Trout Water + Lotus + Garden Party!

                                                    watermedia on paper 14x11"

I was going to dangle some roots into this water and show the river bank but it was active enough.

                                                    watermedia on paper 6x6"

                                                   watermedia on paper 12x9"

My first plein air experience this summer was with Ruth last Wednesday. We were scoping out Rare Plants Research, a nursery near her home. The owner, Burl Mostul, was seeking artists to paint on location for a special event, open to the public, later this month. To be part of the entertainment so to speak.
I had done something like this for an AIDS benefit and I enjoyed it.
So on a perfect summer day, we sat in the shade and painted the lotus and lilies in one of the ponds. Time slows down when painting on site and as often as I`m out and about in the forests, I`m rarely still. It was a sweet afternoon and we agreed to take part in the Garden Party. This nursery is remarkable for its unusual collections. There were potted 'trees'  from Madagascar lining a drive that were straight out of science fiction, Taro plants as black as night, variegated bananas, a Romanesque house and pergola, multiple greenhouses alive with odd specimens and lush grounds surrounding a vineyard. It`s a very unlikely, amazing operation in rural Oregon City! I had no idea.
Here is the invitation and link to purchase tickets, it`s going to be an interesting fun evening;

work for sale in my studio

Tree Shadow - Brush Creek Afternoon

It is always nice to come home, no matter the adventure.
In New Mexico the other day, I was packing books off a shelf and found the top little painting mooshed against the back of the cabinet behind the books. Of course I had forgotten all about it, I had never photographed it so I did then and there with my phone. I then proceeded to shame my friend for her ingratitude.
The other watercolor is Wyoming but it could be any river flowing out of the mountains and into the valleys of northern New Mexico.
watercolor on Yupo 10x7.5

Canemah Rock

Between deluges I painted on location the other day in historic Canemah. This is the place where Native Americans and later, settlers got out of their canoes and boats and walked them around the falls you see in the photo. We painted near the cemetery in an open meadow on a basalt bluff overlooking the Willamette River. I was almost done with the rock when it started to mist. Needing to work fast, I got out some ink and blacked out the background and squirted some liquid white acrylic in the foreground to simplify it and called the session over.
watermedia on paper 9"x12"


work in my studio

Flood Stage 1

 Just like it sounds, a study is usually a 'practice' for a larger painting. Theoretically, this is why I do them. Often, I lose the impulse after painting the smaller piece and the big one never gets painted. Here I did it. This is based on a 6x6 panel I did last December.
 I will be teaching a workshop in Landscape Painting from Plein Air Drawings, as part of the Create Eugene extravaganza Aug. 31. The cost is $100 and if you`re interested, please contact The Gallery at the Watershed. In the workshop I`ll harangue everyone, including myself, about the importance of drawing to painting.
 The Gallery at the Watershed has been open since April but the grand opening is June 1, 4-8 pm. Please come by if you are able. The owner, Amy Isler Gibson, is herself a work of art and her passion for painting is infectious. I`m so happy to have her representing my work!
oil on canvas 24"x24"


available work

Riverlight 2

This is a second version of a plein air painting I did last Oct. on the shore of the Tualatin River. I sure love that river, every view I`ve ever seen of it has been gorgeous. Even in flood stage it`s serene.
In the last two days I have moved my mother [with lots of help] into a retirement home, spent a whole evening in the ER with my partner [he`s OK], been rejected for an artist in residency in Maine, sold a major painting, and I just made a killer mango cucumber salad!
Thailand, they know how to eat!
watermedia on paper 12"x9"


available work

Kauai 1

 While my memories of Hawaii are fresh, I`m trying to get them down quickly.  As usual, I have some photos to help me structure a composition and then I imagine the experience as I paint. What did I notice most?
  Then I started to look for painting panels online. I found them but in just the standard rectangles past 12x12. It was frustrating because I wanted a size with more of a presence.  Wood was crucial rather than canvas because I could achieve more transparency on the hard surface. This was important because water is everywhere on the north shore. Discouraged and resigned to canvas, I then remembered Craigslist! I had seen local ads for panels several times before. Sure enough, one was right there. Within a day I had a deal with Steven of Panel Vision, and a few days later he brought me ten custom crafted and primed 20x20 panels at $30 apiece. They are wonderful and my Kauai series is underway.
oil on cradled panel 20"x20"

Winter Woods along the River

With the short days and weak winter light seeping through the heavy cloud layer, the flooded forests along the Tualatin River are looking sort of Gothic.
oil on panel 10"x8"


some available work now in my studio [bottom rows updated]

December Runoff 2

oil on panel 6"x6"



available work in the studio

December Runoff

The rivers here are swollen, flowing fast and full of silt. The murky color looks great behind the last autumn color.
oil on panel 8"x8"


available work

Riverlight Study

I began this on location yesterday in watercolor, but because of strong dry winds, finished it in my studio. I was painting on the bank of the Tualatin River near West Linn with friends. The weather was fresh and exhilarating but nearly impossible for watermedia. When I lived in Portland, I didn`t understand this jewel of a river was so close and accessible.
watermedia on paper 12"x9"