Impossibly beautiful Gjain. It took us four hours to find and it was hard to believe what we were seeing once there. Every fantasy about purity, a nurturing mother nature, or heavenly paradise is embodied here in this small oasis in the badlands of Iceland.
Waterfalls are so numerous here I`d be surprised if they`re named. Most are rivulets vaulting off the green mountains and visible for miles. But then there are the serious ones like Haifoss, Gullfoss and Skogarfoss. They drop precipitously from an austere rocky landscape completely devoid of trees. Straight off the cliffs naked and exposed with an unusual regal authority. Oregon is waterfall central casting, but these were unlike anything I`ve ever seen. They were somber, autonomous and powerful.
This painting took way too long however! A promising start with the far distance and sky and then trapped with the falls and cliff for days! If I didn`t get that alien Icelandic mood I wasn`t going to be happy. I think it`s the far northern light that gives the pristine landscape such an otherworldly sense.
This too is Gjain. Something about black and white with a bit of color is so suited to landscape. Especially working on location. The Lake Oswego Plein Air Festival is in a couple of weeks and I will be participating again. So much fun and September weather is usually heartbreakingly gorgeous.
I got what I asked for, God help me.
May I introduce Lyndon!
He`s only 3 months old but already he`s huge! And with a distinctive sense of himself. He has ideas and values and knows where he`s going in life. I ask you now, what could be better than having a gigantic loving cat on your lap someday?
My pal Dana Roberts has a show opening at the Waterworks Gallery in Friday Harbor WA on Sept. 17. This is an event, trust me. She doesn`t exhibit all too often. I was an ardent admirer well before I met her and when we were suddenly showing in the same gallery together, I couldn`t believe my good fortune! She is an important painter. If you click her name above and see the photos, read the artist`s statement too. You`ll understand why I love her.
Look!
I wouldn`t even try to change anyone`s mind about Hillary Clinton. She is savaged by the left and the right. But read this little vignette in Humans of New York. It returns some of her humanity.
Speaking of waterfalls, gaze at this one by the Icelandic/Danish artist Olafur Eliasson.
Such a visionary! Look through his website and marvel at his inventiveness. My tubes of paint and brushes are prehistoric in comparison.
September is a pensive month. The fading light and cooling temperatures are the backdrop to many poignant memories. Beginning with Labor Day, I always think of my Dad who was a Teamster for decades. In his long career of manual labor, the union was critical in giving his family a decent, modestly secure life. I even have straight teeth because of a benefit won by his union. We were always taught to never, EVER cross a picket line and why. What the sacrifice meant and its larger significance politically. The labor movement has suffered terribly in modern times, a victim of relentless conservative demagoguing and of mechanization. Once it was an active element in the country`s political struggle and evolution. To a lesser degree it still has a role, but as the influence of the movement has waned, income inequality has reached a shameful level.
Remember what it has achieved;
work for sale in my studio
