Snow Patterns

Snow Patterns - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

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Variations on a theme. It's very nice to be able to drive through scenes like this in a warm, heated cab with someone who knows how to drive on icy roads! I think I'm all snowed-paintinged out, though all the patterns and the atmosphere have been really enjoyable.

Turning - Plein Air painting

Turning - Oil on Panel - 6x6

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During the early fall I was able to stop in the gravel parking lot of an abandoned church or schoolbuilding in the Walla Walla countryside. There was a beautiful poplar tree turning gold only on top, with its lush summer green leaves left on bottom. Pair it up with the always welcome Blue Mountain foothills and it made for an irresistible scene!

Winters Touch

Winters Touch - 5x7 - Oil on Panel

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A little plein air piece, completed at my new favorite car painting site along the Yakima River Delta, where the Yakima River meets the Columbia. I'm a sucker for the red willows in winter already, but I loved to golden cottonwoods and the patterns the snow made.

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!

Southwest Spotlight

Southwest Spotlight - Oil on Gessobord - 5x7

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The most wonderful part about cloudy days is when you get those amazing cloud breaks that shine a spotlight on the landscape, making anything they touch look magical! This painting was inspired by one of those moments.

Manastash Winter - Kittitas Valley Landscape Painting, Ellensburg, Washington

Manastash Winter - Oil on Linen Board - 5x7

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This view is looking toward the formidable Manastash Ridge, part of the Yakima Fold Belt of eastern Washington for all you geology nerds. What spoke to me in this scene was the peaceful farmlands, which in a few short weeks will be bursting with tiny sprouts, as the last few breathes of winter held on to the Kittitas Valley. The ridgeline seemed to be guarding the quiet acres outside of Ellensburg.

Along 89 I - Tiny Utah Landscape Painting

Along 89 - Oil on Panel - 2.5 x 3.5

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This one is tinier than usual! It looks perfect on one of those tiny little easels you find at craft stores. I've been  really interested in clouds lately, and these little ACEO size paintings are perfect for doing quick studies to capture their essence.

Under a Southwest Sky III

Under a Southwest Sky III - 6x6 -  Oil on Panel

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Wow. I swear it's impossible to take a bad picture on the way from Page, Arizona, to Zion NP along Highway 89! Which of course makes it easier to paint the area. Until I started painting I never noticed just how much variety of color there is in clouds. As they get closer to the horizon they turn progressively from gold to pinkish; when that was combined with the expansive views of the southwest I couldn't resist painting this scene!

Under a Southwest Sky I

Under a Southwest Sky I - 6x6 - Oil

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What? Still paintings from the southwest? I have no shortage of reference materials from this trip, for the first time ever I filled an 8gb memory card, plus some! This scene, along with the next couple, are from Hwy 89 heading north out of Page, Arizona. Simply stunning country!

Calm in Horse Heaven

Calm in Horse Heaven - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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This is a companion piece to the previous one, the variety of shapes and possible compositions in the Horse Heaven Hills of the Columbia Basin are endless! I absolutely loved the atmosphere the rain gave to the desert hills.

Winter's Colors

Winter's Colors - 6x6 -  Oil on panel

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Recently I've begun painting on a orange-red underpainting, and this painting really demonstrates why I like it. It's not so much the pops of orange that occur through the painting, but the way it shines through thin layers of paint, as in the sky here. It really helped me capture that wispy pink look the sky takes on just before the real sunset begins!

I've finished this 11x14 studio piece titled "The Long Winter", you can see the information here.

Winter Delta

Winter Delta - Oil on Panel - 6x6

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The beautiful deltas along the Yakima River in Eastern Washington have been my most recent muse. The shapes and shades change with the water level which vary dramatically seasonally and from year to year. I'm embracing the winter and it's chilled palette, it is certainly a distinct sort of beauty!

Here are a couple shots of the work in progress:

A Walk in the Snow

A Walk in the Snow - 5x7 - Oil on Gessobord

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Here it is, Daily Painting number 99. I can't believe tomorrow's will be number 100, time flies when you're having fun! It's definitely been an amazing learning experience for me.

The scene I painted here is from a local trail system that runs along the Yakima River called the Chamna Natural Preserve. The snow was an interesting challenge for me! Here are a couple work in progress shots:

Down the Gorge IV

Down the Gorge IV - 6x6 - Oil on panel

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The view from the top of the Rowena Crest along old Hwy 30 provides the final scene for my Columbia River Gorge series. The Columbia River rolls 800 feet below.

Along the Parks Highway - Another Alaskan Google Maps Painting

Along the Parks Highway - 6x6 - Oil on Panel - Landscape

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Yes. I do love "driving" around Alaska in Google Maps. Yes, I entertained the thought of living there for about 20 minutes, until my husband reminded me about that whole snow thing they have. I can barely take the occasional flurry we get here in the Tri-Cities, so maybe it's better I enjoy the 49th State from afar!

Whimsical Day - Daily Painting

Whimsical Day - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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I'm not sure why this painting's palette struck me as whimsical, I think it's the purple shadows and vivid gold hill, or maybe all the colors are just a little more pastel than I typically work. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I do think it was a fun palette to try!


Note: Collectors may notice that my shipping costs have gone up! It is because my original prices were set to cover the cost of packaging and shipping USPS First Class, but I've been for several months now shipping USPS Priority Mail for the peace of mind. I am very satisfied with this service, and so I've updated my price to reflect the cost of the upgraded shipping.

Summer Marsh - McNary National Wildlife Refuge Plein Air painting

Summer Marsh - Oil on Panel - 6x6

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Ah, these cold days have me remembering back to when I could paint on location without gloves and a hat! This little plein air piece was painted at the McNary National Wildlife Refuge: a beautiful little marshland outside of the Tri-Cities.

Recently I was hiking around and painting at Dry Falls here in Washington. It's a really beautiful area! I blogged about it here, and here's the finished painting:

Dry Falls Winter - 11x14 - Purchase Info

Crumbling Clouds - Oregon Landscape Oil Painting

Crumbling Clouds - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

I've been going through the many many landscape photos I snapped while driving along Highway 97 from Tri-Cities, WA, to Bend, OR, in March. Being early spring, the weather was turbulent! There was snow, sun and rain within a span of 15 minutes! I wanted to capture a slightly more calm moment of this trip, watching as a cloud slowly disintegrated into rain over the desert.

Cloud Break Over Hell's Canyon - Idaho Landscape Painting

Cloud Break Over Hell's Canyon - 6x6 - Landscape

I have a soft spot for Hell's Canyon, which is why it pops up in my paintings fairly often. I have many many photos of the area from when I helped fight the Poe Cabin Fire there in 2007, and it really is the landscape that made me fall in love with wilderness.

I spent the weekend with family in Boise, ID, so you can look forward to some paintings from the Idaho foothills in the future!

Wallowa Fields - Oil Painting near Joseph, OR

Wallowa Fields - 6x6 - Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

Chief Joseph Mountain guards the horizon in this meditative view found on Google Street View. It's getting a bit too late this year to make a trip to that part of the Northwest, just because I'm an utter wimp when it comes to the cold!