Liz - NFS

"Liz", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board
Thanks to whoever posted Anders Zorn's palette on Facebook--I think it was Florin Bosinceanu. The cad red light, yellow ochre, titanium white and ivory black--was an experimental inspiration--have to try it again--

Clouds and Sunlight

"Clouds and Sunlight", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
Sometimes its a relief to just do clouds. This was one of those days.

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Storm Hell's Backbone - NFS

"Storm Hell's Backbone", 9 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board

Painted on my trip to Utah.

Mt. Shuksan - SOLD

"Mt. Shuksan", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
This was painted in one of the most beautiful spots in Washington States--on a ridge between Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan.

Girl with Green Eyes

"Girl with Green Eyes", 14 x 11 In, Oil on Museum Board.

I could paint my daughters over and over again.

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View from Winthrop

"View from Winthrop", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
Winthrop is a beautiful area on the east side of the North Cascades in Washington State. Our plein air group painted there last summer.



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Back Side of the Reef - SOLD

"Backside of the Reef, 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board
This was painted some years ago on a trip to Utah. Capital Reef is not a well known National Park, but it is amazing. The main sites in the Park are on the western side, but this is the eastern side--the backside.

Margaret - NFS

"Margaret", 12 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This is a portrait of my daughter that was an experiment using blue, orange, white and black. I think I should try it again, as this painting was from long ago.

Watching

"Watching", 12 x 10, Oil on Museum Board
I went to a painting demo a couple of weeks ago and towards the end, realized I could do more with my camera than far-away shots of the work in progress--my fellow watchers. When I got home and looked at the photos, the expressions of the "watchers" were often enigmatic. This is Susan.

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painting.
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Girl in Red

"Girl in Red", Oil on Museum Board, 12 x 10

I'm still working on trying to restrict time on these small portraits to one hour, though I think maybe this went went another half hour. When I was done, I couldn't remember when I started! I am still thinking about Leonard Cohen's lyrics: "Ring the bells that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything That's how the light gets in". I'm trying to figure out how to link to the video--if anybody knows how--please let me know!

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Man in Dark Coat

"Man in Dark Coat", Oil on Museum Board, 12 x 10

I watched a figure demo recently from a well-known artist who uses, at least in this instance, a very small brush, working on small discrete areas of the figure for long periods of time. I can always learn something from other artists and certain things he said rang true. However, I have to ask myself why I've studied with artists such as William Reese, Jove Wang and Ovanes Berberian. They are not "paint the whole canvas with a tiny brush" kind of guys. But being visually oriented, it is not so easy sometimes to put the visuals in perspective and the influence on the hand from the visual memories in the mind can be a big one.

So in this painting, my goal was to do the opposite in order to reorient myself--to use bigger brushes and do the painting in one hour--not leaving time to go back "fix it up."

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Aix Vineyard - NFS

"Aix Vineyard", 6 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board
I'm still working on cataloging my paintings and probably will be for months. This is another one from years ago from a painting trip to France.

St. Tropez - NFS

"St. Tropez", Oil on Museum Board, 6 x 9 In

I'm working on a long term project to organize my paintings of the last 20 years. There are some I've kept and have on my walls and others long gone--just numbered images on my computer. For many of them, I can't remember exactly when or where I did them. Fortunately, this one has a date, September 2002, and with a little help from my facebook friends, identified it as San Tropez. I went to France in 2002 with my instructor Simon Kogan and others from our class and have wonderful memories, but for the most part, no memory of geographical location.

Mazama Hillside

"Mazama Hillside", 6 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This was painted back in June in a valley near Mazama just east of the North Cascades with the Plein Air Washington group. Everything was still so green.

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Wheeler Peak - SOLD

"Wheeler Peak", Oil on Museum Board, 8 x 10, Sold

The sun was shining on this view of Wheeler Peak just outside of Taos. The fence was down right by a dry meadow so I climbed over the barbed wire. I usually paint facing the sun so my canvas is in shadow, but I had full sun on it this day and it was a good lesson. Sometimes I become aware of silly rules I have in my mind when it is necessary to break them.

Above the Turquoise Trail - Sold

"Above the Turquoise Trail", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

I didn't know the name of the valley I was painting until I got home and looked it up. But even without knowing the name, "Turquoise Trail", there it was in the valley shadow. Of course maybe that refers to real turquoise--now I have to get out my history books or maybe someone from down there will enlighten me!

!--Purchase this unframed painting for $225.
Contact me if you would like to purchase a plein air frame.-->

Chiracahua Mountains

"Chiracahua Mountains", 9 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board

On our recent trip we drove up to the Chriacahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. There were beautiful pine forests and amazing rock formations. Every turn was a painting.

