Summer Haze

Summer Haze - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

It's always nice during a plein air painting session when you know exactly what you love about a scene. I loved the way the backlit cottonwood glowed against the hazy, dusty purple hills. 

Heat of the Day

Heat of the Day - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

I had a fantastic day out painting with a couple other painters today, we braved the outdoors despite predictions of temperatures in the 100s. Definitely worth it!

McNary Summer

McNary Summer - 6x6 - Oil on Gessobord

This was a great little wetland area on the outskirts of town. As I drove out to the spot I wanted to paint on a summer morning I was looking forward to painting the hazy light, but as I started working the haze moved off and left a blinding, hot sun. It was still beautiful!

Rural Greys

Rural Greys - Oil on Linen Panel - 4x6

This stately Russian Olive caught my eye while I drove through the countryside on a grey afternoon!

Cottonwoods at Dusk

Cottonwoods at Dusk - 4x6 - Oil on Linen Panel

While passing through the little eastern Oregon town of Pilot Rock I was able to snap a picture of the moon rising near a grove of cottonwoods. I knew I would want to paint the beautiful dusk glow when I got home!

Single Family Home

Single Family Home - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

More Walla Walla countryside! I'm really enjoying how the valley is changing color for the fall, and the bee boxes add just the right amount of structure to the organic shapes seen alongside the road.

Home for Bees

Home for Bees - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

 Most of the farms along the Walla Walla River don't have much bee activity right now, but the little shelters are still out in the fields catching the afternoon light in such a picturesque way!

Golden

Golden - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

Another view from my newest favorite spot! I can't get enough of these cottonwoods as they turn gold, especially since it won't be long before all the leaves are gone. Maybe I'll have to revisit these spots and paint them through the seasons!

Cottonwoods at Dusk

Cottonwoods at Dusk - Oil on linen panel - 5x7

I found a fantastic new little area to paint just outside of town! It's not really new, just a little gravel road in a wildlife area that I never took before. The cottonwoods are turning colors and dropping their leaves, but these guys were stubbornly keeping their green!

Little Cluster

Little Cluster - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

Click to Bid

OK, it's still grey and freezing cold here, so how about a little trip back into the escapist fantasy roadtrip that is Google Maps Streetview? This little cluster was near Moran, Wyoming, near the Tetons.

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.

Stand Up Tree

Stand Up Tree - Oil on Linen Panel - 5x7

Click to Bid

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 V

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

Click to Bid

Wow! After painting this tree from Google Maps Streetview I decided I should probably paint more backlit trees from life, just as soon as summer rolls around and the trees have leaves. It's definitely a tricky light to catch.

Owens Valley Cottonwoods IV

Owens Valley Cottonwoods IV - 5x7 - Oil on Linen Panel

Click to Bid

The trees just weren't enough, I had to throw in some fences to spice things up!

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!

Turning - Plein Air painting

Turning - Oil on Panel - 6x6

Click Here to Bid

During the early fall I was able to stop in the gravel parking lot of an abandoned church or schoolbuilding in the Walla Walla countryside. There was a beautiful poplar tree turning gold only on top, with its lush summer green leaves left on bottom. Pair it up with the always welcome Blue Mountain foothills and it made for an irresistible scene!

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!

Blue Day Red Barn

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

Click Here to Bid

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

Click Here to Bid

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

Click to Bid

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.