"Market Lights" Seattle city scenes, urban landscape

Okay, Wow! It's been a busy month!  We took two weeks to go back to Ohio, where we picked up a van that our folks gave us and then drove it back across the Trans Canadian highway, stopping to camp for five days in Banff..The country we traveled through was spectacular and I can't wait to get started on some larger canvases from the pics and sketches that I made there!
  Next week we take off again for camp High Rock, a summer camp for kids off the Yakima reservation in eastern Washington . This will be our fifth year serving as camp counselors along with folks from our church, Liberty Bay Pres., Harrah community church and Sacred Road ministry.
  Finally, please come to my solo show, opening this Friday, 7/1/2011 at the Directors Gallery on Bainbridge Island . I will be there from 6:00pm till 8:00pm and would love to say hi if you are in the area.Winslow Way is still pretty torn up from road construction but there is a really nice outside sitting area right by the gallery and the weather is looking good!! Yea!
 See ya there and thanks for supporting In Plein Air!!  

16x20 oil on canvas  sold

"The Argosy" Seattle waterfront, oil painting

It is getting close to "Show Time" folks!!! If you would like to see this work up close and personal.....and maybe even take it home to hang over your fire place...come on over to the Directors Gallery on Bainbridge Island the first week of July.....I will be at the gallery for the first Friday art walk and would love to meet you!
The gallery will be full of my recent original paintings of Seattle and the surrounding regions of the Pacific Northwest.
16x20 oil on canvas  sold

"Sunset over Elliot Bay" Washington state ferries, marine landscape

Not too many ferry paintings make it to my easel....but I just had to try and capture this dramatic sunset over Elliot bay.....the ferry gave it that sense of interest and location.
12x9 oil on canvas  sold

"Flower Barn" Skagit Co. tulip festival, oil landscape painting

I found one more painting of the Tulip Festival that I forgot to post......Here it is!....I like the way that the mountains were rendered in the back ground ...but when I showed it to my wife, she said "nice clouds honey"...At least they receded into the distance the way I wanted...
14x11 oil on canvas panel   sold

"Apple Blossoms and Garden Chairs" oil landscape painting

This painting was inspired by the view outside my window at the Knowles Studio. I had been watching the apple trees blossoming and wishing to paint them but every time I got the chance, it would cloud up and rain...or hail...or snow...or drizzle..or blow a gale....Sheesh!  What a spring we have had!...Any how, I finally turned my easel around and painted the garden chairs under the apple tree... that no longer had blossoms...... but I remembered them...I painted these same garden chairs last year, en plein air......when we had much nicer spring weather..
12x36 oil on canvas

"Home Pasture" cows in the landscape, oil painting..

One more for the cows!! This time I combined some of the images that I took in LaConnor ...Using an old barn from one pic, the pasture from another and one of my sketches of the cows, I was able to put this composition together.....I think it could go bigger...=]
6x8 oil on panel sold

By the way, if your wondering why I am not offering these little paintings for auction it is because I am saving some work for my solo show at the Directors Gallery in July . I hope you can make it for the opening, First Friday Artwalk in July!.. There will also be larger recent work!....  I will start with the auctions again after the show....

I keep thinking of more things to say....Publish, edit...publish, edit...you know the routine....But....I wanted to add that my friend and fellow plein air painter, Darrell Anderson...(actually he is a much more dedicated PA painter than me!) will be offering a painting give-away on his blog and all you have to do is comment to enter!! The more comments the better your chances....Great idea !
8x6 oil on panel  sold

"LaConnor Cows" cows in the landscape, oil painting

This is the second small painting that I did of the cows in this pasture....trying to capture the spring green of the grass and contrast of the cows grazing.
8x6 oil on panel sold

"Skagit Cows" oil landscape with cows

   

Cows are endlessly fascinating subjects for me to paint...especially the Holsteins with their black and white markings. I jerked the truck over to the side of the road at the end of the day when the light was saturating the colors to capture these guys.

8x6 oil on panel sold

"Tulip Girl" Skagit county tulip festival

"Tulip Girl" 6x8 oil on panel  sold

This is the same little girl that was in Sea of Color..She was having a blast in the fields of flowers and so full of joy!  It was fun trying to capture her Happy Dance..=]
6x8 oil on panel

"Daffodil Farm" Skagit county tulip fields.

I loved the profile of this massive barn with the daffodil fields in the forground and the mountains behind.

10x6 oil on panel.  sold

"Sea of color" La Connor, tulip festival , figurative oil painting

At the Tulip Festival in La Connor the kids were loving the colorful flowers(especially the girls..=]) They seemed to be floating on a Sea of color and the mom's were having a tough time getting them to come out! No one was supposed to walk between the rows.......but how could you resist!!
This painting will be offered on Daily Paintworks auction. Click HERE if you would like to bid on this painting.   10x6 oil on panel

"Tulip Time" figurative,flower oil painting

Thanks to my Main Motivator I was able to scoot over to Skagit county and catch the last of the tulips before the season was over. We have had a very long winter and wet spring so the sunny days have been few....I managed to catch one and spent the whole day loitering around the fields, snapping candid shots of the folks and kids tip- toeing in the tulips....=]  Enjoy!

