Recital - NFS

"Recital", 12 x 9 In, Oil on Panel
This is a portrait of my daughter from a photo. I looked at the photo and thought, why not--just keep it simple. It was an interesting exercise.

Red Dress - NFS

"Red Dress", 12 x 9 In, Oil on Panel
Why do I like to paint my daughters so much? This is my younger daughter. Not all the portraits look exactly like my daughters because sometimes I'm working on something other than likeness, but they are emotional for me all the same.

Girl with Blue Dress - SOLD

"Girl with Blue Dress", 12 x 9 In, Oil on Panel
This is another portrait where I left the background the tone of the canvas--an interesting experiment for me. I guess I could always pull it into Photoshop and try it out with a background, but that never accounts for the actual color and the brushwork.

In the Sun - NFS

"In the Sun", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Panel
This is another experiment and in this case, it was about being completely imperfect.

Girl with Pigtails - NFS

"Girl with Pigtails", 12 x 9 In, Oil on Panel
With this portrait I attempted to use both warms and cools in the flesh tones of the face, something I want to experiment with more.

Bridge Lake Powell

"Bridge Lake Powell", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Panel
This was an attempt at a very abstract landscape from the land in southern Utah that is itself very abstract, vast, colorful and warm.

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

Canyon Walls

"Canyon Walls", 10 x 8 In, Oil on Museum Board
This is another view of the canyon walls and I hope it gives the idea of just how high the walls are from the Colorado.

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Ioana - NFS

"Ioana", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Panel
There are many dark tones in this painting and little white. I like the feeling of the warm light.

I'm back from New Zealand and I didn't paint at all there, but took many photos and maybe some will turn into paintings. What a wonderful place to go in the winter! It reminded me so much of Washington State--the rain forest on the coast, the lakes that looked just like the Columbia River, the dry hills of the interior that could have been around Wenatchee.

Lake Powell - SOLD

"Lake Powell", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Panel
This is a funky little painting where I wanted to get the feel of the cool greens of the lake and the orange/pinks of the cliffs.

I should be back from New Zealand by today, but probably jet lag will keep me from writing anything new in the posts. So I will tell you today (Friday in NZ) about yesterday. We went on an overnight boat trip in Milford Sound on the southwestern coast of the South Island--the rock walls of the extremely high mountains were nearly vertical coming down to the water and because of rain the day before there were multiple water falls--it is difficult to describe just how beautiful it was--

Desert Evening

"Desert Evening", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
This painting is about distance and the warmth of the setting sun.

Our hiking trip in the Mt. Aspiring National Park in New Zealand was incredible, and yes, I came out with very wet boots which are still drying out. In the heat of the day on the trail it felt so good to walk knee deep through the many streams, but I have to say that hiking for four days in wet boots is strange and at the end of each day, I was ecstatic to get out of the wet boots into dry socks and crocks.  The rock walls of the mountains in the Aspiring wilderness are towering and when I get back, I will post photos on facebook.

Purchase this unframed painting for $265.
Contact me if you would like to purchase a plein air frame.

Alaska Sky - SOLD

"Alaska Sky", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
This is another sky painting, with a different set of colors and a different feeling of the atmosphere--and in a very wild place compared to where I live in the south part of Puget Sound. It is strange how the land has its own feeling and vocabulary.

Zangle Clouds

"Zangle Clouds", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
Sometimes the Cove just calls out to be painted, and the sky on this day was what did it.

I think I will be still out in the Aspiring Wilderness of New Zealand as of this posting. Our take-off point is Wanaka on the South Island, about an hour north of Queenstown. The climate here is so like that of Washington State--on the westcoast a rain forest, beautiful and wet, and then crossing the mountains--well if I woke up here on the narrow lake by Wanaka and didn't know where I was, I might think "Columbia River Basin" with the beautiful gold and purple hills.

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

Girl with Pink Jacket

"Girl with Pink Jacket", 12 x 9 In, Oil on Panel
This was another experiment with using even less white and also using thick paint, a thoroughly enjoyable exercise and kind of out there for me.

When you read this, I will be in the Aspiring National Park on the South Island of New Zealand on a four-day backpacking trip--going in by small plane and out by jet boat, along with the hiking. The guide told us this afternoon that there are many rivers to cross and that in New Zealand you just wade through them all and get wet feet, wet boots and wet socks, a prospect I am still contemplating at the moment of writing this--it goes against all my wilderness experience expectations! So I will let you know about the New Zealand way when I get back!

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

Girl with Green Scarf - NFS

"Girl with Green Scarf", 12 x 9 In, Oil on Panel
This was an experiment with using light colors, such as yellows, but little white--a type of experiment that I want to continue.

More from NZ--yesterday we hiked to the mouth of the Franz Joseph Glacier on the W Coast of NZ--very strange to see such a huge glacier spilling down the mountain to nearly sea level as we are hiking through fern trees to get out to the glacier basin. Today we will hike up to the Fox Glacier and I can see blue sky this morning!