Roll On

Roll On
18 x 24
pastel on Wallis Museum

Flowing past my property and the subject of many of my paintings, the East Fork of the Lewis River drains into the mighty Columbia River. The water is high now with the rains and drainage, but not as high as it will get in the Spring when the melt from Mt St Helens adds to its volume.

The water you touch in a river is the last of that which has passed,
and the first of that which is coming. Thus it is with time present.

Leonardo da Vinci

Landscape with water

Tomorrow it's back to fruit!

Seriously, I feel like I'm wrestling with a pot of spaghetti noodles. Making a mess, fumbling around, thinking that I got a handle on it only to have a tangle of noodles in my hair and hanging off my sleeves!!

I hope that Thomas Kitts is having a great time in Laguna Beach, but I can hardly wait for him to get back to tell me to twirl or cut.

Tomorrow I will paint fruit again. Sigh.

On my honor, I will paint only what I love

8 x 10

Only paint what you love. That will be my new motto. I've tried to paint what others want. What my family wants. What my friends want. What the gallery owners want. The result: bad paintings and a frustrated artist.

But, when I paint what I love, the chances are much better for a good outcome. I feel excited and curious about exploring my subject. The light intrigues. The colors sing. I feel right. Intense and focused and present.

Here, again at the wildlife refuge, hearing the sandhill cranes trilling, the geese gossiping, and the mallards chuckling because they always get the joke. Yes, here I am happy. I love this place.

Days End

9 x 12

A sweet remembrance of the warmth of the sun on the watery day.

Saddlebag Island

18 x 24

As I watched the sun set, it amazed me to note how the bright light carved a "U" shape in the land surfaces. I don't recommend staring at the sun, but this phenomenon fascinated me and I couldn't help but look at it!

I feel like I've spent enough time thinking about and painting the water to process most of my feelings about falling in last month. Life events take us to unexpected places. Don't you agree?

From Dictionary.com:

Serendipity.

1.	an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

Mackaye Harbor, Lopez Island

18 x 24

Evening

Evening
18 x 24

Stuart Island again

Sunrise Thoughts
18 x 24

I awaken early to see the still water of Reid Harbor. Barely a ripple disturbs its cool surface. The sun is peering over the horizon and marking the sky with pink and peachy toned hues. Not a cloud, but the moisture in the air seems to be colored by this morning light.

The water, so bright in the distance, so deep and dark straight below me. I carry my first cup of coffee onto the bow and sit down. A folded towel keeps me dry from the dewy wet deck. And think my sunrise thoughts.

Reid Harbor

Reid Harbor, Stuart Island

Still trying to make friends with my new pastels.

July 4 Plein Air at Budd Inlet

Dock ramp is steep when the tide is out!

My set up near the Olympia Area Rowing building

Tide is Out at Budd Inlet
plein air
18x24, pastel