Thursday, July 31, 2014

No. 469 River Near Cle Elum

 

River Near Cle Elum
Oil on Canvas Panel
9" x 12"

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a plein air festival in Cle Elum. This little mountain town is just a few miles away from it's very famous neighbor Roslyn featured in the tv show Northern Exposure. What a terrific place to paint! Wide open spaces and interesting old buildings galor. A huge thanks to my dear friend Nancy for inviting me on what turned out to be a fabulous weekend of plein air painting. Can't wait to go back!

 

I am participating in two art festivals this year. The first one is in Coupeville on August 9th and 10th. A little over a week away! Yikes! Getting pretty nervous...

 

Monday, July 28, 2014

No. 468 Lisa Gloria Workshop

 
 
 
 
Exercise from Lisa Gloria Workshop
Oil on Linen
5" x 7"
 
 
I've taken a few excellent online courses lately and this was one of them. Lisa emailed us a photo to paint from and then she demonstrated live online. I painted along with her, asked questions here and there and what you see above is the result. Needless to say I was tickled pink with what I had accomplished. She is teaching another class this weekend. Two days for $99. It's hard to beat that! If you'd like to check it out click here.




Sunday, July 27, 2014

No. 466 & 467 Dry Falls

 
 
 
Sunset on Crescent Bar - Mini
Plein Air
Oil on Canvas Panel
3" x 5" 
 
Forgot to add this one earlier. It's amazing how different the landscape is on either side of the mountains.
 
 

 
Dry Falls State Park - Plein Air
Oil on Linen Panel
5" x 7"
 
I have lived in Washington most of my life but have never visited this amazing geological formation before. There is a great visitor center at the overlook where you can learn how the falls formed during the last ice age.
 
The state parks website has this to say about Dry Falls, "In the heart of the Grand Coulee lies one of the natural wonders of North America - the Dry Falls cataract. This 3.5-mile-wide chasm of basalt, with a drop of 400 feet, was left high and dry thousands of years ago as the last of several Ice Age floods swept through the Grand Coulee. This is one of the most extraordinary landscapes to be found along the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail.
 
If you happen to be in the Grand Coulee area, this is a must see.
 


Saturday, July 26, 2014

No. 464 & 465 Hanging out on Blue Lake

 
 
 
Boating on Blue Lake - Plein Air
Oil on Canvas Board
8" x 8"
 
Boating on the lake was a definite highlight of this year's campout. A huge thank you to Jodie and her family for bringing their ski boat, Seadoos, and arranging for a pontoon boat to escort us around the water. Weren't we lucky! Here you see the group hanging out in a secluded cove of the lake. The rock cliffs and billowy clouds were a very inspirational subject to paint.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Blue Lake Resort Row Boats - Plein Air
Oil on Gessobord
6" x 6"
 
Back at the campground, I enjoyed painting these boats with sunset colors reflecting on the water.



Wednesday, July 23, 2014

No. 462 & No. 463 Annual Campout

 
 
 
Lake Wenatchee Mini
Plein Air
Oil on Canvas Panel
3" x 5"
 
We are on our way to the annual Playgroup Campout. This year it was decided to meet east of the mountains where there was a much better chance of sun and warmth. We stopped first at beautiful Lake Wenatchee.
 
 

 
Morning in Crescent Bar
Plein Air
Oil on Gessobord
6" x 6"
 
The second stop was at the small resort of Crescent Bar on the Columbia River. The dam south of here had a crack in it. Scary, right? The water level was lowered for repairs. Without access to the water, poor Crescent Bar was a bit of a ghost town.
 
 


Monday, July 21, 2014

No. 462 Mt Vernon Tulip Fields

 
 
 
 
Mt.Vernon Tulip Fields
Oil on Canvas Panel
9" x 12"
 
This painting was commissioned by an old co-worker friend. Thank you, Chuck, not only for the commission but you patience as I tinkered and tinkered with it. Woo hoo! It's finally finished!
 


Saturday, July 19, 2014

No. 461 Sake Still LIfe?

 
 
 
 
Sake Still Life
Oil on Linen Panel
5" x 7"
 
 
I found this terrific bottle at an estate sale in Seattle. I'm assuming it's a sake bottle but I really have no idea. Please let me know if I'm wrong!
 
 I have procrastinated posting this painting because Elizabeth gave me a perfectly good suggestion in a critique which I have yet to implement. Sorry Elizabeth! I'll get to it eventually. :)