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Santa Rita Mountains

"Santa Rita Mountains", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This was painted a couple of weeks ago south of Tucson in the Santa Rita Mountains. It is so interesting that in Washington State, 5500 feet elevation is timberline--above that are alpine meadows and upwards the glaciers. In Southern Arizona, at 5500 feet, I'm not even sure you are out of the desert! I tried to look it up, but I couldn't find a site that told me what the tree line is in the Santa Rita Mountains. If anybody knows, please comment!

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Roses with Cup

"Roses with Cup", 12 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

I haven't painted a still life for months. Its a good thing to do when it starts to rain in the Northwest. But this one didn't go smoothly Three days of scraping the canvas and starting over--and such a small canvas! Its so wonderful when the painting paints itself. But when it doesn't then its better to think of it as process.

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Mt. Baker

"Mt. Baker", 9 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board
This was painted on the ridge between Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan in northern Washington. It was the first time I had been to Mt. Baker in many years and the only time I can remember when the sun was actually shining. More than 40 years ago we attempted a climb of Mt. Baker more than once, and the weather was just too awful.

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Ucluelet Harbor

"Ucluelet Harbor, Oil on Museum Board, 10 x 10 In
Our painting trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island in August was filled with sun, and of course, rain, for who could live in the Northwest and not be prepared for it! I had my little painting umbrella, which didn't help much, but we found a spot sheltered at least from the wind down below some warehouses on the harbor. This was the result of my soggy experience.

Thank you for your interest in my work and my blog!

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Grand Canyon Sky - NFS

"Grand Canyon Sky", 6 x 6 In, Oil on Museum Board, NFS
This is one of the small 6" squared paintings I did for the Holiday Show at the Southwind Gallery in Kansas. I have been on the 200 miles rafting/painting trips three times down the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. There is nothing like this 8 day trip.

White Boathouse

"White Boathouse", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

When I clean up my studio I find paintings! This one is from about a year ago, painting with Eric Jacobson somewhere near Gig Harbor. The photo of the paintings is not too good, so when I get back from my trip, I may replace it!

Rocks and Waves

"Rocks and Waves", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

This was painted up on the coast near Ucluelet on Vancouver Island. I had done several paintings of the scene on the day before with bright sun and blue waters. But the weather came and so the colors were so different, and I decided to leave it as a simple sketch.

Cape Disappointment

"Cape Disappointment", 9 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

This is another painting done about a year ago down at the mouth of the Columbia River. There is a wonderful park with both the rocks of the coast and the immense expanse of the river.

Port Townsend Beach

"Port Townsend Beach", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed
I'm still going through my paintings from the last months and finding the ones from about a year ago when folks from Plein Air Washington painted up at Port Townsend--a community that sits on the point between Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

In the Mist - SOLD

"In the Mist", 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board

This was the second painting I did at Incinerator Beach on Vancouver Island in August. The fog had cleared a little, but it was still a challenge to paint from a scene so misty and gray--a wonderful challenge.

Teanaway Meadow

Teanaway Meadow, 10 x 12 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

And here's another meadow--this one close to my heart as it is in the Teanaway Valley where I painted with some other folks from Plein Air Washington on Saturday. What is it about the Teanaway? Maybe years of hiking in the area from my girlhood. Maybe that there are three roads up the valley--the North Fork, the Middle Fork and the South Fork and they lead to some of the most beautiful areas in the Middle Cascades. Maybe because on a dreary rainy day on the Sound the Teanaway is filled with sunlight and fall colors. The valley itself is beautiful in all seasons.

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Colorado Foothills Meadow

"Colorado Foothills Meadow", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

When I went to Denver at the beginning of the month for the American Impressionist Society Show, I participated in a paint-out with other artists in the show. This is the painting I did up in the foothills of the mountains west of Denver. I am definitely trying for abstraction in my landscapes--it is so much more interesting than trying to paint exactly what you see. It is a way of seeing differently.

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Boathouse

"Boathouse", 10 x 8 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

This painting was done last fall. I believe it is another one I did Gig Harbor along with others from Plein Air Washington and host juror/instructor Eric Jacobsen. I'm going to have to start writing on the back "Date and Place". My memory is not as good as it used to be!

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Rocks and Waves - SOLD

"Rocks and Waves", 9 x 9 Inch, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed

From our vantage point above the crashing waves, my friends Jeanne Edwards and Jane and Mel Wallis and I painted the sea on the west coast of Vancouver Island near the town of Ucluelet. I've posted two of the paintings and this is the third. What a powerful spot it was--so dramatically changing second by second. In a place like this a painter is nothing but an eye and a brush and the feeling of the roaring ocean--there is no time to pause!

