Red Shasta Bally

Shasta Bally is the round, maternal looking mountain that looms above Whiskeytown Lake in Northern California. I painted in a cabin there near Brandy Creek as an artist in residence for 10 days. The whole area west of Redding was spectacular and mostly unpopulated.
oil on cradled panel 12"x12"


work now in my studio

Northwest November 5

oil on panel 6"x6"

River Rock in Sun

Sunlight in a dark season, happy Christmas!
oil on Yupo 12"x9"

Cottonwoods Creek Clouds - studio view

Wyoming again, from my stay at Brush Creek Ranch.
John got a new I-phone 5 and took a panoramic picture of me painting. I`m working in oils there and the other lit area is for watercolor. Two separate spaces for each medium, my dream came true!
watermedia on paper 12"x9"


available work in my studio

Poplars in the Gloaming

From a visit to Menucha.
oil on canvas 20"x16"

Fanno Creek Wetlands

I`ve been walking Cook Park in Tigard which is mostly closed to cars  in the winter. The marshes look sensational though I got wet feet getting close enough to see them well. In summer, there are baseball and soccer games going on and it`s filled with people. This time of year, the park is empty and wild.
oil on panel 9"x12"

Winter Woods along the River

With the short days and weak winter light seeping through the heavy cloud layer, the flooded forests along the Tualatin River are looking sort of Gothic.
oil on panel 10"x8"


some available work now in my studio [bottom rows updated]

December Runoff 2

oil on panel 6"x6"



available work in the studio

December Runoff

The rivers here are swollen, flowing fast and full of silt. The murky color looks great behind the last autumn color.
oil on panel 8"x8"


available work

November Wind

At the end of the session the last four nights, I thought this was finished. The next morning it looked too pale or like a birthday cake or not enough trees... I`m moving on and embracing this odd palette and composition.
In between storms recently, I`ve spent a lot of time in Tryon Creek Park. Before it rains, it gets windy and the last of the leaves are flying around and the air is electric!  I tried to paint that.
oil on panel 16"x20"


available work in my studio

Another Rio Grande Gorge

1988.
I recently had old slides digitized and now they`re stored on my computer. I`ll continue posting some as I`m working on my website update, and the painting I`m doing is questionable.
watermedia on paper 48"x36"

Rio Grande Gorge

Another from the past with red. This was painted soon after my move to the Northwest in 1993.
The Rio Grande cuts a deep gash through a vast open plain in Northern New Mexico. When driving to Taos on the 'low' road, it suddenly appears and looks kind of shocking.
watercolor on paper 15"x8"


Available Work in my Studio

Poppies

From the turn of the century. I`m sure I was just craving red when I chose this atypical subject.
watermedia on paper 19"x13"


available work

Brush Creek

When I arrived at the ranch on May 1, the cottonwood and aspen groves along the creek were still mostly dormant. A Rocky Mountain winter takes a long time to let go. This particular place looked like it flooded repeatedly. There were rocks strewn about, broken trees and lots of dead vegetative stuff in heaps. It looked like a bone yard. But cottonwoods, despite their relatively short messy lives, are genuinely majestic. In the two weeks I was there, this circle of trees came alive! High above the chaos on the meadow beneath them, the branches sprouted tender new leaves and the atmosphere became ethereal.
oil on canvas 40x54


available work

Northwest November 4

 There are many hours involved in this small painting. Getting the right mood was elusive. Twice I painted over the whole thing then scraped that off and went into the 'ghost' of what had been there before. Eventually, something sort of tremulous happened and I was satisfied.
 In between massive though typical fall storms, we`ve had a couple of dry days. What gifts they are!
The forests are muddy and wild with ferns and mosses. And still, some lingering bright maple leaves which are stunning against the blue fog and deep green firs.
oil on panel 8"x8"


