Summer Squall

Summer Squall - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

I almost named this one something about spring, but then I realized that it's summer! The weather east of the Cascades has been so mild I'm losing track of what season it is. I painted this at a lovely little park outside of LaGrande, Oregon, looking across the Grand Ronde River valley. What a view!

Summer Pastoral

Summer Pastoral - Oil on linen Panel - 5x7

Click to bid

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:

Bright Day

Bright Day - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

Click to Bid

I just loved this scene on Google Maps! It was over in Yellowstone, and the big puffy clouds had the most amazing glare around their edges, I could really feel the sun.

Owens Valley Cottonwood II

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

Click to Bid
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!

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. =)

Wallowa Highway

Wallowa Highway - 6x8 - Oil on Canvas Panel

Click Here to Bid
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!

Along 89 II

Along 89 II - Oil on Panel - 2.5 x 3.5

Click to Bid

I can't seem to get away from clouds lately, their colors, shape and texture is endlessly fascinating to me! These clouds are from the Utah desert along HWY 89, but lately we've been getting some great ones with our annual springtime windstorms here in eastern Washington State.

OK, I wasn't kidding when I said last time that these tiny ACEO sized paintings look great in mini easels. Here's a shot of this painting in an easel that I rubbed with a craft store gold-leaf wax:

I love this as a little accent for a bookshelf, or for brightening up my work desk! 

Utah, 65mph

Utah, 65mph - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

Click Here to Purchase

A little bit more abstract this time! I wanted to really capture the movement as we drove through the hills, I think the orange underpainting added a lot of energy to the painting!

Pahvant Dusk - Utah Landscape Painting

Pahvant Dusk - 5x7 - Oil on Panel

Sold

The fading light was simply fantastic along our drive from Phoenix, Arizona, to Salt Lake City, Utah. The intricate pattern in the mountain ranges were highlighted by the glowing sunset, I was wishing we could stop so I could do plein air work! Between our tight itinerary and the freezing temperatures, though, that was NOT about to happen! The photos bring back the vivid memories of this gorgeous drive, and that beats painting in the snow in my book.

Along the Burnt River

Along the Burnt River - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

Sold

After my trip through the southwest, I've been in a bit of a rut. Nothing kicks me out of a rut like a good ol' cruise through Google Street View! The Burnt River Canyon is a brief detour off the route my family has taken for as long as I can remember to get to Boise, Idaho. It's a trip we make multiple times a year, trekking south and east on I-84, but I'd never noticed this little side road before. The red willows along the creek were simply stunning!

Boise Mountain Foothills

Boise Mountain Foothills - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

Sold

This painting takes me back to the warm winding roads twisting their way through the foothills of the Idaho Batholith on a hot summer day. Yes, I'm still in winter denial.

View from a County Road

View from a Country Road - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

Sold

More pretend summer days here. Today I was driving down this same country road and the winter has drastically changed the colors. But this view is much cozier!

Along the Parks Highway - Another Alaskan Google Maps Painting

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

Sold

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!

Roadside Creek, Alaska - Daily Oil Painting

Roadside Creek, Alaska - 6x6 - Oil on Panel 

Sold

A view I found on Google Maps! I was surprised at how big a "creek" could be, I'd be virtually driving along and think "What a cool river!" then checking it's name realize it's a creek. Maybe I'm just easily impressed!

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!

Last Light on Teanaway Ridge

Last Light on Teanaway Ridge - 5x7 - Oil on Ampersand Gessobord

My friends, this month has been a lesson in the power of inertia. I've been working on some larger pieces, and planned on posting a few paintings a week here, but good habits, like posting daily, are much easier to lose than bad ones, like eating one's body weight in ice cream!

But on with the art! I really like the proportions of a 5x7 painting, it's a nice medium width; not too long, not too square. This painting captures the last rays on Teanaway Ridge outside of Cle Elum, Wa. The ridge has a very distinctive shape, providing a great backdrop for the  vast range lands in the Teanaway Valley.

Road to the Wallowas - Eastern Oregon Eagle Cap Painting

Road to the Wallowas - 5x7 - Landscape

Despite not even visiting yet, Joseph, Oregon, is on my short list of places I could see living. It's temptingly located close to the Imnaha River Valley (another spot I'd like to see in person), Hell's Canyon, the Blue Mountains and the Wallowa Mountains! That's a lot of painting material. Seeing as I can't stand the cold, however, summer trips to the area may have to suffice!

This painting was painted from Google Maps Street View, there are some gorgeous mountain views in HD around the Joseph/Enterprise, Oregon, area!

Clouds over Chinook Pass

Clouds Over Chinook Pass • Oil on Panel • 6x6

My husband described this painting as "a bit loose," which in his language means a little more abstract than is his preference. But to each their own! I was fascinated while taking my virtual trip over Chinook Pass by the interesting patterns made by the cloud shadows, only letting the sun occasionally peak through. I thought the shapes should take center stage, keeping the whole thing a bit more abstract than my usual work.