Walla Walla Skies

Walla Walla Skies - 6x8 - Oil on Panel

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Capturing the building clouds over the Blue Mountains is something I could probably do forever and not get tired of! Anyone in the Walla Walla Valley will be able to tell this painting was done a couple months ago, as wildfire smoke has been hazing the view of the foothills for quite some time now.

Saddle Mountain Snow

Saddle Mountain Snow - Oil on Canvas Panel - 6x8

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Despite being seasonally appropriate, this picture is really from last winter after a decently heavy snow blanketed the local desert ridgelines. Sometimes you have to sit with a scene for a while before you know what to do with it!

McNary Marshland

McNary Marshland - 6x8 - Oil on Panel

Lots and lots of grey here in the Columbia Basin recently, but thankfully the wetland areas have some color!

Backlit Bonneville

Backlit Bonneville - 6x8 - Oil on Linen Panel

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This was painted not far from my camping spot outside of Joseph, Oregon along the Wallowa River. The clouds were beautifully rimlit behind a dark mountain, the view made it worth tangling with the giant ants along the river shore!

Hart Point Shadows

Hart Point Shadows - Oil on Canvas Panel - 6x8

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Doesn't that just warm you up seeing that southwest light? I was out painting en plein air today and the wind chill brought the temperature down to 7 degrees! So this whole virtual southwestern roadtrip is really making me happy. I just keep telling myself it will be wildflower season here soon enough!

Creekside Willows

Creekside Willows - Oil on Linen Panel - 6x8

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Another quiet eastern Oregon scene! One thing I loved about the reflections in the photo I took was the shade of green. It's probably because the water was gross, but aesthetically it complemented the willows nicely. =)

Old Oregon Trail I

Old Oregon Trail I - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Panel

This scene is from a farm area somewhere between Baker City and Ontario, Oregon. My husband and I drove by last winter and there was just something about the red willows against the fog that made the drive beautiful. Some people consider grey days dreary, but I prefer to think of them as serene. Unless it's really cold, then I'll start thinking about running away to Arizona!

January Skies

January Skies - Oil on Linen Panel - 6x8

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It's been a fun experience returning to the same (or nearby) location daily for a painting. The weather here has gotten chilly, grey, and foggy, which leaves me wishing for the sunny days I painted last week!

Sauvie Island Inlet

Sauvie Island Inlet - Oil on Linen Panel - 6x8

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I was in Portland for the weekend, so I decided I should see for myself what all the hubbub was about concerning this Sauvie Island I keep hearing about! It's definitely a gorgeous area, I wish I could have spent more time exploring!

Freezing Fog

Freezing Fog - Oil on Linen Panel - 6x8

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I was so spoiled the past few days with warm and sunny weather! We had some freezing fog roll in and the temperature dropped, but it made the scene along the Lower Yakima River very interesting! I love the way fog simplifies all the shapes.

Grey Skies Over Fossil Beds

Grey Skies Over Fossil Beds - 6x8 - Oil on Linen Panel

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Yikes! Long day, I'm so glad I had this little study from my visit to Fossil, Oregon, ready to go! I hope later this year I can stay longer in the area, these rock formations are amazing.

Winter Wetland

Winter Wetland - Oil on Canvas Panel - 6x8

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I loved seeing Rattlesnake Mountain out behind the Yakima Delta wetlands. The skies were a little hazy near the horizon, but the sky was still blue and the sun was out. No complaints here!

Yakima Delta - Day 14, 30 in 30 Challenge

Yakima Delta - Oil on Canvas Panel - 6x8

Click Here to BidThe crisp winter air seemed to make the water bluer today!

Last Light on Rattlesnake - Day 12, 30 in 30 Challenge

Last Light on Rattlesnake - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Panel

Click Here to BidI'm told it's not cheating to paint ahead, this was my second one from yesterday's plein air session!

Dusk in the Delta, Day 11 - 30 in 30

Dusk in the Delta - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Panel

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I was lucky enough to get out and do some plein air work today! I even felt adventurous enough to do them closer to sunset than I normally work. Usually this time of day is an exercise in frustration, because the light is only consistent for about 15 minutes, so I put down the very basic color notes and composition, and filled out the details back at home.

I stayed in the jeep while working on this, because the wind was at a sustained 35mph, with gusts of 50!

Across Bow Valley

Across Bow Valley - 6x8 - Oil on Linen Panel

Click Here to BidOK, I'm really falling for Canada here. Between the endless mountain peaks and free healthcare, there could definitely be worse places to be an artist! I think I would miss the smell of sagebrush in the spring, though. =)

This is the view from Whitehorn Mountain off of Highway 1/93, the Trans-Canada Highway. On Google Streetview there's HD imagery all the way up the snow covered ski runs, giving stunning views across the Bow River Valley and into a sea of mountain.

Fork in the Bow

Fork in the Bow - 6x8 - Oil on Linen Panel

Click Here to BidI'm not really sure why the title entertains me as much as it does. This is a fork in the Bow River of Canada, I guess having two tool names is amusing? Or maybe because the two words, bow and fork, indicate very different paths for a river? It makes me happy to say out loud, and that's all the justification I need!

Of course, I do need to be careful with things that entertain me without my being able to put a finger on why. My somewhat sheltered upbringing lends itself to unintentional innuendo. =)

Across Minnewanka

Across Minnewanka - 6x8 - Oil on Linen Panel

Click Here to BidI hate to admit this, but my file of reference photos seemed to stop speaking to me the past couple weeks. It happens, I guess! But I so badly felt like I *should* paint something from them that I kept trying. Nope! If there's no spark, there's no painting, or at least not one worth keeping!

So I went back to my old trusty block-breaking go-to: Google Maps. I finally came across this stunning scene on Lake Minnewanka (and how can you NOT want to paint a spot with that name?) near Banff, Canada. Now there's somewhere I need to visit someday!

I think after I paint enough pine trees my inner desert rat will come out again!

Wallowa Highway

Wallowa Highway - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Panel

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I was flipping through some photos I took while driving to Joseph, Oregon (a completely safe maneuver I'm pretty sure) and I loved the way the snow capped peaks seemed to melt into the clouds. It's funny how an unassuming photo that didn't seem impressive at the time can become your inspiration later!

Sunshine by the Creek

Sunshine by the Creek - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Board

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When in doubt, paint the Wallowa Valley. Whenever I have a hard time finding something that speaks to me I usually flip through my photos of the Joseph, Oregon, area and almost always come across some little scene just begging to be painted!