I`m finishing up a show for the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach, opening July 18 and continuing through August 25. Another pairing with my friend Tom Cramer and also the potters Dave and Bonnie Deal. Stop by if you`re on the north coast!
This painting is of a small fragment of the Metolius River, that marvel that gushes from a spring high in the mountains fully formed. I finally saw it last September and it was quite unusual.
The edges of things and transitional zones fascinate me. Like the wetlands which seem to be earth, water and sky all at once. Or the high tide line as the ocean retreats leaving its treasures. The banks of the creeks and rivers around me are often heaped with decaying trees and vegetation with healthy new grasses, ferns, saplings and mosses growing among and upon them. Life and death, side by side.
I love my country but not its birthday. I join the dogs hiding in the bathtub. Too much testosterone, booze, heat and noise! A few years ago I had the brilliant idea of going to a late movie and avoiding the mayhem. We saw the charming Moonrise Kingdom. But even in the dark pit of a theater with its encompassing surround sound, the fireworks outside sounded like a bombing raid.
Last night was different. We were invited to a family gathering at the home of Laura Foster. Two years ago she bought this painting as an engagement gift for her daughter.
But Anna was not engaged.
Now living in Minnesota, she still correctly believes Oneanta Gorge to be the most special place on earth. Last Friday on a hike there, her beloved Luke asked her to marry him. The painting was presented to the couple as we ate on the lawn and watched the sun set.
Much better than holing up in my bunker with NPR too loud.
I`m not often up for the sunrise but if I were and if I was on a houseboat in the Multnomah Channel, I think it might look like this.
It`s on the shores of our big waterways that the sky opens up for our viewing pleasure. The trees are behind us, the breeze smells of mud and sometimes the ocean, and the water becomes an enormous mirror reflecting the movements of the clouds. It can feel perfect.
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