New Work Summer 2017

                                                  My Marsh in Winter oil on panel 26x24


 Mine because I go there, the wetlands of Bryant Woods. I get in with the mud to see what`s happening. Last January I was able to walk into places I hadn`t seen because the ground was frozen. The previous summer`s vegetation was dead and  new grasses and cattails were sprouting. The Northwest winter often looks festive in its decay and regeneration.

                                              In the Bishop`s Garden watercolor on Yupo 12x9


 Las LOPAS convened at the beautiful Bishop`s Close last week to paint the gardens from life. A fine time it was! We have decided to return this coming Friday but with an earlier start. Please join us if you can. No one chased us off the lawn.

                                                                  Las LOPAS

                                                      January Moon oil on panel 26x24


 Every so often I like to create an 'all over' painting. The subject is usually a dense winter forest with the incredible complexity of the bare trees. With hints of foreground and back to anchor the frenzy of marks. The coastal stands of alders with their luminescent branches always excite me.

                                         Flooding Fanno Creek oil and oil pastel on Yupo 12x9


 More exciting branches, OK?

                                                       Path to the Sea 2 oil on canvas 30x30


 Sometimes if I`m lost in my studio I`ll paint again a favorite from the past. Not exactly the Warrior Way but I just want to be working, to have a brush in my hand should the spirit arrive.
 As my legs slowly heal, I`ve questioned the career aspects of being an artist, wondering how to proceed? What do I really want from my efforts? The answer is always good paintings but not how to disperse them into the world.

                                                               Immature Honeycrisp


 Six years ago I was going broke eating so many Honeycrisp apples. They are not cheap! I thought, how hard could it be to grow them? This is Oregon after all. So we planted a dwarf variety along with a small Japanese Akane to pollinate them and boom!, the first year the tree nearly broke from the weight of the fruit!
 I wasn`t able to prune it this winter and with all the rain, this crop will be huge. That bucket is filled with at least a hundred apples I thinned from the tree the other day. Here`s the problem though, bugs also like them. Do any of you know of any remedies that aren`t pure poison? My neighbor suggested copper sulfate. Any other ideas? Thanks.


 I`ve loved the work of Lynn Boggess for years and he just gets better. Though not a fan of thick impasto paint, when he uses the technique, it`s poetry. Take a look;

                                                            Lynn Boggess

                                                               Lynn Boggess

                                                             Lynn Boggess


 He goes out into the local forests where he lives in West Virginia, chooses a humble scene then brings it glory. In this video you`ll see his astonishing set up as he paints a canvas 68x80 on location!
Oh my, Las LOPAS has a lot to learn! He looks like the guy in the hardware store but this man speaks to God!


 I will be having a show at the White Bird Gallery in Cannon Beach OR Sept.1 through Oct.16. I`ve shown with this gallery for 32 years! First with the founder Evelyn Georges, now with the new owner Allyn Cantor.
I won`t be at the opening but I`ll be giving a demonstration of watermedia on Yupo Sept. 23rd. 2pm. Stop by if you`re on the coast.

some available work in my studio

Little Seascapes

I spent a couple of happy days in Oceanside last week. I love the place because there is so much to look at and nothing to buy. It`s cliffs, caves, surf, wide beaches, offshore monolithic rocks and very limited options for eating. The fog rolled in and out constantly, the mood going from existential questioning to celebration. There were families on the beach wrapped in blankets then suddenly in short pants. We happened on two minus tides which left long shallow pools of water in the sand. Watching the sky change in the reflections was magical. The fog, in person, has a gorgeous silver opalescent quality that I found very challenging to paint. How to make the grays come alive? The first up above, is a love letter to Fred Cumming, one of the most poetic painters alive. The second I did standing at the kitchen counter in the cabin where we stayed. I used the tiny paint set Jo Reimer gave me. The only other time I had played with it was in Wyoming and I was just getting started with the painting when I was confronted by a moose. That brush with the water in the handle was surprisingly capable. The third sketch I did in my studio, trying in vain to convey the shimmering fog.
August Wave oil on panel 6x6
Watercolor Shore wc on paper 6x6
Silver Sand oil on paper 6x6


available work

Headland Sea Sky

watermedia on panel 6"x6"
Little paintings I can do sitting down, that`s my near future. I didn`t know I could really do it. Every time in the past, whenever I tried to sit, within minutes I was on my feet. I think because the visual distance is better and I can reach things faster. I`m learning new ways of working.



Available Work

Coastal Joy

Lots of angst in this one. I kept returning to it whenever I could for several days. I was about to drop it in the trash when I made the straight line in the center. The atmosphere and the organic shapes made more sense once that anchored it. Such a small painting to produce so much confusion!
oil on panel 8"x8"


Available Work