available work

Lakeside

 I don`t think I ever posted this watercolor. It was inspired by Sauvie Island and is now owned by the talented Brent Perkins.
 After percolating for six months, I`m working on a big oil painting of a grove of cottonwoods that have just budded out in early Spring. From my residency at the Brush Creek Ranch in Wyoming. The place was still kind of bleak from the winter, lots of downed trees and debris. But the tiny green leaves were a hint of color and life. Suggesting that delicacy in contrast to a battered dormancy is my challenge. I`ll post a progression of photos when it`s finished.
watercolor on Yupo 12"x9"


available work

Overcast Yellowstone Study

A view north of Mammoth Hot Springs. The clouds didn`t lift to let me see what was back there.
No doubt it is spectacular. Driving up to the Springs from the geyser basins in the south part of the park is nothing short of miraculous. Within mere minutes the landscape dramatically changes into something altogether new and breathtaking several different times. Last spring when I visited. the weather was cool and misty so the vistas were rarely completely visible. Not knowing what to expect, I didn`t mind at all. The clouds and fog just heightened the other worldliness of it.
oil on panel 8"x8"


Available Work

Northwest November Study 3

oil on cradled panel 12"x9"

Across the Field

This began as the demonstration painting for a class I taught last weekend. The topic was working from a drawing. When doing a sketch on location, one immediately emphasizes the elements that are interesting. Painting from that first interpretation offers a more personal response to the subject without too much confusing detail. Though I use photography as an integral part of my process, I find that if I`ve drawn something first, I begin with more confidence.
watermedia on paper 24"x18"
graphite on paper 6"x3.5"


available work

Northwest November Study 2

I`ve heard that because our summer was so dry, autumn came early. And it seems to be going fast. Every day I`ve been out walking in it and in these final days, I think it`s most beautiful. Because of the rain, the ferns and mosses are vividly healthy yet the forest floor is covered with bright decaying leaves. Now that they`ve fallen, you can see deep into the trees. That spatial element with the rich autumn color is rewarding even in the rain.
oil on panel 12"x12"


Available Work

Northwest November Study

oil on panel 8"x8"


Available Work

Iron Mountain Fog

I`ve painted this group of trees several times. I like how they erupt from the hillside.
The forests are now foggy, rainy and cold but alive with fall color. More moody and bittersweet than the wall of summer green.
oil on canvas 36x36


some available work

Late Summer Stream

New, from my time at the coast in September. I went to paint the ocean but found this little creek even more compelling.
oil on canvas 36x36


Available Work

The Water`s Edge

An impression from memory of Arch Cape Creek. It was a jungle beside the ocean.
oil on canvas paper 9"x12"

Rain on the Mountain

A bigger new oil painting. I`m deciding if it`s too subtle.
Oil on canvas 40"x30"


Available Work

Untitled [Greens]

There is nothing as sad as a big bin of pumpkins where the watermelons recently were.
watermedia on paper 6"x8"

Untitled [Orange]

watermedia on paper 6"x6"

If anyone is planning a trip to San Francisco, consider renting an apartment for a few days. I stayed in the lively Inner Sunset neighborhood in a comfortable and affordable one bedroom apartment. The owners were kind and helpful, it was minutes from Golden Gate Park, restaurants were everywhere, and downtown and the arts district were an easy train ride away. What a great city!


Available Work

Untitled [yellow]

When I was in San Francisco, I got excited about painting some large landscapes. In so many ways it`s freeing to work large. Before I began however, I knew I would have to clean my palette. As disgusting as they become with piles of dried crusty paint, I had paid a lot for this big piece of plate glass and I wondered if I could redeem it. Several painters had told me Murphy`s Oil Soap could reclaim brushes with dry paint so I sprayed the whole thing down and started scraping with a putty knife and a razor. It wasn`t easy and I cut my index finger knuckle bad enough to need four stitches but the thing is now clean! It`s not like me to do something so disagreeable. Usually I just add fresh paint on top of the old stuff until I can`t stand it anymore and throw the glass away. Even with an injury that delays the painting for a few days, I feel a real sense of accomplishment. So until I have these new landscapes, I`ll post some abstract small pieces I do as an interlude between the representational works.
watermedia on paper 9"x12"

