Inspired by treks across various savannahs and sloughs in Oregon, and particularly a recent visit to Basket Slough, looking down from the hillside towards a number of ponds and small lakes.
This piece was done using a selection of Schmincke pastels which recently entered my rotation. I’m very pleased with them.
This piece is available for sale.
Inspired by the daily meditation practice that helps me “fight off the darkness”. This is a piece about peace, and finding a path.
I used a combination of Sennelier and Blue Earth pastels, as well as a bit of glow powder and gold dust to bring a soft luminous highlight to the silhouetted figure.
This piece was inspired by a misty morning hike down an oak lined trail. This piece was done using Blue Earth pastels, listening to Downliners Sekt (an old album, “Statement of Purpose”).
I sought out this location with some plein air painting in mind, but what I actually got was a rainy day with muddy trails and mist-obscured views. It was beautiful in its own way, and worth the trip. I’ll go back again, when the weather is fair and try to get a look at the view this spot is known for. There are lovely spots with picnic tables convenient for lingering awhile, and I can see this location becoming a favorite spot to paint.
This piece was done using a combination of Blue Earth and Sennelier soft pastels, and inspired by the dense mist, and rain-drenched early spring landscape of grassy slopes and mature hemlock trees.
My week scouting inspiring locations for a bit of plein air work took me out to the Clackamas River. I enjoyed a chilly morning of hiking new trails, and scouting likely spots to sit alongside the river somewhere taking in the view. I finally found “my spot”, and I know I’ll be going back there. The chilly gray day threatened rain, but I did manage to get a bit of painting done before heading for home.
This piece was painted with Sennelier and Blue Earth pastels, on Ampersand Pastelbord.
Reflecting on the recent drive to the coast on my last painting getaway, I worked from the recollection of the drive, similar other sunset drives, and the view of a sunset in-progress from the balcony of my hotel room. It was a fun quick piece that I did while the sunset flared to full vividness, and finished as it faded.
I’ve been getting more time in the studio, but spending less on the computer. New work is piling up, unshared!
Summer very much felt worth celebrating, and there were some stunning moments that seemed to sparkle with joy.
The time slipped away so quickly… and just this past weekend, I found myself noticing hints of Autumn here and there, on my walks, and as I ran my errands. Time spent in the studio hints at those hints.
Happily, time in the studio is increasing as I become more settled in my work and home routines in this new place. More to come!
My recent burst of inspiration resulted in some fun work in glow, mostly pretty light-hearted. It was a gray rainy day, too, and the filtered light and overcast skies resulted in creating some sunshine on canvas.
“Irises” 8″ x 10″ acrylic on canvas w/glow
This one results in a bright “moonlight” silhouette when charged.
“Irises” charged and glowing.
Spring flowers haven’t bloomed in the garden quite yet, but they bloom in my studio. 🙂
I haven’t been as artistically productive this year as I had hoped to be, but when inspiration struck I was ready, and that made quite a lot of difference for artistic ease and general quality of life. I’m glad you stuck around! There’s more to come…
“Potentially Anything” 11″ x 14″ acrylic on canvas w/pen&ink and glow 2015
Painted on a rainy late summer morning, feeling inspired by love, and life; I started this piece thinking about lush green forests, and new life, and finished it thinking about space travel, and contemplating the future of humankind, and how vast our potential is, viewed from the perspective of how much we do not yet know. It is a piece I find myself hoping communicates some sense of how each moment is potentially the seed of some future greatness, and how precious our uncertainty is on our path of discovery. The basic image is of a gravid woman surrounded by whirling motes of dust, imagination, atomic particles, or… really…anything.
