bears.

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