Winter Storm Chimayo

It`s good to get away, it`s great to come home.
Mostly through the Swedish painter, Bo Franson`s Tumblr collection, I`ve discovered the work of the early 20th century American painter, George Wesley Bellows and his landscapes. I knew of his famous boxing pictures but had no idea he was such a sensitive observer of nature. He was especially good at conveying bleak weather conditions in gritty working environments. In looking through images of his work, I saw this painting and thought, I know exactly where that is! It`s the same view of the foothills and mountains in Chimayo New Mexico that I painted repeatedly when I lived there. Like the one above, painted around 1991.
watercolor on paper 36"x48"



Available Work

Magnolia Collage

watermedia on Yupo 6"x8"

Magnolia Open to the Night

I`m in San Francisco with an old friend, researching galleries and visiting my niece Stephanie. Such a wonderful city!
watermedia on paper 8"x6"

Stream and Sunlight

Arch Cape Creek in late summer.
Watermedia on paper 9"x12"


Available Work

North Umpqua Study 6

The scenic North Umpqua River area has the most unusual Northwest rainforests that I`ve seen. There`s a sense of the violent geology that still percolates underneath. I wish I lived closer. Tomorrow I`m exploring some of the Columbia River Gorge, another astounding landscape.
I love Oregon.
watermedia on paper 10"x8"


Available Work

Fall Creek Falls

New and part of the series based on the landscape of the North Umpqua River. Our local PBS station just did a feature on the area on Oregon Field Guide [second segment of the program].
acrylic on canvas 12"x36"


Available Work

Riverlight Study

I began this on location yesterday in watercolor, but because of strong dry winds, finished it in my studio. I was painting on the bank of the Tualatin River near West Linn with friends. The weather was fresh and exhilarating but nearly impossible for watermedia. When I lived in Portland, I didn`t understand this jewel of a river was so close and accessible.
watermedia on paper 12"x9"

The Trees the Mountain the Moonlight

Although I paint flat on a table, I`m always lifting the painting and tilting it various angles. Let gravity move the color around. Some drips can stay if they support the effort, but I remove most of them.
acrylic on paper 12"x9"



Available Work [updated- bottom rows]

Arcadia

The last of the paintings I did at the coast.
acrylic on panel 20"x16"

Arch Cape Creek

Such a beautiful place on the coast! I hope I can give myself another 'residency' like this sometime again. I learned a valuable new technique with acrylics too; use them like oil paint instead of thick watercolors.
acrylic on panel 20"x16"



Available Work

Neahkanie Cliff

My problematic horizontal seascape from the other day was painted over, you can see remnants here and there. I`ve been looking at this cliff for a week and finally saw a composition.
acrylic on panel 20"x16"



Available Work

Lily

A couple of more days here on the coast and then home. I have two larger paintings in process, one promising, the other non-cooperative.
Judson`s Art Outfitters gave me a nice little plug. They have everything imaginable for plein air painting.
watercolor and graphite 8"x6"

Above the Falls Above the Shore

We were hiking on Neahkanie Mountain the other day and noticed a detour on the trail. I needed to know where it went. A short walk away, we came to a clearing with a view down to the lip of a waterfall dropping to the beach, with the ocean beyond. Spatially, the juxtaposition of the two scenes was really interesting.
acrylic on panel 20"x16"


Available Work

Arch Cape Creek Study

This isn't a true plein air painting but it is the view outside the studio here. A lush gentle creek is soon to empty into the ocean. The air is filled with a mist from the waves breaking just around that corner.
watercolor on Aquaboard 6"x6"


Available Work

Stream to the Sea

Shallow streams flowing into the ocean are everywhere on the Oregon coast. They`re beautiful and kids love them too.
watermedia on paper 13"x8"