Colorado River Shores

Colorado River Shores - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

This little scene comes to you via Google Streetview! I loved the variety of colors in the big shadow on the rocks, even though it's sandstone it reminded me of the basalt formations we have here in the Inland Northwest.

Yellowstone Bend

Yellowstone Bend - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

Click to Bid

I really loved this scene, and I wanted to challenge myself to a painting with no sky. It's very hard! I'll have to find more scenes to practice this design.

January Skies

January Skies - Oil on Linen Panel - 6x8

Click Here to Bid

It's been a fun experience returning to the same (or nearby) location daily for a painting. The weather here has gotten chilly, grey, and foggy, which leaves me wishing for the sunny days I painted last week!

Sauvie Island Inlet

Sauvie Island Inlet - Oil on Linen Panel - 6x8

Click to Bid

I was in Portland for the weekend, so I decided I should see for myself what all the hubbub was about concerning this Sauvie Island I keep hearing about! It's definitely a gorgeous area, I wish I could have spent more time exploring!

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. =)

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!

Down the Gorge II - Columbia River Painting

Down the Gorge II - Oil - Landscape - 6x6

Sold

No amount of expressive brushwork seems to be able to capture the chilling wind I felt at the top of the Rowena Crest when I drove along US 30, the Historic Columbia River Highway. But I tried anyway!

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!

Evening's Approach - Small landscape Oil Painting

Evening's Approach - Oil on Canvas Panel - 6x8

Sold

It's apparent that the days are getting shorter; my plein air paintings seem to have a theme of the last light it's physically possible to paint  in! I loved the seeming glow of the rabbit brush with the dusky desert purples I stumbled across while walking along the Columbia River at Columbia Point Park in Richland. Honestly, my favorite detail in this one is the distant radio towers crowning Badger Mountain. Often I leave them out, but I thought they added a little man made intrusion to remind the viewer that this lovely little park is really in the middle of a city.

Grays Bay Grey Day - Coastal Washington Pacific Northwest Painting

Grays Bay Grey Day - Landscape - 6x6

While driving home from Ocean Park, WA, I snapped a couple photos from the four mile long Astoria Bridge spanning the Columbia River. This little painting is the result of one of them! I *think* Grays Bat is just between the foreground land mass and the distant coastal mountains, though if someone from the area has a better idea of the name/place I'd defer to them! It does make for a catchy title at least. =)

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!

Road with a View - Alaskan Landscape Painting

Road with a View - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

Sold

Yet another work from my Google Maps Alaskan Adventure, what a beautiful state! I get the feeling if I ever drove through Alaska in real life, I may never leave.

A note to my collectors:

I will be unable to ship paintings that are won from August 2-5. I'll be on the road painting, and hopefully will be able to post new paintings, but shipping won't be possible. Those auctions completed before the 2nd or after the 5th will be shipped on time!

Yakima River Bend - Eastern Washington Landscape Painting

Yakima River Bend - 6x6 - Oil on Panel - Landscape

Click to Purchase

I had the best Saturday imaginable. I made a quick drive up to Cle Elum to pick up my paintings from the High Country Artist's Fresh Air Festival Exhibit to find that one painting had sold to a couple from Washington DC, and I had the opportunity to meet them! An artist doesn't often get the opportunity to meet the buyer from a show, so I feel very lucky. 

So I drove home with two of the three paintings, and took the scenic route. While driving through the winding Yakima River corridor I stopped and painted a few 6x6 plein air paintings that turned out really well! Great day over all. 

Around the Bend - Plein air oil painting

River Bend - 8x10 - Landscape - Oil on Canvas Board

A simple, quiet day along the Columbia River in the Tri-Cities. Rattlesnake Mountain is a continuous presence here, so it makes an appearance in many of my plein air works! Thankfully the interesting contours are constantly presenting new challenges to capture.

Road to the Grande Ronde

Road to the Grande Ronde - Oil on Panel - 6x6

This Google Street View tour was conducted a little closer to home. The Grand Ronde River has the craziest loop-de-loop path as it cuts through the Blue Mountains, and there is an amazing road that starts high at the top of a ridgeline and winds down, down, down into the Grande Ronde Valley. The switchbacks made me dizzy, even through the screen!

Alaskan Roadside - Small Landscape Painting - Oil on Panel

Alaskan Roadside - Oil - 6x6 - Landscape

Sold

 What would you give for this to be along your daily commute? I caught this view through Google Maps Street View while "driving" through Alaska, and was blown away! Don't get me wrong, here in Washington we have some great views, but WOW! If you have a minute or two (or an hour) you should consider spending some time in Street View in Alaska. I'm about ready to book my plain ticket!

Thompson River View II - Canadian Landscape Painting by Melanie Thompson

Thompson River View II - Oil on Panel - 6x6 - Landscape

Sold

Here's the Thompson River again, from a slightly different perspective. Again, the clouds just cast these amazing shadows, it was really fun to capture the lighting.