Winthrop Road - SOLD

Winthrop Road, 10 x 12 Inch, Oil on Museum Board

This was painted on a dirt road off the highway west of Winthrop, Washington with my friend, Jeanne Edwards. I'd painted at this exact spot years ago, and was amazed to find it again, still speaking to me.

Mt. Shuksan - NFS

Mt. Shuksan, 10 x 12 Inch, Oil on Museum Board

This was painted from the parking lot at Artist's Point, between Mt. Shuksan and Mr. Baker. It is so easy with a painting like this to look at it back in the studio and see everything that could be "fixed." And it is a mistake to do it--I say that from experience!

"As I said to you before, I cannot interest myself in whether they will pass juries or not. More paintings have been spoiled during the process of their making, through such considerations, than the judgments of juries are worth.

"The object of painting a picture is not to make a picture--however unreasonable this may sound. The picture, if a picture results, is a by-product and may be useful, valuable, interesting as a sign of what has past. The object, which is back of every true work of art, is the attainment of a state of being..." Robert Henri, "The Art Spirit"

NFS

Dock at Gig Harbor

"Dock At Gig Harbor", 9 x 9 In, Oil on Museum Board, Unframed
Eric Jacobsen, last fall in 2013. Its one of the paintings that I found in my studio. I like the abstract qualities of this little painting.

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Lower Bagley Lake

"Lower Bagley Lake", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This little painting was done from the covered porch of a ranger station on the road up to Artist Point on Mt. Baker. We did drive up to the end of the road, but the mist just thickened the further we went. Back down at the ranger station, Bagley Lakes drifted in and out of the fog, wind and rain. Its always a lesson to paint in all conditions.

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Wild Pacific Trail - NFS

"Wild Pacific Trail", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board

This is another painting of the rocky coast near Ucluelet on Vancouver Island where I painted with others from the Plain Air Washington group a couple of weeks ago. It is hard to believe the water was so blue, but the sun was bright, unlike the following days of painting in the rain and the fog. The rocks and the waves are intense and amazing.

Point Wilson Lighthouse

"Point Wilson Lighthouse", 6 x 8 In, Oil on Museum Board
This is painting from Fort Worden State Park near Port Townsend, Washington. I joined others from our group, Plein Air Washington, when we were painting the State Parks in 2013. I am unearthing these paintings in my studio. Even with Photoshop, it is difficult to get the image right. In the actual painting, the lighthouse is bright white, the trees are not quite so dark and the sky is maybe a bit darker and pinker. The brushwork is a different space in my hand/head. Sometimes there is meaning in just slapping on the paint. Here is the history of Point Wilson Lighthouse and one of my friends, Jane Wallis, painting on the beach.

Beach at Incinerator Rock - NFS

"Beach at Incinerator Rock", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board
This is another of my paintings from my trip to the west coast of Vancouver Island. Unlike that last painting, this one is so restrained in the brushwork. I was trying to capture the ephemeral fog and I hope I succeeded.

NFS

Dosewallips River - SOLD

"Dosewallips River", Oil on Museum Board, 9 x 9 In, 2014

I painted this forest scene in the spring of 2014 and going back through my calendar, I remembered where--the Dosewallips River on the Hood Canal side of the Olympic Peninsula. "The Dose" is one of my favorite places from my teen and early 20's hiking years--a gateway into one of the most beautiful mountain areas of the Northwest. I find myself taken with this painting and the abandonment with which I painted it. I love the abstract qualities of the brushwork.

Ucluelet Rocks - NFS

"Ucluelet Rocks", 8 x 10 In, Oil on Museum Board, 2014

I spent the second week of August with my painting buddies on the wild coast of Vancouver Island in a small town called Ucluelet.  The first day we painted just outside of town by the lighthouse.  Who can resist the waves of the Pacific crashing on the rocks?

Cape Disappointment - NFS

Cape Disappointment", Oil on Museum Board, 10 x 12 In, 2013

Dear Friends,

I've worked out how to deal with the new changes to blogspot and solved the problem of not having all that I wanted in either the old or new formats by utilizing both formats! Now you can click on the "View All Images" button and you simply go to my second site, created in the new blogspot format. Its a bit more work because I have to post to both sites, but better than creating an entirely new site with another provider. That was looking like a nightmare!

Anyway--this is a photo of one of the paintings I did with the Plein Air Washington group in the State Park down by the mouth of the Columbia River in September 2013. It was a gorgeous, stormy day!

NFS