Creek Shadow

Slow Water Study

Swim

1976.
When I was a teenager in Calif., swimming in the ocean was my ultimate pleasure. A few years later, I tried to show that sensation in this painting.
I`ve got murky creeks and wetlands going on in my studio in all sizes and stages. I mix oil paints with alkyds for faster drying times yet I`ll often have three or four pieces in process all wet and not quite ready for the next session. I`m not a patient person.

Dark Pool Beneath the Cedars

This is the painting that confounded me last week. It`s hard to walk away from something that isn`t working out but it`s usually the right thing to do. By setting it aside, when I returned I could see that my source material was the problem. I got rid of some content, altered the scale and just began making random experiments. Now, I wasn`t so invested and my original response to the subject came through. There is something compelling in these Northwest rain forests, they are so dark yet so generous.

Cliff Study 3

Dusk on the Creek

2004.
I`ve been working intently on a small piece and it just isn`t coming together. I have that ridiculous feeling that I now have so much invested, I must persist. Or, get on with my life, cut bait, run away! It`s uncomfortable.

Cliff Study 2

Another from the Oneanta Gorge.

The Cliff Joins the Water 2

This is the largest painting I`ve done in my new studio. It`s another of the Oswego Creek series I`m working on. Early Spring in a wet place is so dynamic!

Cliff Study

I`ve got a big version of this in process and it`s going well. I`ve discovered though, if I have an inspired idea, get something of it down before it dissipates. A long time friend from my New Mexico years was visiting this week and we were sitting on a boulder at the mouth of Oneanta Gorge with the cliff walls lush and spectacular. So much plant life just spilling off! I had to paint it.

#2

This is from 2001. I`ve been a blogger for two years today. Met some really nice people and learned to put feelings into words. Not a bad idea for someone who lives in their head.