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!

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.

Cove of Caves

Cove of Caves - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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Another from Arches National Park! Courtesy of Google Maps Streetview, of course.

Oregon Juniper - Day 8, 30 in 30

Oregon Juniper - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

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Well, with the mandarins gone I needed to move on to a new subject. I was listening (for probably the 5th time) to my audiobook version of Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey and was struck by the passage about wanting to study a single juniper tree for a lifetime. It made me remember driving through the sage and juniper filled area east of Bend, Oregon.

So I "drove" around on Highway 26 on Google Maps Streetview, and found not only some amazing juniper stands but some outstanding clouds too!

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!

Kittitas Sage

Kittitas Sage - 5x7 - Oil on Canvas Panel

A warm and sunny day in the Kittitas Valley! There's something about fields of sage and distant hills that get me every time.

Rattlesnake Hills

Rattlesnake Hills - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

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The past week has been insanely hot, so I took that as a great excuse to go through my many photos taken on road trips. This field of sagebrush in the late afternoon light grabbed me, I loved the blue shadows on the hillside!

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!

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.

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!

Along 89 II

Along 89 II - Oil on Panel - 2.5 x 3.5

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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! 

Along 89 I - Tiny Utah Landscape Painting

Along 89 - Oil on Panel - 2.5 x 3.5

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This one is tinier than usual! It looks perfect on one of those tiny little easels you find at craft stores. I've been  really interested in clouds lately, and these little ACEO size paintings are perfect for doing quick studies to capture their essence.

Snow and Sage, Utah

Snow and Sage,  Utah - 6x6 - Oil on Panel

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I'm very excited to finally start working from the amazing photographs I took while driving through Arizona and Utah. Not that my photography skills are anything to brag about, but driving through that scenery, it's hard NOT to take a good picture!

We were rolling north along Highway 15, the sun was creeping down and casting the most beautiful light on what I believe, in checking maps after the fact, was the Pahvant Range. We had a great view of them, I only wish the sunlight had lasted long enough to get a view of the Wasatch. Maybe next time?

Winter Path

A Winter Path - 5x7 - Oil on Panel

Well, it looks like my winter denial could only last as long as my stash of summer photos, and that's been running dry. So I'm facing reality and painting some winter scenes straight from the shrub steppe of Washington!