Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Still Life with Apple - SOLD

"Still Life with Apple", 10 x 8 In, Oil on Museum Board
A group of gals painting at a beautiful cabin up the Quinault in the Olympic National Park. This was paradise. But unlike the Tetons where there were stormy days but little rain, this particular National Park is a rain forest. So two of our days were inside with still life setups.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Mt. Moran - SOLD

"Mt. Moran", 14 x 14 In, Oil on Panel
This is the same spot where the mama grizzly and cubs came through. It was strange painting in the cold and partly overcast, stormy skies. Much too windy for an umbrella, I didn't always gauge the light correctly and some of the paintings, when I brought them inside, seemed pretty dark. But I hope you can see something of how beautiful it was. You can probably tell I like to travel--I especially love to drive across the west. Here is a driving song from my daughter, Liz Townsend.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Sunset Near Jackson - NFS

"Sunset Near Jackson", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Panel
We painted every day from morning until after the sun went down. This last painting was a fast one because the light changed so quickly. The evening of this painting a mama grizzly and three cubs ran about 40 feet from us down to the river. It was an amazingly beautiful sight as the bears crossed the river right in front of us in the low but iridescent light and disappeared into the bush. I am awed at the number of mama grizzlies with cubs I've seen in the past couple of years on painting trips--Denali, Glacier and the Tetons. Guess I'm just hanging out in the right places!

My niece, who lives in Jackson, questioned whether the bears I saw there were actually grizzlies. First, in the case of the two Denali mama grizzlies and cubs and the Glacier National Park mama grizzly and cubs on the north shore of Lake Josephine, there were expert witnesses--the guides. In the case of the Tetons I have no doubt it was a mama grizzly because she crossed the river no more than 150 feet from our painting group and I could see clearly the typical hump back shape of a grizzly as compared to a black bear. There are many grizzlies in the Tetons I later found out and it is possible that the mama grizzly we saw down on the river was the same one reported crossing the main Teton highway in June--the famous Bear "399" otherwise known as the Angelina Jolie of grizzlies in the Grand Tetons. I can't be sure about this, because the cubs we saw were a lot bigger and I don't know how much they grow in four months.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

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. 

Monday, November 21, 2011

Sky Study

"Sky Study", 5 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board
Often when I am in between things I turn to the ever changing view from my studio. There is always something to study, always an experiment in front of me.

Purchase this unframed painting.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Morning Light

"Morning Light", 8 x 10 In, Oil
This is the last of the images from Glacier National Park for now. The mountains had such a powerful impact on me that my feeling memories are vivid. These places are important for our souls.

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

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Above Lake Josephine

"Above Lake Josephine", Oil on Panel, 8 x 10
Another vista of Glacier National Park late in the afternoon.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Trail to Grinnell Glacier

"Trail to Grinnell Glacier", Oil on Panel, 12 x 16
What I didn't put into the painting were all the mountain sheep in this spot on the way to the Grinnell Glacier. They were on the trail and in the meadows and some hikers were using dubious means to get them off the trail because they had very big horns and seemed very curious.

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Friday, November 11, 2011

Falls at Many Glacier - SOLD

"Falls at Many Glacier", Oil on Panel, 11 x 14  SOLD
Back behind the lodge at Many Glacier the lake empties into a stream. They told us that if we kept hiking down the trail here, we would likely encounter bears.

Congratulations to my amazing niece, Erica, who summited Ama-Dablam in Nepal on 11/11/11--22,525 feet elevation!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

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

Monday, November 7, 2011

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.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

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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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Lake Josephine - SOLD

"Lake Josephine", Oil on Panel, 8 x 10

The colors of the lake and the hillside shadows are deep and so study was about color saturation.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

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.

Purchase this unframed painting.
Contact me if you would like to purchase a plein air frame.