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.

Pastoral Reverie IV

Pastoral Reverie IV - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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The poplars stand tall against the silhouetted landscape. I loved the simplicity of this scene, and the calm tones the smoke gave everything.

Pastoral Reverie III

Pastoral Reverie III - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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My favorite part of this series has been the many various shapes the trees create. The hazy smoke simplified them to basic outlines, and the groupings created very interesting patterns.

Pastoral Reverie II

Pastoral Reverie II - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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A peaceful summer day leans toward dusk, with the thick smell of smoke from distant fires coloring the sky.

This series has me missing summer. Here in the Tri-Cities we've had about 3-4 inches of snow today, which makes for a wonderful white Christmas and all, but I could do without the cold!

Pastoral Reverie I

Pastoral Reverie I - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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Smoke rolls into the Columbia Basin from fires in the mountains, blanketing the farm lands in a thick, warm haze. The landscape becomes more intimate, more simplified, and allows one to slip into a reverie.

Over the summer here in Washington State we had several major forest fires burning at once. All that smoke sank down into my home, the Columbia Basin. Even though it's been two years since I fought wildfires, the smell of smoke still gave me an adrenaline rush and dreams of the paycheck  a 120 hour work week brings in. 

But this summer I had to content myself with taking pictures, and enjoying the unique atmosphere the smoke gives to the acres of farmland around the Tri-Cities. Less adrenaline, but still quite a bit of enjoyment. I love the way smoke simplifies the shapes of everything, and gives such a peaceful and warm cast over the land.

Winter Calm

Winter Calm - Oil on Panel - 6x6

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A cold winter fog was cast over Bateman Island while I was taking a walk. I kept looking and looking for something that spoke to me, and then I turned around and saw this bend in the trail and the beautiful colors in the trees. Who knows what I would have painted had I not turned  around, but I'm glad I did!

Summer Skies - Rattlesnake Mountain Painting

Summer Skies - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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While the Northwest is being pounded with wind and rain, I thought that a small reminder of the summer warmth was in order!

Windy Day Clouds - Oil landscape Painting

Windy Day Clouds - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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I learned a LOT from this painting. Lesson one: in winds over 30mph your easel is a sail. Lesson two: clouds move REALLY fast in 30mph winds. Like, probably around 30mph. his makes them VERY tricky to paint. Does this mean I'll never try it again? Nope! But now I can be prepared.

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

Storm Over Wallula Gap - Columbia River Landscape Painting

"Storm over Wallula Gap" - Oil on Panel - Landscape

Basalt cliffs are always a problem for me. Which is a terrible, terrible problem to have when you live in an area that has basalt three miles thick! But I snapped the reference photo for this painting while watching a storm blow over Wallula Gap, and fell in love with the way the light hit the cheat grass and basalt covered hills! It was absolutely enchanting, and capturing the light in oil paints was exciting!

Storm's a Brewin' - Eastern Washington Landscape Painting by Melanie Thompon

Storm's a Brewin' - Oil on Panel - Landscape - 6x6

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This is yet another small plein air work that was painted out of absolute necessity. I saw the clouds building in the east and I really had no choice but to do my best to capture them!

All these thunderstorms have been reminding me of being a kid at my parents house. I remember going out onto our deck in pounding rain to watch the lightening pass by, I always was amazed by it. I'm sure this fascination puts me at a disadvantage with regards to natural selection, oh well!

Passing Through - Eastern Washington Landscape Painting

Passing Through • 6x6 • Oil on Canvas • Landscape 

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It's been a summer of thunderstorms here in the Pacific Northwest. It seems like not a week has gone by for the past two months without bringing in it's share of piled up clouds and booming thunder. Those of you who have been to shooting ranges (yeah, this is eastern WA) without ear plugs have an idea as to how loud the thunder has been over my home. While driving through Columbia Park in Kennewick I was struck by an amazing cloud formation that was building over Rattlesnake Mountain and knew I had to paint it!