Pandemic Landscapes + Portland Open Studios

                                                Marsh Forest watermedia on Yupo 14x11 inches

 Please bear with me. In the interest of earning a living, I am going to promote my work here even more than normal. As an introvert, I assure you this is not what I want to do. But I do want to paint, the stuff deserves to be seen, and I like it when they are off on their own at last. So there are several ways to see my work in October besides on this blog. As I mentioned, again I will be part of the Portland Open Studios on the weekends of the 9th and 10th and the 16th and 17th. 10 am - 5 pm. 

5373 Lakeview Blvd, Lake Oswego OR 97035. Call if you get lost; 503 380 4731

The paintings here were created or finalized during these past 18 months of Covid 19. I returned to landscape occasionally to feel competent.  During most of this time, I`ve been trying to figure out what abstract painting is for me. I`m a true believer in the importance of modernism yet whenever I`ve tried to execute purely non-objective work I`ve gotten stuck rather quickly. I have viewed this as evidence that at heart, I`m a landscape painter. Well the fear and panic I felt in the early days of the pandemic as the death toll mounted, demanded I respond appropriately. For me, this meant taking on a challenge as difficult in a purely personal sense. Getting through that wall of confusion when painting abstractly became my goal. After all this time, I am only more familiar with the project. I intend to keep at it. Many of those paintings and the landscapes below will be on view during the Open Studios. I`d like to show them to you.

                                         Creek, Low Tide watermedia on Yupo 16x20 inches

                                                        Quiet Forest oil on canvas 12x9

                                            Oregon Refuge watermedia on paper 12x9 inches

                                     Copse of Winter Alder watermedia on Yupo 14x11 inches

                                              Young Trees watermedia on paper 19x14 inches

                                               Cumulous watermedia on Yupo 14x11 inches

                                       Cook`s Butte Study 1 watermedia on Yupo 14x11 inches

                                       Cooks Butte Study 2 watermedia on Yupo 14x11 inches

                                          Stafford Valley watermedia on Yupo 11x14 inches

                                          Wetlands Study watermedia on paper 14x12 inches

                                                   Hedgerow acrylic on paper 24x18 inches

                                               Sundown watermedia on paper 19x14 inches

 I will also be sending out an announcement soon about the studio tour. Some of you will get it as well as this blog newsletter. Forgive me, my mailing list resists every effort I make to streamline.

I have 10 big paintings in the West Linn Lutheran Church along with paintings by my pal Mitch Burrell;

Creative Spirits Gallery Re-Opens September 3rd, 2021         We have missed having new art on our walls, and neighbors and congregants visiting to enjoy it. West Linn Lutheran Church's building has been successfully open for a little while now, and we feel confident that our anti-Covid measures are allowing folks to spend a little in-person time safely in community. We are therefore very pleased to announce that we have two wonderful local artists in the Creative Spirits Gallery this fall.  Learn about our artists below, and come see their work yourself, on display whenever the building is open, from September 3rd through the beginning of November. Masks are required while inside WLLC so please wear your mask, to keep your neighbors safe.         Randall David Tipton has painted in Portland for more than 25 years. Here's a little about his practice, in his own words: "Landscape has been my primary interest from an early age. I am mostly self-taught, and have been deeply influenced by the American abstract expressionists, particularly by their belief in improvisation as path to something unique and meaningful. I was fortunate to study with Richard Diebenkorn in the first master class at the new Santa Fe Institute of Fine Art. Walking is an important part of my life and work. When I'm in the landscape, I often have a camera, notebook or sketchbook to help me remember my response. What I see and experience outdoors is the basis for most of my painting." You can follow Randall's painting online via his blog.         Mitch Burrell told us, "While out on walks with my dog, Greta, sometimes I will come upon a scene that is so profoundly moving that Greta and I will pause and sit silently, absorbing the wonder that is Nature.  Greta somehow seems to grasp the importance of these times, and she seems to appreciate them as much as I do — it is as if we bear lone witness to these brief marvels of the natural world.  I try to hold onto these feelings, and once I return home, I do what I can to capture the moment in paint.  Scenes with light reflecting on water, or the fleeting luminosity of changing weather can be especially inspiring. My hope is that with repeated effort to render these moments on the canvas, my skills and knowledge will improve to the point that I can faithfully render my intent.  It promises to be a lifelong challenge."         West Linn Lutheran Church 20390 Willamette Drive, West Linn, OR 97068  503-656-0110  www.wllc.org

 

And, the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach has my first exhibition of all watermedia on paper, on view through the month of October.

I will return to my typical wandering in my next post.

White Bird Exhibition

click HERE for work for SALE  in my studio

Prints are HERE