Florida Shores

Florida Shores - 5x7 - Oil on Linen

I've been practicing waves lately, it's been a nice challenge. Some of my favorite shots to practice from are the photos I took from Palm Beach and Tequesta, Florida, while I was visiting for their plein air festival last February. Lots of great memories!

Summer Pastoral

Summer Pastoral - Oil on linen Panel - 5x7

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I know I've painted this exact hillside outside of Walla Walla probably a dozen times, but it never gets old! Every season and every day it seems to take on a new face. On this summer day I was really captivated by the mass of tall clouds building up over the hills.

I'll be painting as part of the Plein Air Pacific Northwest show this upcoming week in Hood River, Oregon, it is worth a visit if you are in town!! There are spectacular nationally known artists participating and the work is always outstanding. Here are some of the pertinent details:

McNary Sunrise II

McNary Sunrise II - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

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These beautiful sunrises have been the prelude to very hot days here in Eastern Washington. Today we had some stiff gusts of wind which hopefully will be blowing in cooler weather for the week!

Stand Up Tree

Stand Up Tree - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

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Yes, another cottonwood. But this one is from somewhere along a lake shore in Teton National Park, in a spot I found on Google Maps. Wow, did that park blow me away! Many many years ago I visited Yellowstone National Park and it was absolutely amazing, but as far as I can remember we never made it over to the Tetons. This is something that will need to be corrected! 

Owens Valley Cottonwood II

Owens Valley Cottonwood II - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

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Some trees have so much character. As I was looking through Google Streetview down Owens Valley in California this little golden tree really jumped out at me, it almost seemed to be posing!

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!

Bonneville Mountain Morning

Bonneville Mountain Morning - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

A plein air piece done early this summer in Joseph, Oregon. I think this is the third or fourth painting I've done from the exact same spot, but the view from the north end of Lake Wallowa is absolutely irresistible!

Blue Day Red Barn

Blue Day Red Barn - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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Yeah, I think this barn kick could last a while! There's something really nice about having that little touch of structure in a landscape painting.

Sunshine Barn

Sunshine Barn - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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I've had the opportunity to explore the eastern Washington countryside finding all sorts of neat little barns and outbuildings. I really loved the cheerful color of the barn, but the star of the day was really those big billowing clouds rolling overhead!

Blue Mountain Afternoon

Blue Mountain Afternoon - 6x8 - Oil on Linen

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I've had an absolutely fantastic couple of weeks! I've attended the Wallowa Valley Festival in Joseph, Oregon, where I won second place in my category, and the very next weekend I facilitated a paint out in beautiful Walla Walla for Plein Air Washington Artists. This little painting was completed on location in Walla Walla, near Rooks Park on the edge of town where the Blue Mountains peak above rolling wheat fields.

Clustered Elms

Clustered Elms - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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This grove of elms is just off a highway I travel along regularly; I love passing it at different times and seeing how the light transforms it throughout the day. This particular scene was lit by the hot light of the afternoon!

Poplars

Poplars - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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I think I let out all my creativity on the painting, and didn't have any left to come up with a clever name! This was a beautiful sunlit stand of poplars out in the country. The trees out in the rural areas have really been catching my eye lately!

Fast and Loose Foothills

Fast and Loose Foothills - 5x7

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Nothing like a strict time limit to bust you out of a seemingly never ending artistic rut! I haven't been inspired to do any small ones lately, and none of my plein air work for the past month has seemed to work. But I saw some clouds out today and though I only had a half hour or so to work I wanted to paint them! When I got the little sketch back home I didn't want to mess with the spontaneous brushwork, I kinda liked it!

Big Bend on the Colorado

Big Bend on the Colorado - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

Once again I've been reading too much Edward Abbey, which always puts me in the mood to "drive" around the Southwest in Google Maps! I loved the scale of this monolithic peak, with just the slightest hint of the Colorado River poking through the brush.

Winter in Kittitas Valley

Winter in Kittitas Valley - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

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A few weeks ago while dropping off paintings for the Clymer Museum's "Northwest Experience" show (where, have I mentioned, I won Best of Show!) I stopped at the viewpoint off Highway 82 overlooking Ellensburg, Washington. The turnout has the most stunning view over the whole Kittitas Valley, and the winter air lent a beautiful atmosphere!

Frost in the Air

Frost in the Air - Oil on Linen - 5x7

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I painted this little one on location back when we still had snow on the ground, now the past few days we've had highs in the 50s and 60s!

Valley Wall

Valley Wall - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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I was really drawn to the warmth of the distant shadows in this scene! And of course I'm always partial to oceans of sagebrush.

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!

Sandstone and Sunlight

Sandstone and Sunlight - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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I loved the patterns of light and shadow on this rock formation I found on Google Maps Streetview. The more I explore the area virtually the more I want to pack up and move to Moab!