Dark Forest Creekbank + Re-do`s

                                                         oil on canvas 58x40"

I blew it up.
I liked the watercolor, it soon sold and I`ve wanted to see it again. So I made a big one. The scene is just a creekbank illuminated at just such a moment, deep in the July rainforest of the North Umpqua River. The air was hot and cool depending where in the canyon you stepped. With such dense growth, it was also very quiet. Our day had not begun well and we entered that forest dutifully because we were there. Within minutes our foul moods were dismantled by beauty. The creeks formed 'rooms' whenever the ground leveled and through that dim filtered light everything seemed to move, sort of flicker. I remember walking much slower than usual, literally stunned by the ethereal landscape.

Here are some paintings I`ve re-visited. They will be on view during the Portland Open Studio Tour, Oct. 11,12,18 and 19, 10 to 4pm. Come say hello.
5373 Lakeview Blvd.
Lake Oswego OR
97035

                                            Neahkanie Cliff acrylic on panel 24x18

                                       Late Autumn Tangle watermedia on Yupo 12x12"

                                            Rio en Medio 6 Study oil on panel 16x12"

Her work didn`t do much for me but I sure loved her! Listen to Agnes Martin tell it like it is. That woman walked her talk! She wanted to be alone. So she up and leaves NYC and her brilliant career behind and moves to the barren, art colony-free, windy west of New Mexico. Built her a house, then she lived in it.


work for sale in my studio

Metolius [River]

                                                   watercolor on Yupo 26x20"

When I saw this river last week, its lush aquatic nature was in stark contrast to the bone dry, flammable-at-any-moment Ponderosa Pine forest it flowed through. This morning it has begun to rain, very gently. May it continue.

                                       Over the Sea 16 watercolor on paper 12x12"

The cure for anything is saltwater - sweat, tears or the sea.
                                                                                  _ Isak Dinesen


available work for sale in my studio

Portland Open Studios  [mid-Oct.]
studio address;
5373 Lakeview Blvd.
Lake Oswego OR
97035

Oregon Estuary Rainforest 2 - development progression

                                                               oil on canvas 40x60

 The nature of wetlands is one of dissolving boundaries. The air is so humid, it`s not so different than  the water seeping into your shoes. Solid trees are encased in deep soft moss and things are melting all around in the process of decay and renewal. Right before your eyes!
 On the Oregon coast the rainforest comes right to the edge of the marsh until it can`t tolerate any more saltwater. The road to the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology is bordered by these woodlands between the Salmon River Estuary and the mountain, Cascade Head. Visually, they are as dense and diverse as anything I`ve seen.
 Therein was my challenge, how to depict and contain a scene of constant flux and complexity?
 I hadn`t looked at the photos of the development until now. I wish I had, as I was much closer, much earlier to realizing this image than I thought. In one day, without doing anything to it, I came close to painting over the whole thing with white. Later in the day I decided it was actually pretty good! And whether anyone notices or cares, it`s real emotion. Agony and Ecstasy going on in the basement on Lakeview Blvd. It`s just the way it is. Here`s how I got here:

All but the finished photo were shot casually inside my studio.


work for sale in the studio