12x12 oil on canvas

"Brothers" figurative oil painting

Not sure if these guys are brothers....but they are "Brothers"....hence the title of this painting.....I get the sense that the older guy may be a mentor for the younger but I don't know their story ....I just enjoy documenting with paint the faces and places that I encounter on my travels around the Pacific Northwest.
8x6 oil on panel

"Water Jewel" water lilly painting

I painted this little study a few weeks ago as a warm up painting . I am trying to get all the little paintings that I have neglected posting, on to my blog before I start posting a new series of paintings done from a trip to the tulip fields in Skagit county.......It's amazing how much orange, yellow and red  there is in most greens!
 I think I will try the Daily Paintworks Auction with this painting.  If you are interested in bidding on this painting you may do so by clicking..... here .....=]...and Thank you for your support!
8x10 oil on panel

"Port of Seattle" Seattle city scenes, marine scape oil painting

This is the view of the Port of Seattle and Elliot bay that you would get crossing over by ferry from Bainbridge Is. I have entered this painting in the Edmonds juried art exhibition and hopefully it will be accepted. I patiently await notification....okay, maybe not so patiently....
22x29 oil on canvas    sold

"Stand in the Light" Seattle city scenes, urban landscape

I am jazzed to announce that I will be having a solo show at the Directors Gallery on Bainbridge Island in July!  The show will be called Stand in the Light and this is one of my recent paintings that will be in the show. I will be sending out reminders as time gets closer.....If you are in the area come on down to the gallery on the First Friday Art Walk in July and meet me!
18x36 oil on canvas  sold

"Sleet Storm" oil landscape painting, Poulsbo, Washington

This was  the scene a week ago on my way home from work.......just before the sun popped out!..What a wild and wet spring we are having in the Pacific Northwest!  I am just very thankful ...No tornadoes, earthquakes,tsunamis, or other real catastrophes!  My prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones and are trying to get their lives back together after all the recent natural disasters.
 I have submitted my painting "D is for Daisy"  to the Daily Paint Works, Japan challenge...The proceeds will go to the Japan Red Cross you can bid on the painting here. 
 Also, I am happy and honored to be invited to join the fine artists at DPW!  Thank you David and Carol Marine!

"Lime Kiln Lighthouse" San Juan Island, lighthouse oil painting

I have painted this lighthouse many times. Last summer I spent several days in the San Juan Islands plein air painting.......I grabbed this photo out of the archives for a little warm up study . It was done on linen rag paper, a fun surface to work on but the paper really absorbs the paint at first.
 The weather is finally getting nicer, so I will be going out to paint soon.....Can't wait!
12x9 oil on linen paper.

"City Bus" Seattle city scenes, urban oil painting

I am posting this painting mainly to get some input on what folks think about it....I haven't decided yet if it is finished. It is often a struggle for me to know when a painting is completed. I have made mistakes and ruined paintings by overworking them before....on the other hand I have given paintings the spark that takes them over the edge of mediocrity by going in one more time with another layer of paint....I like this paining a lot and don't want to lose it....yet I also don't want to wimp out and miss the opportunity to achieve a really great work......The artists dilemma!
24x24 oil on canvas sold

"Capturing Post Alley" Seattle city scenes, urban oil painting

I keep coming back to this alley in Seattle...On the left is the famous "Gum Wall"......decades of chewing gum stuck to the brick wall , on the right, the Alibi Room....It is an easy short cut if your coming from the ferry and walking up to the Pike Place market.

"Midnight Coffee" Seattle city scenes, urban oil painting,

Folks in Seattle love their coffee!  They drink it all day .....even in the middle of the night....I'm back to painting city scenes. Enjoy! .....with a cup of coffee!  Lets see....Starbucks or Tulleys or Seattle's Best or..................=]


9x12 oil on canvas  sold

"The Hansville Truck" truck oil painting, Hansville, Washington

I love painting old trucks!.....I have painted this one before(here)....It sits like a sculpture by the store in Hansville...For those of you who are not from around here, there is only one store in Hansville.....Right across from the church...For a long time Hansville has been the same sleepy little northwest town ...it's claim to fame, the Point no Point lighthouse.....But...things are changing ...and I hear of some big development plans for the area.....This truck will probably not be there for long.....
8x6 oil on panel   sold

"The Ajax Cafe" Port Hadlock, Washington state, oil marine scape painting

This view of the Ajax Cafe in Port Hadlock is from across the bay at the Hadlock Hotel....Ann and I were visiting The gallery there on our way to Port Townsend.  The Ajax is the smaller yellow building. The other building close to the water is a wooden boat building school....The whole area has lots of interesting possibilities for painting!

14x11 oil on canvas  sold

"Approaching Seneca Street" Seattle city scenes, urban landscape

For some reason this painting got passed over in my posting....I painted it several months ago and was satisfied with the results...The reason I am posting it today is that it sold yesterday!  The gallery that represents me in West Seattle is Alki Arts...The owners, Tom and Diane, alert their clients that follow my work when I am coming in with new paintings and some were there to meet me!...I sold three paintings as Ann and I were standing there talking with folks.....I feel very blessed to have faithful collectors and followers of my work and that includes you all!..Thank you for your support! ... I love my job!!

18x36 oil on canvas   sold

"For Sale" trucks in winter landscape oil painting

There is farmer who likes to sell old cars in his field near our home....They are usually there for quite awhile before they sell......I saw the trucks and mentioned them to my wife who then stopped and took some pictures during a brief snow......They were great!!....I did this 9x12 oil on linen paper from the pics...Two weeks later they were gone!....Click here to see another painting I did of a car in this field.