A REALLY COOL PLACE

12X16 oil. This needs a bird or two, or a seal, or even a penguin or two. In actual fact I was trying to paint one of those slightly foggy, misty days where the sky and the sea are just about the same color and the land is barely visible. There are lots of days like that around here, and I find it magical. However, because the paint was really thick this is what happened, but I like it. Maybe later I will amend it.

GATES 2

10X14 pastel. I found this paper support skulling around at the bottom of a heap of papers. I had prepared the surface with pumice and gesso, at some stage, but it is very grainy and I did not like working on the surface. However, it did stop me from being specific with the drawing and since again I was after mood and general feel it was a good thing I could not get into details.

GATES 1

12X18 pastel. This is a Bill McEnroe assignment. I wanted to keep it somewhat abstract and moody, so I chose to work in pastel for a change. I seem to have been mainly painting in oil for the last 6 months.

AUGUST PUGET SOUND

12x16 oil. Certainly enjoyed the summer painting plein air.

SOUND VIEW

IPad painting. I am experimenting with Artrage as a program. Still trying to capture this early morning view that occurs frequently.

LLAMAS AGAIN

I needed to make the bottom part of the painting to be more of a continuation of the top part. I think it is an improvement of the painting I posted before.

WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT IS THAT DOG DOING HERE

12X16 oil. My Tuesday group painted at Patty's Holly Lane Farm this week. This place is an inspiration as is the owner. She is in her 70's (I don't think she would mind my saying that), the farm is 9 acres. She has a B&B, caters and hosts wedding receptions, sells eggs and her breads at the Farmer's Market, is mother to chickens, ducks, geese and llamas, grows veggies and flowers and it exhausts me to think about it. Wonderful morning we had there, and and such fun to listen to the stories.

My title is what the llamas are saying!

DABOB BAY, SILVERDALE

12x16 oil An alternative title could have been Waiting for the Car to be Serviced, because this is what Donna Trent and I did before lunch. I might add that we had a really good lunch at The Mediteranian Restaurant near Trader Joe's.

FISH PARK IN POULSBO WA

12X16 oil. Mostly painted with a palette knife again. I am taking the photo with my IPad. Not sure if they reproduce as well as my camera but on the IPad the image is rich. I am also playing with a painting program called Artrage on my IPad and am finding it fun and another challenge.

BARN AGAIN

12X16 oil. Another lovely sunny day. I have been painting on YES pad pages but now I have found YES panels which is the same triple primed cotton but on a board. Much easier to transport and still inexpensive. May not be archival.

JERILYN'S FARM

12X16 oil. Tuesday painters were invited to paint at Jerilyn's farm And what a treat. As well as being so very welcoming and delightful, she served us coffee on a tray, with a cloth, in the barn. We are going back next week and actually have been invited to paint whenever we would like to.
My painting was done almost exclusively, with a palette knife.

KUENER'S IN SPRING?

16x20 oil. This is based on an Andrew Wyeth's painting at Kuerner's imagining how it might have looked in early spring.

LOW, LOW TIDE AT PORT BLAKELY

12X16 oil. Another lovely sunny day. It is hard to imagine that 3 masted schooners were built in this harbor in 1881. In the next 22 years 77 vessels were built and the Hall Brothers employed  50-70 men with payrolls amounting to more than $10,000 per month. There is a small holding pool behind the walls on the right side of my painting. At high tide lumber could be floated into the harbor and kept in the holding pond until needed.

LOW ,LOW TIDE AT FAY BAINBRIDGE

12X16 oil. Sunshine at last. This was an extra special painting day because Simon, my grandson from Virginia came painting with me.

SUN MOUNTAIN, WINTHROP, WA

16X20 Oil. This is actually a view from Sun Mountain Resort near Winthrop. Many painters from Plein Air Washington were already painting there when we drove up for the first time. Wonderful place for walks and painting.

LAKE CHELAN 2

11X14 very quick oil pastel study.

LAKE CHELAN WA

11X14 Oil pastel. I took my daughter and son to Eastern Washington this June. We took the North Cascade Loop and stopped off at Lake Chelan on our way home.

BEACH IN OREGON

9X12 Oil. Donna and I drove back from Sonoma CA along the coast . The Oregon beaches are open and just gorgeous. Dog Mangus needed a good run so I did a value drawing on the canvas, and painted it later in the studio. Transporting wet oil paintings in a car  with 2 people a large dog, food, warm and cool clothes, and painting gear, is tricky.

SONOMA VINEYARD 2

16X20 Oil. Another plein air painting in Sonoma. I can see I shall have to do something about the two prominent posts in the middle.

SONOMA VINEYARD

16X20 Oil. My lovely painting friend Donna Trent and I took a trip down to Sonoma CA in May. We visited her sister, painted in wineries, and soaked up some warmth and sunshine and generally had a great time. And of course, we sampled quite a bit while we were there.

VICHITRA VINA

12X16 Oil. Another portrait for the assignment. This is an unusual Indian instrument played a musician sitting on the floor. I gather they don't make this instrument any more. The round things that look like clumsy wheels are supposed to be decorated gourds. The rest of it is wood. I guess that there are 6 strings that are tuned at the tail end, and can be played like a slide guitar, using a smooth stone. There are 12 strings which are tuned by the nobs on the side, and are plucked. Wish I could hear it played.

INDIAN GUITAR

8X11 Oil pastel. This was a Bill Mcenroe assignment. A portrait of a musical instrument. Sitting in the gallery in Seattle, waiting for people to come in, is very boring. I may have said this before. Anyway. sketch book and oil pastels help pass the time. This instrument should be taller, but never mind. The bright colors are supposed to represent sound.

PARK IN UK

Pastel, 16x20. This was a demo I did for my recent pastel class through Bainbridge Parks and Rec.

DARRELL

Oil 12"x16". This is my first plein air painting this year. Darrell Anderson, wonderful painter and friend, and I decided to ignore the cold and go to the beach to paint. He spent a very few minutes deciding what to paint and away he went. I, on the other hand, walked round in circles, couldn't find any inspiration and decided Darrell was it. Once I had started, of course, it was fun and exciting. You can't tell from the photograph but the paint is very thick and mainly applied with a palette knife. Could do with some more dabs here and there, but I will wait until the paint is dry.

SPRING AGAIN

Oil painting 16"x20". I have just returned from a great trip to England to see family and friends. Springtime and wonderful Gardens and Exhibits etc etc. This painting is based on my experiences.