Along The Rogue

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Last painting of the trip. The morning was overcast and cool, but the sun was trying to come out. I got so shivery I had to go get a sweatshirt. I can paint when I'm hot (barely) or cold, but if I get cold enough to shiver I can't control the paintbrush! As a native Southern Californian it felt kinda good to shiver in August. This is one of those paintings that looks so much better in person. Full of subtle color shifts.

Simple Fishing

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase The last few days of our trip we camped on the Rogue River at Grants Pass, Oregon. This couple went out each morning from the other side of the river to fish. They would float away downriver and then motor back up again within view. I tried to capture this simple, peaceful little excursion in their small shiny boat. What a nice morning for the blue-shirted lady. I think she was just along for the ride. Once I got the scene drawn in, the boat floated away of course. So I worked on the rest of the scene until they returned again and again never in the exact same position. I had to rely on my memory. It was a fun challenge and forced me to simplify the figures. Does the painting make you want to get in that little boat?

Chevy To Market -SOLD

oil 8x10 inches magnify/purchase Our first day in Cannon Beach I noticed this truck in front of Mariner Market. The next day it was in exactly the same place. I took my chances that it would stay there long enough to paint it, and it did! Most of the passers-by wanted to know what I was going to do if it moved. I had taken pictures, but I'm so glad it stayed put! I love old vehicles.

Beach Creek

oil 8x10 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Where's the haystack? Waaaay off to my left. I chose this scene for the clouds. My linseed oil was missing from my pack when I started, so I painted this without any. Too far to walk back to camp. I discovered that while manganese blue works well for sky and water in Southern California, I needed ultramarine for these northern scenes. Lots of grayed blues. A HISTORY NOTE: This is Ecola Creek flowing into the ocean. Ecola is the Native American word for whale. The story goes that Lewis & Clark were nearby when they heard there was a beached whale at this location. They traveled to this spot to see it and named the creek. IN OTHER NEWS: I'm off to Victoria Gardens to paint. Last day of the show. I've talked to so many nice art lovers, and done two sunflower paintings so far. Once I have posted all the paintings from the trip, I'll share photos from the show.

Oregon Coast

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location about twelve miles north of Gold Beach, Oregon. I liked the gray sand in this location. We stayed at a campground very near this spot, called Honey Bear. Privately owned by a friendly German couple. On Saturday night they served a nice dinner in their German style dining hall. Live entertainment before and after included the owner singing German songs. Fun stuff. IN OTHER NEWS: I'm happy to announce that I received First Place in Oil at the Art Show last night for my painting "Sunflowers and Eucalyptus." I was also awarded the Pomona Valley Art Association Award for "Hibiscus High." Thank you to Associated Artists of the Inland Empire for all their hard work putting on a great show and promoting arts in the area for fifty years! I'll share some pictures in the next post.

Camping Among Giants

oil 10x8 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, CA. For more info, see my post on August 28.

Country Road -SOLD

oil 8x10 inches magnify/purchase Painted on location in Buelton, California, just three miles from the little Danish town of Solvang.

Heading Home

After my first painting of the trip, I casually suggested that maybe we could write off our trip as a business expense if I keep painting. My CPA husband became quite the slave driver after that. Once in a while he let me stop painting to fix him a meal. This one is from about twelve miles north of Gold Beach, Oregon. Tomorrow morning we'll head out early. Two days of driving and we'll be home. I have lots of paintings to share. IN OTHER NEWS: Next weekend, Sept. 5-7 I'll be painting at the Associated Artists of the Inland Empire's Art Show and Sale. Victoria Gardens' Celebration Hall at the Cultural Center in Rancho Cucamonga. If you're in the area, come enjoy the great variety of work. Hope to see you.

On The Road

These shots are from Humboldt Redwoods State Park where we camped several days ago. There's my hubby doing one of his favorite things, and you can see our little RV. This was a quiet and majestic setting where you carefully drive between these giant trees to your camp spot. I had a bit of painting time the morning we had to leave and I painted right in our site. The tent belonged to a motorcyclist who packed it up while I was painting. Luckily I had gotten the tent in first. I might make a few changes and will repost it later. We're having a great time, and I've had the chance to paint in several places. Tonight we're in Grant's Pass, Oregon along the Rogue River. More on our trip later, Wifi permitting.

Bike & Paint

oil 8x10 magnify/purchase Friday and Saturday we RV camped in Buelton, just three miles from Solvang. After our Saturday morning ride for danish, I tested out the idea of riding with my paint gear on my back. Without a towed vehicle we have to get around by bike. I lightened my pack as much as I could and rode around a bit. The pack felt very stable, so I figured I'd be safe enough, and I was. I painted on a familiar road just a mile away, and had a great time. Felt kinda funny to be painting in my cycling clothes! Happy with the result, and happy I didn't step in the poison oak just a few feet behind me. Didn't see that till I was packing up!!!

