Oregon Coast in show

A detail of  Oregon Coast that will be in my upcoming (7 days til it opens!) show in Winslow Washington in September.  The show is at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts. 151 Winslow Way, Bainbridge Island WA.  Reception is September 5, 6-8 p.m.

Twilight Madronas SOLD

Eleven days until my show opens at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow, Washington on September 5!  This is one of the pieces from the show.  Twilight Madronas is a view from my property looking across Quartermaster Harbor, painted as the last bit of sunshine crosses the valley. 48" x 48".  Reception, Friday September 5, from 6 to 8 p.m., 151 Winslow Way East, Bainbridge Island, WA.  You're invited!

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"

Port Orford, Oregon Coast

A striking view spotted at Port Orford along the Oregon Coast.    This one will be at my upcoming show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery in Winslow Washington, starting September 5th.  18" x 36"

Cape Blanco

A scene along the Oregon Coast.  Cape Blanco with a low cloud bank.  This will be in my upcoming show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow, Washington  starting September 5.  9" x 12"

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. 

Sauvie Island Lane with Trees

A view from Sauvie Island near Portland Oregon.  The island is on the flood plain between the Willamette and Columbia and is accessible by a single bridge.  It's rural, but close to the city; it's a favorite spot for u-pick farms.  This one will be in a September show in Winslow Washington at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery. 

Winslow Church View

A scene from Bainbridge Island.  The Congregational Church in Winslow, Washington in backlight.  I like how the value of the white church and the background hill blend together.  6" x 8" This one will be in a September show at the Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery in Winslow.

Daisies - Just Opening

Daisies again - these are just opening and the petals still bend upwards.  I like the glass jar and the way it disappears against the tabletop. 

Square Jar and Daisies

All the daisies are in bloom in the garden, so I must rush to paint them while they last.  I like this the lost and found edges in this bottle.

Pale Rosebud on Harmonious Grays

Painted several weeks ago when the pale pink roses were still blooming.  I left the background a high key and very neutral gray so that the pale pinks and pale greens are all very harmonious.  I enjoy the splotches of runny paint in the background. 
On my ETSY store

Westport Marsh

One of the tidal areas in South Bay in Grays Harbor near Westport, Washington.  The bush is either Scotch broom, or yellow gorse.  The day was softly gray and hazy-the light softens the distance and makes the colors harmonious.  I like the transition of greens from yellow green in the foreground  to dull gray green in the background.

From the Cliff

A view from the Oregon coast at Ecola State Park.  The cliffs are constantly being eroded by the action of the waves and these trees are clinging to bits of soil that may soon slide into the sea.  I liked the steep perspective.  16" x 10" oil on panel.  This one will be in a show I'm having in September at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery, Winslow, Washington. 

Ellisport with Clouds

A view across Tramp Harbor towards Ellisport and KVI beach.  A sunny day with interesting clouds.  Painted from photos I took on location. 

Dark Cherries on Gray

Cherry season is here!  One of my favorite subjects.  The composition is simple with uneven divisions of lights and dark.   I've also kept the colors harmonious; neutral grays with just enough red to make the gray interesting.  And I placed the cherries in an asymmetrical pattern, with just a suggestion of reflections underneath.  I hope cherry season lasts a while,  these are fun!

Rosebud on Dark Gray

Somehow the roses have come and gone already this year, and I managed only two little paintings of the pale pink roses that are my favorite to paint.  The divisions of space in this painting are very simple: a huge area of medium value (the gray) a small amount of dark value (the shadows)  and a small amount of pale pink flowers, pale green leaves, and white highlights for the light value.  The unequal divisions of light, medium, and dark value make the composition more interesting and give the painting dominance. I do like the curving green on the right side of the painting.  It's actually all one leaf and the individual "leaves" are leaflets.

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.

Burton Marina

More sailboats - this time on dry land.  A scene from the marina in Burton on Vashon Island, where there's a lift to haul boats in and out.   This will be at my show in September at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow, Washington.  12" x 12" oil on panel

Blue Harbor and Sailboats

A view of sailboats at anchor on a sunny day in Quartermaster Harbor on Vashon Island.  The dark green hills are reflected in the water and sunlight bounces off the white decks.  I like the overall light and the saturated colors.  (Every now and then it's fund to use the colors undiluted.)  Painted from photos I took on location.   This painting will be in a show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts in Winslow Washington in September 2014.  Click here to send me your post office mailing address if you'd like me to add you to my postcard mailing list for the show.  (The mailing list will be used for show postcards only)

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

Daises and Square Jar on Gray and Gold

It's daisy time again.  The ones in my garden aren't open yet, but I found these in a sunny ditch at the edge of the road.  I like the structure of the flowers and how the white makes a colored background stand out.  On my ETSY store

Nisqually Delta

The best place to photograph the Nisqually delta is on the Interstate overpass with cars whizzing by and no place to pull over. So I took a very blurry picture while we were zooming down the road and played with it a lot in Photoshop  before I used it as the basis for this painting.  This is a favorite view of a favorite spot.  The tidal flow in the delta had been diked for about a century and the area used as a dairy farm.  Recent restoration of the delta removed the dikes and a much larger area is now marshland.
On my ETSY store

Edge of the Dunes

Another painting from our clam digging trip to Grayland Washington.  I trudged toward the beach with all my painting gear and set up here at the edge of the dunes.  I've done paintings like this from photographs and it's amazing how much more information there is when painting directly from nature.  I have a tendency to put in everything, so I have to make sure at the end to spend time simplifying and massing the values.  The yellow flower is from the invasive weed, Scotch broom, a pest and a nuisance, but so pretty in bloom.

Southworth Ferry from Colvos Passage

A view of the Southworth Ferry from Vashon Island looking north up the Colvos Passage.  This one is a bit larger, 18" x 36", and was created from photos taken at Valerie's beach cabin.  The ferry turns 180 degrees at Southworth so that it can have traffic pointed in the right direction for offloading at both Vashon and Fauntleroy.  The turn gives a view of the ferry lit up in the late afternoon light.  This one will be in a show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts gallery in September.  Click here to send me your mailing address if you'd like me to add you to my postcard mailing list for the show.  (The mailing list will be used for show postcards only)

Grayland Motel

A backlit scene of a rustic motel in Grayland where we stayed while clam digging.  The long walk  to the beach is behind me and I'm looking at the coastal hills and thinking about where to go in case of a Tsunami.  I had a great deal more detail in this painting but spent the last two minutes smushing it out and wiping it out, and massing the lights in the foreground and the shadows in the background to make it more readable.
On my Etsy store

Grayland Shore View North

On my ETSY store.

At the ocean beach in Grayland Washington--sunny and hazy and windy.  This was painted as the tide was still coming in but almost turning.  The water almost touched my feet but didn't get that far.  Everything was very high key, almost no shadows and pale colors.    I enjoyed trying to figure out how to suggest the shallow waves.
On my ETSY store

Tracks on the Beach

Painted at the ocean beach at Grayland Washington.  The day was sunny but hazy;  wind picked up the sand and added to the haze.   I was interested in that space where beach, water, and sky dissolve together.   I like the close colors and values.  I also like the tire tracks.
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Burton from Portage SOLD

A larger painting - 18" x 36".  A view of the Burton Peninsula from Portage looking across inner Quartermaster Harbor.  This painting will be in a show I'm having in Winslow WA at the Bainbridge Arts and Crafts gallery in September.   

Silver Bowl Lemons Lavender

Another painting of a bowl of lemons, this time on a lavender tabletop.  I placed the bowl on a piece of glass on top of a sheet of paper.  There are some lovely reflections in the silver bowl.
On my ETSY store.