Almost Sunrise

Almost Sunrise - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

Trust me, this scene was captured by photo when the sun was rising at much more leisurely hour than it is now, I am no fan of Daylight Savings Time!

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!

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!

Shadow of a Monument

Shadow of a Monument - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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I wanted to get out on the road this weekend, but a cold took all the wind out of my sails. Instead I decided to go on a virtual road trip through Arches National Park in Utah! I'd definitely like to visit this place in person, because of its beauty and also because it's the primary setting for one of my favorite books, "Desert Solitaire" by Edward Abbey.

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.

Palisade Study

Palisade Study - 6x8 - Oil on Linen Panel

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**Please note, I didn't sign this one while on location, a signature has been added in the lower right corner since this photo was taken**

I had the most fantastic New Years Eve and Day! My husband was working in Condon, Oregon, and I decided to tag along and paint the scenery. That's right, this desert scene is from the Pacific Northwest, believe it or not! These palisades are part of a huge National Monument called the John Day Fossil Beds, in the remote Clarno Unit. They are the remains of ancient mud flows, called lahars, and are chock full of fossils! But more importantly to this plein air painter, they are stunning and have a decent restroom nearby!

Work in progress on the trail

Saddle Mountain Vista

Saddle Mountain Vista - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Panel

This is the stunning view from halfway up to the summit of Wahatis Peak, painted yesterday! Someday I'd love to take my jeep up to the actual peak, because I can only go up so high before the potholes become big enough to swallow my little car whole. But it's worth it to get up as high as possible, because the whole Columbia Basin stretches out in front of you!

Wahatis Peak, End of Day

Wahatis Peak, End of Day - 6x8 - Oil on Panel

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Just outside of the frame was the setting sun, but I loved these clouds radiating from Wahatis Peak, a part of the Saddle Mountains north of the Tri-Cities.

Summer's Clouds

Summer's Clouds - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

Click to BidThe summer skies are typically pretty boring here in my little desert, except for when a massive summer storm rolls through. last week we had two big lightening storms only a couple days apart! Now, of course, we're back to the monotonous heat August should have taken with it.

Nevada Skies

Nevada Skies - 5x7 - Oil on Gessobord

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Wow! I can't believe I had another landscape painting in me! I've been painting in the Columbia River Gorge for the 9th annual Pacific Northwest Plein Air show. I guess I wanted to get back into my usual desert territory! This is a Google Streetview scene from a Nevada highway just south of the Oregon border. I loved the shapes and movement in the clouds!

Here's a shot of me (on right) enjoying the show along with the fabulous Diana Moses Botkin, followed by some of my work from the paint out. They're available for purchase through the Columbia Center for the Arts.

East Face Shadows - Sold

Rowena Sunrise

Confluence

High Desert Clouds

High Desert Clouds - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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I wish I could remember where this scene was from! I painted it from a screenshot I took while on a Google Maps Streetview road trip through south eastern Oregon's high desert, I believe somewhere near the Alvord Desert. Now THERE is somewhere I need to visit and paint in person!

Glass Butte Juniper

Glass Butte Juniper - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

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A sunny day with the most perfect puffy clouds overhead! The reference photo for this work was taken from a peak on Glass Butte just east of Bend, Oregon, while collecting some really beautiful Mahogany Obsidian chunks. Don't trust those innocent puffy clouds, though, within a half hour they brought in a quick snow flurry! Needless to say, the springs in the Inland Northwest can be a bit unpredictable.

Yakima Summer

Yakima Summer - Oil on Panel - 6x6

Click Here to BidIt's heating up here in the northwest! I wanted to capture the feel of the sun on your skin that lets you know summer is right around the corner!

Drive Through

Drive Through - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

Click To BidI've been playing lately with color combinations I'm not used to, trying to push the colors a bit more. I think I like the result! I drove through this storm the other day, I just love the way distant rain falls,

Simcoe Hills

Simcoe Hills - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

Click Here to BidWhile using Google Street View I was cruising down Highway 97 south here in Washington. Something about the pattern of trees and clouds really grabbed me!

Baldy Summit

Baldy Summit - Oil on Panel - 6x6

Click Here to BidWe may not have high snow covered peaks like those found in the Cascades, but this simple scene in the Yakima Hills really caught my eye. It was leaning toward evening, and the light had taken on a warm cast. This type of lighting seems to be a huge challenge for me, so I'm very pleased with how the thing turned out! Baldy Summit is the highest point in Umptanum Ridge, this is a view of it from the north east.

Coulee Wall, Summer

Coulee Wall, Summer - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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One of the unique characteristics of the geology of my area is the many coulees. Depending on where you are in America the word can describe a few different landforms, but here in eastern Washington they refer to the wide, now dry, channels cut deep into the basalt bedrock by huge ice age floods. The high cliffs of basalt create really wonderful shadow patterns, so this was a fun challenge to paint.

Oregon Spring

Oregon Spring - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

Click Here to BidA quick virtual drive through far eastern Oregon brought me to this view, I hope someday I can visit it in person! I love the challenge of creating harmony and just a little bit of order in what seems at first to be endless jumble of sagebrush!

Spring Moves in - Daily Painting

Spring Moves In - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

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I've been working a lot lately on back lit clouds. It's such a challenge to capture them, but it really captures the late afternoon skies we've been having!

Rain Passes By

Rain Passes By - Oil on Canvas Panel- 5x5

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This was an exercise in capturing some of the tumultuous weather we've been experiencing recently! This little burst of rain was so interesting as it passed by the Rattlesnake Hills north of Richland! I've been so used to working on smooth gessoed panels and linen boards recently that it was a bit of a surprise just how much the texture of the canvas shows through!