Maia

"Maia", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board

I'm continuing on with portrait studies with the help of my very curious kitten, of whom I am terrified that she will jump onto my palette! I was thinking last night as Zinny was exploring stuff by the fireplace as we were watching TV, that if humans were as curious as cats, the world would be a different place.

NFS

Woman in Blue

"Woman in Blue", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board

I've gotten very behind in my postings. When I'm reorganizing my life its difficult to think about blogspot and facebook until I get it all sorted out. Often in the winter I like to focus on portraits. They are a wonderful challenge. Progress in painting, like many other things, means striving towards the new and unfamiliar and slapping those habits away--habits of vision, of color, of thinking I know what I am doing and most importantly, habits of the hand and the brush. Our lives are built around habit and vigilance is necessary for such a beguiling adversary.

Girl in Green

"Girl in Green" 16 x 12 In, Oil on Panel

I painted this lovely model at the Plein Air Washington holiday paint-in December. Thank you to this group of artist friends for all the painting adventures of 2015! We painted in Jasper National Park, Whidbey Island, Nisqually Reach, Hood Canal, Mt Baker/Mt Shuksan, among other places. There is no better way to be in nature and spend time with friends!

Thank you all!

Mountain Meadow

"Mountain Meadow", 12 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
Mountains with mist or otherwise are ever the place I most want to be painting. This is on the Snake River north of Jackson.

Mt. Moran - Sold

"Mt Moran", 14 x 14, Oil on Panel. Given Honorable Mention Award in the Plein Air
Washington "Meadows to Mountains" show at the American Art Gallery in Tacoma. Thank
you to Michael Situ, Juror of Awards.

Autumn Mist Artist Point

"Autumn Mist Artist Point", 10 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

I painted four paintings that day at Artist Point between Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. The location
of this one was a short distance down the road by a small lake, looking off to the west into the
mist. The most striking thing was that in spite of the mist and the rain, the color of the alpine
meadows, turning before winter, was so intense and vivid.

Purchase this
unframed painting.

Contact me if you would like to purchase a plein air frame.

Mist on Mt. Shuksan

"Mist on Mt. Shuksan", 10 x 8 In, Oil on Museum Board
When the mist rolled in on a very cold late September morning on the ridge of the Artist Point trail between Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan, we thought our painting day was over, because it also started to rain. But it was a "can't dance" moment (when you can't dance and it's too wet to plow, you may as well do something because you can't or don't have the opportunity to do anything else) so we set up our easels anyway. The mist was so thick we could barely see anything but the nearest rocks and lichen. So that is what this painting is about--the amazing color of the steep alpine meadow in fall colors.

Artist Point In Mist

"Artist Point In Mist", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

When we first hiked up the trail from the end of the Mt. Baker road at Artist Point, the sun was shinning through broken clouds, just as the weather report had predicted. But within half an hour, long enough to set up, the mist closed in and a gentle rain began. We called out for our companion, who had taken off up the trail for an hour hike, but she was gone. So undaunted, we said--might as well paint! This was actually my second painting and shows the one moment when the mist parted briefly. Mt. Shuksan and Mt. Baker were hidden in the fog but the steep alpine meadows in autumn colors called forth a luminous palette of grays.