Skate Creek

Skate Creek, oil on canvas, 60" x 30", larger painting for a show I'll be having at Bainbridge Arts & Crafts in August. I used both a palette knife and brush. The scene was a composite of several views along Skate Creek which is south of Mt. Rainier between Ashford and Packwood.

Purple Madronas at Studio Tour

Purple Madronas, diptych 36" x 72" oil on canvas.  The view from my yard on the south end of Maury Island, through the madrona forest, across Quartermaster Harbor and the south end of Vashon Island to the distant turquoise hill of Tacoma.  Summer sun shines through the leaves and makes them yellow-green.  This painting will be at my studio during Vashon Art Studio Tour during the first two weekends in May.  #26 on the studio tour.   

 

Lake in Glacier Park

A sunny day at Glacier Park.  Painted from a photograph taken by a friend who likes to hike.  I like the color of the blue hills surrounding the lake.  On my ETSY store

Chickens Sheds Trees Yard SOLD

I 'm so glad thet neighbors have chickens; I get to paint them without having to raise them.  I like the looseness and sketchy quality of this painting.   I had a lot of elements in this painting so I unified the chickens by putting a "spotlight" on them- it's a clearly defined area of sunlight in the foreground.  The sunlit area also touches the edge of the canvas in the foreground, creating a visual pathway to enter the painting. This one will be at VIVA Vashon Island Visual Artists studio tour during the first two weekends in May.  At Stop # 9 in Dockton at Gale Lurie's Dockton Pottery. 

Towards the Lake SOLD

From a friend's photograph.  I like the compositional form of having a dark and shadowed foreground leading to a lighter background.  It has an emotional feel to it - "things are dark here, but it looks brighter ahead." I worked on losing edges and adding softness.  I also wanted to suggest a twilight with late sun perhaps behind the far hill.  This painting will be on the Vashon Art Studio Tour THIS WEEKEND!  My paintings are at Stop # 23 in Dockton. 

Trees Overhanging the Shore

Painted from a view of a quiet bay on Bainbridge Island.  This is a painting that is less about subject and more about mood.  The water is glass smooth and the deep shadow and sunlight suggests a tranquil warm summer day.  This one will be in a show in Artique Ltd. gallery in Anchorage Alaska  opening September 2. 

Mill Bay Cliff and Trees

A view of Mill Bay on Spruce Cape on Kodiak Island.  This one will be in a show in Anchorage Alaska at Artique Ltd in September. 

Sunset Creek

I enjoy painting late afternoon and twilight.  The colors are harmonious and the whole scene is shifted to warm oranges and reds.  This is a view of a creek near the Nisqually Wildlife refuge. Painted from photos I took on location. 

Smokey Ferry with Pale Blue Hills SOLD

Another painting of the Vashon-Fauntleroy-Southworth Ferry.  Afternoon sun makes the hills dissolve, and turns the white ferry to blue.  Painted from photographs I took while on the sister ferry that runs the same route. 

Dappled Madronas in Bainbridge show

A detail of the painting "Dappled Madronas" that is in my September show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts  151 Winslow Way, Winslow, Washington.  Opening reception is Friday from 6 to 8 p.m.  The full painting, below,  is 36" x 48" oil on canvas.

Sunset Trees and Snow

Another painting that will be in my show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts starting September 5.  I like the gradation in the trees from light at the bottom to dark at the top.  The touch of light on the snow seems to glow. 18" x 36"

Bend in the Yakima SOLD

A view of a bend in the Yakima River between Cle Elum and Thorpe, Washington.  The summer light was slightly hazy so the distant hills became bluish and soft even though the day was warm.  This one will be in a show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow Washington (next month!) 18" x 36"

Westport Marsh View South

A scene near Westport, WA - one of many inlets and sloughs on the south side of Gray's Harbor.  I like the many different shades of greens.  The colors are cool and soft, and show it was a hazy day near the ocean.  This will be in a show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery in September. 

Beach and Dunes

A view back up the sandy beach towards the trees and grasses that hold the dunes.  A perfect sunny day with a few clouds and a breeze.  Painted from photos I took on location.  This one will be in a show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in September. 

Whidbey Island Alleyway

A view from the town of Langley on Whidbey Island.  I liked the interesting narrow alley and the shadows.  The road runs straight, there are no  turns, so the one point perspective forces your eye down the road.  I put in a band of pale pink and a little dot of red as a payoff for the trip.  This one will be in a show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow Washington in September.

Vashon Farmhouse SOLD

Painted from a photograph I took of a farmhouse on Vashon.  In the photograph there was only a green lawn and the dark wall of house and trees with a straight horizon between the two.  To transform the photograph into a painting I broke up the straight horizon by dropping some of the trees on the right into the middle ground.  Then I added a foreground- just a suggestion of grass and brush and shadow.  The foreground shadow adds depth to the composition and turns the flat lawn into a pathway into the painting.
On my ETSY store

Lake Gertrude Summer

When we lived in Kodiak we would picnic at Lake Gertrude at Fort Abercrombie.  Now, the brown bear population has increased in the area so you might think twice about a nice walk around the lake.  A summer view from the beach back towards the hills. 
6" x 12" oil on panel

View near Crockett Lake

I made a trip to Whidbey Island this summer.  This scene is near Crockett Lake and near the Admiralty Head lighthouse which is somewhere out of sight on the hill that I painted in the background.  I liked the sense of sunshine coming at me. 
12" x 7.25"

Dappled Madronas

One of my favorite subjects: the madronas in my yard, with a view towards Talequah. A large painting with a strong green-gold hue dominating much of the painting.  I like the sense of light.  Painted in my studio. 
36" x 48"

Plum Tree in Bloom

At the far end of the yard is an Italian prune plum tree that we planted many years ago.  It managed to survive years of neglect and predation by deer and now is producing a fine crop of plums.  This view was from spring when the plum was one of our early flowering trees.