Pink Camellia on the Table

Spring has come early to Puget Sound.  The camellias are putting on a show.   The flowers remind me of roses (but no scent) and the leaves are waxy and stiff.  When the weather gets wet, as it often does in spring, the petals turn brown almost instantly.  12" x 12" On my ETSY store

Misty Day and Pushki

Another small  painting of pushki.  These large plants have white umbrella shaped clusters of flowers and are common in Alaska.  This painting will be in a show at Artique Ltd gallery in Anchorage in September.

Kodiak Tidal Creek

A view of a low lying creek near chiniak on Kodiak Island, Alaska. At this point, the creek is tidal and bordered by black sand.  A spruce forest covers the distant hills.  I like the gray colors and misty sky. 

Pt Robinson Lighthouse in Gray

A view of the Pt Robinson lighthouse from the shore.  This is a rework of a painting I painted last year. Below is the previous incarnation.

In the newer (top) version, I like the color of the sky better and the foreground doesn't seem so overwhelmingly brown.  But there was a lot of dashing brushwork and drama in the earlier version.  To me, the older version seems like a sketch and the newer version seems like a painting. 

Two Carnations in a Glass Jar

The carnations lasted beautifully and I managed to get several paintings.  This is the last for a while; now I have flowers in the yard clamoring for my brush.   The painting is a closeup of a simple bouquet with only part of the glass jar visible. I like the bright stiff red flowers against the gray background. I like the dark gray and how it contrasts dramatically with the light green of the flowers and stems. Painted from a still life I set up in my studio.
On my Etsy store

Red Carnations with Green Wall

A painting of red carnations with a bit of green in the against the wall.  I've kept the colors minimal; red and green are complements and when you mix them together you get gray.  I like the light striking the flowers. 

Three Red Carnations in Square Glass Jar

Bright red carnations in a square glass jar.  I like the saturated reds against the dark grays. 
 On my ETSY store

Four Carnations Glass Jar

I picked up a bouquet of  carnations at the grocery- such  a bright vivid red.  Then, of course I had to paint them.  I like how just a few spots of dark shadow tell the direction of the light.  I also like the reflected light on the surface of the water.
On my ETSY store.

Glass Jar and Crocuses

We have been having warm weather while the rest of the country is inundated in blizzards and snow.  Here the crocuses are blooming.  My daughter planted lots of bulbs from tiny species flowers to these giant hybrids.  I put a shield above the still life to throw a shadow across the background.  The lights hit the front of the vase and the tops of the petals and make interesting shadows on the tabletop.
See on my Etsy store

Pushki

A study of pushki flowers from Kodiak Alaska.  Pushki is a member of the parsley family.  Its foliage contains chemicals called "furanocoumarins" which unite with the DNA in skin cells to make photosensitive compounds. With exposure to to sunshine, people who have touched pushki can have severe rashes and blisters.  I like the beautiful umbels of flowers and the huge foliage. 

Two Tangerines on Brown

Tangerines are a favorite subject, especially when I'm in the grocery store looking at the gorgeous contrast between the fresh leathery green leaves and the bumpy orange skin.  I always have good intentions when I buy them, but somehow it takes me days to get around to painting them, and by that time the leaves are starting to brown and curl up.  These were fortunately painted within the first day or two of acquisition.  A lot of the lights in the tabletop were done by wiping out.  I use a smooth gessoboard from Ampersand which allows me to work back into painted areas and lighten and remove pigment. 

Sunflower and Salvia on Gray

A painting from last fall when the Italian white sunflowers were blooming in the garden.  They lasted until late in the fall.  I had meant to paint them for months and finally at the last possible opportunity I picked a bouquet of late summer flowers.  There are salvia and catmint, some flowers from the broccoli which had bolted, and even a bachelor button from the previous year's volunteers.  12" x 12" oil on panel.
On my ETSY store

Tangerines on Blue Stripes

Two tangerines on a blue striped cloth.  I really enjoyed playing with the complementary colors.  The blue stripes were very dark, but got lightened up quite a bit in the painting.  If I had worked from a photograph I might have felt constrained to leave them very dark, but since I was working from a still life that I had set up, I changed everything all over the place. 

Yellow Sunflowers on Blue

This painting was originally Yellow Sunflowers on Gold, but I was looking at it last week and decided the Gold had to go.  Now I have a turquoise background and blue/lavender shadows which I like better.  I think the colors express the idea of "sunniness" that sunflowers imply. Here's a link to the previous version.