Last Light, Balboa Blvd. -sold

oil 9x12 magnify I haven't painted many nocturnes, so this was extra fun. For those of you who know the area, I took this shot while walking toward the pier parking lot, standing on the corner by the drugstore. See the tree "on fire" in the distance? It's planted in the meridian way, way up the street, so it's a big one. I think it's a Norfolk Island Pine. I always look for that grand old tree when I go to Balboa. I love that tree and felt happy to put it in my painting. OTHER NEWS: Associated Artists Of The Inland Empire's 50th Show is coming up September 5-7 at the Cultural Center, Victoria Gardens, Rancho Cucamonga. I'll be demonstrating all three days. Come on out if you can...beautiful venue, great variety of art, and over 350 works. Soon we leave on an RV trip from SoCal to northern Oregon. I have a small backlog of paintings to share if the wifi's good. We're due for some R&R, but I do hope to paint and post along the way.

A Little Dinghy 2 -SOLD

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase After painting A Little Dinghy I wanted to bring down the horizon line, tweak the color in the water and include three objects rather than just two. Might as well go a bit larger while I'm at it.

A Little Dinghy -SOLD

oil 8x6 inches magnify/purchase Sometimes I feel a little dinghy. How 'bout you? Painted from my photo reference taken on Balboa Island. The next day I painted another version of this scene which I will post next.

Ice Cream For Breakfast -SOLD

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Dad's on Balboa Island is home to the original frozen banana. I couldn't resist painting this young man having a morning cone.

Hibiscus High

oil 8x16 inches magnify/purchase The landscaping in our neighborhood includes some big hibiscus bushes. A beautiful day, going for a walk, and BAM! Look at those flowers reaching up to that beautiful Southern California sky!!! I snapped a bunch of shots with my iphone, and here we have a painting. Hope you are having a wonderful summer. This might be for sale at a later date.

Nesbitt's

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase You might be too young to remember Nesbitt's orange soda. When I was about 19 I drove an orange Pinto around Orange County as a delivery driver for a reproduction company. It was a great summer job. I'd stop in a little market sometime during the day to grab a Nesbitt's and a candy bar. I do like orange. My spotlight made the orange glow, and that's what this painting is about. The brown drapery looked just right to me with the yellow and orange. Painting finished, I suddenly realized how 70's this painting is. I get a good feeling looking at this. Hope you do too. Now I'll go put a flower in my hair. For fellow painters out there: Painted with 4 colors: cad yellow light, cad red light, ultramarine blue and Twhite. All Utrect. Love that paint.

Strawberry & Old Stuff

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Here's one of our locally grown juicy strawberries. They really are that red. The old bottle has some kind of white film inside it that glows when the light shines through.

Copper Pot

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase Back to my ledge series. With this piece I did something I rarely do. I painted it twice. The first go-around I didn't listen to that little voice in my head saying, "Might be too squeezed up top." I forged ahead, and right on through till at the end, sure enough, it's too squeezed up top. (It has to be either high or low, not in the center.) I was so happy with how the objects were painted, I couldn't bring myself to wipe it off. So I painted it all again, which to me, is torturous! I still like that first lemon. Need to get a ban saw, cut it out and glue it on the second painting! Ha!

Watercolor after Deschampe

watercolor 9x12 inches magnify/purchase In June I had a serious case of the blahs while struggling with various physical ailments. I thought I should be painting, but pity-partied instead. I remember hearing the master watercolorist, Milford Zornes say once, "If you have a physical condition, don't let that stop you from painting." He was nearly blind at the time from macular degeneration, bent over his full sheet of watercolor paper and painting from memory. I have no excuse. This watercolor was done when I had little energy to be creative, but just wanted to get a brush in my hand and move some paint around. I found an old Walter Foster oil painting book in my studio and thought it would be interesting to turn an oil into a watercolor. The original oil painting is by Gabriel Deschampe.

Fruit Stand Reds & Greens

watercolor 9x12 inches magnify/purchase "The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat!" This line from an old sports show came to mind. Last watercolor posted seemed so fun and effortless, with too much confidence I ventured outside this time for more fun....NOT! The heat got to me and dried everything too fast. So the lovely fruit stand items were overworked, and the tomato became a large sinister tomato monster, overpowering everything else. Still, I thought the set up had potential, so I gave it another try (inside) another day using my first painting as reference. I shrunk the tomato, left out a few cherries and moved an onion. The painting has life, but is still more heavy handed than the last one posted. Might be the deeper color scheme.