Travlin Randy

                                     High Summer/Sauvie Island watercolor on Yupo 20x20


 I`ve been to East, I`ve been to the West.
John and I finally made our trip to the Painted Hills, a unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. I have wanted to see this marvel for many of the 25 years I`ve been here. Maybe having come from New Mexico, I had had enough of an arid geology. I was more than ready now and they were worth waiting for. Eastern Oregon is remote, expansive, extremely beautiful and mostly unsung. We stayed at the Painted Hills Vacation Rentals which was an Oasis hanging on the side of a canyon above the town of Mitchell.

 There are three cottages one of them quite large. They hosted 42 astronomers during the total eclipse of the sun last month and it was quite a party. The complex itself is a work of art. Bright cheerful colors everywhere in the jungle of trees and flowers.

Mitchell itself looks like an old west mining town whose glory has passed. But rebuilding is in process and the town has three restaurants!

 The last smoke from Oregon`s terrible forest fires still hung in the air when we saw the Hills. Still awesome but subdued in the haze. We knew that rain was coming and the next day we woke to dazzling weather.

The Sheep Rock Unit 40 miles away was our next destination. The colors and formations were impressive and even the dried grasses and weeds had a pristine beauty. Pinkish grass against turquoise cliffs was a color combo I had never seen before. The sweet John Day River was a bonus.
Such an utter opposite to the rainforests where I live and only 4 hours from Portland!
Yes I painted;

                                                             watercolor on Yupo 12x9

                                                              watercolor on paper 8x8

                                                               watermedia on Yupo 8x8


 I went to the coast next to do a demonstration at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach where my show is in process;

Nice low key event, and I wasn`t nervous at all this time. The painting at the top of the post is the demo and it was created from a 20 year old drawing.
We stayed in an old three bedroom house near the estuary and very close to downtown for only $100 a night! [Seasense-503 781 8886]

 The next morning we spent at Hug Point. It was low tide and the caves were accessible.

 Two great weekends in Oregon. Didn`t break the bank and they left me feeling lucky.

MMIW2 and White Bird Show-Cannon Beach

                                                 My Marsh in Winter 2 oil on canvas 18x36


 My current exhibition at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach Oregon can be previewed here.
 It only took 25 years but I`m soon to see for myself the splendid Painted Hills and the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The weather is predicted to be partly raining which should highlight the colors beautifully.
 Here is an aerial view of the hills;

This is going to be fun! I`m taking my paints.

Summer on Location

                                                 Across the River 1 watercolor on Yupo 14x11


 The Clackamas River to be precise. My plein air group met at its confluence with the Willamette River on a lovely, sunny morning. Every single time we`re out in the field, it feels like it would be quite enough to just sit there in the breeze.
Our true mission soon becomes clear and we bring out the gear. Every painter will say, time can get suspended while working. It`s just as true outdoors. I always feel like I witnessed summer. On its terms. Slowly, like when we were kids.

                                                    Across the River 2 watermedia on Yupo 14x11


 The next week we painted on the shore of the Tualatin River. There was a swirling vortex of algae or some other water vegetation that never moved on downstream. It was mesmerizing watching the spiral turn. The water was a deep, clean color and the grasses and trees across the water were thriving. Another beautiful experience, just sitting there with my watercolors.

                                                    Out to the Meadow watermedia on Yupo 14x11


 This I did from memory in my studio. It was easy to picture as I walk along this edge of Bryant Woods all the time. The oaks that border the meadow have such intricate branches framing the view. In late summer the grasses are golden and the mosses are dormant until the rains return and revive the landscape.
Like most of my stuff on Yupo, this began as a watercolor but I eventually had to finish it with acrylic. The speckles came from spraying water on the paint to re-emulsify the paint. Rather than blend them in, I left them because they seemed to add to the ornate quality of the trees.

 As most of you know, this has been our reality in the Pacific Northwest for weeks now. The flames haven`t been visible from Portland but the smoke has been heavy and sometimes choking. I`ve heard that the fire is so hot, trees are exploding.
 The Columbia River Gorge is where we go to recreate and restore our psyches. The immense beauty was always a reminder to our better selves of proper priorities and often a remedy for personal griefs.
With the southeast US inundated with flooding from the hurricanes and Mexico recovering from the largest earthquake in a hundred years, North American is on the ropes.


Included in my show at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach;

                                                     Autumn Slough oil on canvas 50x40

                                                         November Morning oil on panel 26x24

                                                   Wet Snow on the Marsh oil on panel 26x24

                                                                 Randall circa 1958