I've been painting in the studio lately trying to get ready for Arts in the Woods coming up November 12,13 and 14th. the studio will be decked out with great artwork and there will be a Jazz Canvas on Saturday night so if you live in the area mark your calender!
This is a studio painting done from images I took while plein air painting in Falls View Canyon. It will be the last in my "Cascade" series and is on display with my other plein air paintings of the Quilcene and Elwha rivers, at Alki Arts in West Seattle. If you get a chance to get over to Alki beach , check into the beautiful new space that Diane Venti has turned into a vibrant community arts center and gallery.
From the images I took at Clear Lake during Camp High Rock. These are the row boats that the kids got to take out on the lake....They had so much fun! I was inspired by the morning light and the reflections in the mirror surface of the water.
Searching Bainbridge Island for a good painting location I ended up at my friend and fellow painter, Claudia McKinstry's house. This is the inviting entry way to the front door. Delicious smells seem to always be coming from the kitchen. Thanks for letting me hang out Claudia!
As a warm-up, diversionary excercise I quickly blocked in this small painting from a discarded image on my desk. Funny how these studies can often times be the freshest and most interesting work.
The next day everyone exited the camp ground and I was able to park my van close to this spot on the Elwha and try a 12 x 16. My goal was to get the distant mountain to fade in the distance and also to render the reflection of the trees in the moving water. It's tricky because not only does the water reflect the light from the trees but also the light hitting the bottom of the shallow rapids.
After the Quilcene trip I camped over night in the Elwha river valley at Altair campground. I found out it is a destination for extreme kayakers! I did this 8x10 the first night after a lot of scouting around for good painting spots.
The second painting that I did of the Big Quilcene river in Falls View Canyon
I had my trusty back pack easel set up literally in the river at the base of this cascade. A beautiful spot!....But lots of mosquitoes!!....Good thing I had the bug spray that I took to Africa with me!!....100% Deet....the only way to go!
I'm still behind in my posting because I have been spending a lot of time in the field PA painting while the weather holds. That includes a lot of hiking down into river valleys and canyons. I'm hoping to be able to translate these small studies into larger studio paintings this winter. My easel was literally set up in the river for this one!
I have received two commissions from the new gallery, Alki Arts for a client. One of the Quilcene river and one of the Elwha. Monday I drove to Quilcene and set up down by a nice little bend of the river and did this 9x12 painting....later on in the day I found out from a local that I had painted the Little Quil. river, so I headed back out to scout a spot on the Big Quil.
The Little Quilcene River.
