Portland Open Studios!

The tour begins tomorrow Oct. 12. Lots of good work by sincere artists. Visit one or two, the studio can be a lonely place. We want to talk to you!
Above are older works that will be on view in my studio.

available work in the studio

Portland Open Studios Tour - Unposted New Work

 By now, anyone at all who visits this blog knows that I`m taking part in the Portland Open Studios Tour this weekend and next. Please come by if you can. Maps with the locations of all the artists are being sold at New Seasons Markets and I have some too. The organization asks that we not post our address publicly because the sale of those maps and calendars finances the tour. If you`d only like to visit me, which would be missing out on some wonderful work, email me for the location of my studio. I will be demonstrating a mixed watermedia technique on Yupo at noon each day and may have a chance to continue painting as the day progresses. Here are some recent paintings that I never blogged about but they`ll be in the studio too, as well as large and small canvases and many works on paper.

other available work

Desolate Landscape

When I began this painting of the Finley Wildlife Refuge last month, it was to be a green marsh like I saw there in June. Then, I had a visitor from Canada who wanted to watch me paint. Since this was what I was working on, I resumed painting. Maybe because I was explaining my process and not paying attention to my original idea, in short order I had this apocalyptic landscape.
watermedia on paper 12x16


available work

Plein Air Oregon City

The day could not have been more beautiful, my subject could not possibly have been more complicated. On the rare occasion I paint on location, I sit down with the painting on my lap using watercolors. That didn`t work out so well, I couldn`t see what I wanted to paint.  So I stood on the Promenade, above the industrial district, balancing my board on a column and did my best. This was the view;

I`m not a straight line kind of painter but I`ve always thought the mills were fascinating visually. I focused on just a section of one a couple of years ago;

Earlier in the morning, John and I toured the defunct Blue Heron Paper Mill and heard all about the ideas to restore and develop the 23 acre abandoned property. The location is just sensational with the Willamette Falls right beside it. Oregon City was our state`s first capital and I also learned it was the first industrial area west of the Mississippi River with it`s mills and hydroelectric power station. This project is one of the most exciting urban redevelopment schemes I`ve ever heard of. I plan to be involved somehow. Below are some photos from the tour including one of my fiance! We got our marriage license yesterday from the great state of Washington! We need a wedding within 60 days!

available work in my studio

Portland Open Studios just a week away!

Late Autumn Tangle 2

With this one I just starting painting without a reference. My memories of Tryon Creek last November were my guide. Because I had handled the Yupo too much, I was immediately getting a resist that thwarted the watercolor. So sticky acrylics were used from the beginning and an image didn`t coalesce until late in the process. It was all moody color before the trees took shape.
watermedia on Yupo 12x12

Please visit me in my studio during the Portland Open Studios Tour coming  up soon

available work in my studio

Late Autumn Tangle

watermedia on Yupo 12x12

Next weekend Oregon City celebrates it`s famous waterfall with the Willamette Falls Festival. I`ll be joining many other painters doing plein air work at various sites near the waterfront. I`m ashamed to say I lived in Oregon a good ten years before I ever visited Oregon City and saw it`s dense industrial core. Visually, it was like nothing I had ever seen. The paper mills, hydroelectric facilities and shipping locks were monumental and ancient looking, incredibly complex and spewing lots of noise and steam. With those beautiful falls a bit beyond supplying the power. It was gritty and muscular and very moving to see from up along the promenade that follows the contour of the bluff rising behind it. Sadly, the Blue Heron Paper Mill closed a couple of years ago and many jobs were lost. The huge site is now being reviewed for development and restoration. My hope is it will include some affordable housing. I can hardly imagine a more exciting place to live.
On Saturday I`m touring the defunct mill with a guided group in the morning and then setting up in the elevator overlook at noon to paint the scene from above. Come say hello if you`re there for the party.

Portland Open Studios Tour
Oct. 12 & 13 Oct. 19 & 20

available work in the studio

Fog on the Sound

I used to take the train to Seattle fairly often and loved the ride. It parallels I-5 but the experience couldn`t be more different, especially in the rain. Instead of the blinding splashes of the big trucks, the visibility from the train is terrific. If you sit on the west side [left going north] the views of the Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge are expansive and peaceful. It`s hard to believe there is such a gorgeous stretch of waterfront left undeveloped. Then comes the south end of Puget Sound with it`s lovely little islands just off shore. Nearing Tacoma, mighty Mt. Rainier  is suddenly looming to the east.  The trip is so enjoyable, you arrive at Union Station happy and ready for the Great City!
watermedia on Yupo mounted on a cradled panel 12x12

Portland Open Studios Tour
Oct. 12 &13 Oct. 19 & 20

available work in the studio