Two Vashon Ferries SOLD

Two ferries at the Vashon north end ferry dock.  The sky is dark, and leaves the hillside in shadow, but sunlight hits the two ferries at the end of the dock.  12" x 24" oil on panel.  This one will be in the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour, #9 on the map at Plum Lodge BnB, 14210 SW Reddings Beach Road.  Click here for map  Hope to see you there

Ellisport View - Low Tide

This is a view along Tramp Harbor towards Ellisport on Vashon Island.  When the tide is out the flats are covered with soft green seaweed.  The piers in the background are a remnant of the Ellisport dock that was used by the mosquito fleet. 
This painting will be in the Vashon Island Artist Studio Tour.  Stop # 9 on the map at Plum Lodge Painters, 14210 SW Reddings Beach Road.  Maps available here. 

Holiday Art Tour

This one is North End Ferry 6" x 12".  Hope to see you at the tour. 

Ferry at Fauntleroy SOLD

 Another ferry painting, this time, the ferry as it is coming in to dock at Fauntleroy.  I like the backlit subject.  Usually an object that is backlit is seen in silhouette and is dark, but by keeping the values high the entire painting seems infused with light. This one will be at the Vashon Artist Studio Tour, stop #9,  at 14210 SW Reddings Beach Road, during the first TWO weekends in December.  6" x 12" oil on panel.

Sailboat on the Beach

The owner left this dinghy on the beach of Quartermaster Harbor today; a temptation to kids and adults to climb in and  push off.  But without sails or lines or oars,  it might not be a long trip.  This painting will be at stop # 9, Plum Lodge Painters at Plum Lodge Bnb, on the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour during the first two weekends in December.

Red Sunset Ferry SOLD

The Vashon-Fauntleroy Ferry late in the afternoon when the sun's rays are low. The distant hills are in shadow and the hills and ferry have turned red in the sunset light.  I will be showing this one at Plum Lodge BnB, #9 on the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour during the first two weekends of December.

Sailboat at Lake Union

Painted from photographs I took at the Center for Wooden Boats in Seattle;  a small sailboat reflected in the smooth water of Lake Union.  I will be showing this one at Plum Lodge BnB, #9 on the Vashon Art Studio Tour during the first two weekends of December. 

Sunset Ferry and Blake Island SOLD

 A view of the Vashon-Fauntleroy Ferry as the sun starts to set behind the Cascades.  I will be showing this one at Plum Island Painters  -#9 on the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour. The tour is the first two weekends in December.  Get an online map at  Vashon Island Art Studio Tour .  24" x 24" oil on panel.

Castle Rock Cape Blanco

Another plein air sunset painting from our recent trip along Highway 101.  This was painted atCape Blanco State Park near the Sixes River.  Evening mist was gathering, the sky was changing color rapidly, and Cape Blanco was casting a shadow across the marsh. I like the suggestion of a last bit of warmth on Castle Rock. 

Sunset Ferry on Dark Gray Green SOLD

Sometimes the Northwest weather is so colorless that everything seems made of charcoal.  And then a sliver of sun peeks through late in the day.  Just enough to light up the side of the north end ferry at the end of the ferry dock. 

Blue-Gold Smoke Ferry SOLD

Another Vashon-Fauntleroy ferry painting.  I like the sunlight and smoke on the ferry.  Painted from photos I took from the other ferry that travels the same route.

Clam Beach at Orick

Painted on scene at Orick, California.  The sun was setting and a mist was rising from Redwood Creek and all the colors were turning pinker and peachier.    It was about 6:00 and the sun would set in a hour, so I didn't have time to get picky in choosing a site to paint.  I just put my easel down at the first spot.  It was exciting to see the colors change as the sun was setting.  I thought I put a lot more colors into my painting because of it. 
Click here to see this on my Etsy store

North End Ferry

The ferry dock on the north end of Vashon juts out against narrow strips of beach and high, tree-covered cliffs.  The high cliffs shadow the beach and dock, but the sun shines on the ferry.  A view painted from photographs I took from the sister ship that travels the same route.
Click here to see this On my Etsy store

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. 

Pale Ferry on Gold SOLD

One of my favorite subjects - the Vashon-Fauntleroy Ferry in late afternoon light.  This was painted from a photo I snapped one evening while traveling in the other direction from the second ferry that follows the same route.
Click here to see this on my ETSY store.

Tramp Harbor

A view of Tramp Harbor at Low Tide.  This one will be in my show at Bainbridge Arts and Crafts this month. 

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.