Paintings

On This Blue and Yellow Day 7.5x14

On this day nothing will obscure the blue sky and the yellow fields of grain ready for harvest. On this day the sky will always be a beautiful blue, the remaining autumn yellow leaves will hang forever in the trees and never fall, and the fields will provide more than enough wheat and bread for the children. On this day the air is quiet except for the songs of nearby birds and a breeze rustling the leaves. On this day no bombs will fall, no land mines will pock mark the fields. On this day it will always be a blue and yellow day.

First Snow 6x11

There is something about the first snow of the season that inspires me to paint. The colors of the scene lie on the snow like colors on a fresh sheet of watercolor paper. I had just returned home from hiking the field and I sat down and painted the scenes from memory, a method of drawing and painting that I enjoy very much. It forces me to observe and remember as best I can, to think about why I like a particular scene, and it frees me from being too literal.

First Snow, Crows Over a Winter Field

Mount Shuksan Trail 22x30

Back Country 14x21

Some days are blue days. For a few short minutes the sun came out and the brightest snowy areas took on a bit of golden yellow. A few minutes later clouds and swirling snow moved in and Shuksan disappeared.

Study Location of Back Country 14x21

My son came upon this vantage point and said I should paint it. A wild, dramatic and beautiful scene.

Baker Mountain Valley 13x28

The Fleeting Season, Skyline Divide, North Cascades 15x22

It was the end of June when we made this hike. Green alpine grasses and yellow glacier lilies greeted us at the top of one knoll after hiking through snow for much of the morning. The lilies were almost as cheerful looking as my grandson.

The growing season is short, or fleeting, in the alpine, and plants and animals have learned to be opportunistic. I tried to be opportunistic and looked for painting possibilities.

Immortal Days 29x21

Crested Butte, with its distinctive peak, enjoys the last of the day's sunshine. The old wooden ice axe hangs on the wall, nicked and gashed but still strong and always ready. It is, perhaps, content now just to recall and cherish days gone by.

Detail of Immortal Days

Off Highway 61 21x29

Detail of Off Highway 61 21x29

A short walk down from the car to stretch the legs, and this view presented itself. The north shore of Lake Superior on this day was calm but unsettled. Most of the fresh snow here will soon be replaced with thick ice covering the ancient dark basalt shoreline when the wind picks up and the big waves begin crashing. But at the moment the water slowly rises and falls, almost as if it is a living and breathing creature biding its time.

A Fine Line, Baptism River, North Shore 14x10

The Baptism River flows through the steep wooded hills alongside Lake Superior and eventually finds the water along the north shore.

I'm not sure how this river got it's name but I can imagine that more than one unlucky French voyageur and fur trader stepped through a thin layer of ice and into the fast flowing water below. Eventually, pioneers living near the river began using its water for religious baptisms.

Beyond Sucia 10x7

Sucia is one of the most northern of the Outer San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. Given the name by Spanish Explorers in the late 1700's when they came upon the island, it would seem that they didn't appreciate the many reefs and sharp rocks surrounding it. Sucia translates in Spanish to something foul or nasty.

From an aesthetic standpoint it is a beautiful island to explore and admire.

Island Girl and Her Dog 10x14

Early Morning On Sucia Island

The cerulean blue color glowed and hung in the morning air as if waiting to be painted.

Sea to Sky 14x29

Detail of Sea to Sky 14x29

My wife and I were on a ferry headed to one of the islands on the Puget Sound when we saw this sailboat off the starboard rail. The scene was a Pacific Northwest 'sea to sky' moment for us.

Pacific Coast Morning 10.5x14

I had walked by the shoreline vegetation many times while looking for the 'big' painting. On this day the shoreline plants that protect the coast caught my attention and I tried to make them front and center.

The Spit 10.5x21.5

This was another painting that I did from memory. We had hiked along this spit in northwest Washington, and while I didn't have any painting or drawing supplies with me I enjoyed letting the scenery soak in. I consider this a sketch but I thought it was able to stand on its own as a 'painting'.

Ebb and Flow, Cape Flattery 10 x 10

Cape Flattery

Cape Flattery Trees

Cape Flattery, on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State, is as far northwest as you can get in the lower 48 of the United States. Home to the Makah Tribe, it is a beautiful part of the world jutting out into the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Headland Face 5.5x13

The Headland 3.5x14.5

Detail of The Headland 3.5x14.5

The rough and ready Headland Face sketch has become one of my personal favorites. Like many of my sketches these were put away and more or less forgotten. I looked at them a few months later with 'fresh' eyes and liked what I saw. Of course, that's not always the case. Sometimes a new painting that I think is a winner does not age well, even with fresh eyes.

Above Bowman Bay at Deception Pass 6.5x9.5

The hiking trail between Rosario Head and around Bowman Bay on Fidalgo Island is one of my favorites. Spectacular views are around every turn. Deception Pass and Whidbey Island are just to the south.

Above Bowman Bay 6.5x9.5

Morning Calm, Bowman Bay 5.5x12.5

White Pines and Wildflowers, Lake Michigan 10x7

A stand of big Eastern White Pines, one of my favorite tree species, grows on a hillside overlooking Lake Michigan on the Door County Peninsula in Wisconsin.

Pioneer Farm Field, Door County

It was hard to decide if this was a rock pile or a stone wall. It was probably a way to rid the field of random stones, a constant chore to clear out for the pioneer farmer.

Cathedral Stained Glass, 7x10

These two 'Cathedral' paintings were done at a forgotten Christmas tree farm. Neglected and forgotten, the farm still seemed to be trying to find some beauty and dignity to share with me. I talk a little more about the farm and the paintings that came from it at "Process" on the top of the Home page.

Cathedral 14x21

Winter Crown 10x14

I used to pull our boys on a sled through these woods when they were little. We usually stopped at this knoll for a break and to watch the cars and big trucks zoom by. There was much standing in the sled box with finger-pointing and enthusiastic bursts of "Bee Ott!" (Big Truck!)

Blue Canoe and Winter Rest 10x14

One of my favorite paintings, "The Blue Boat", by Winslow Homer, is a watercolor showing a couple of men paddling a blue canoe somewhere in the Adirondacks. The intense blues and greens on a sunny day burst out in that beautiful painting. In contrast, I came across this canoe on a very cold and seemingly colorless day. I looked at the canoe for a few minutes and began to see subtle colors that I had missed at first, starting with the soft blue on the canoe reflecting the bluish gray sky above. That canoe would be on the water again soon I hoped, enjoying the colors of a summer or fall day. But for now it was a time for rest.

Maple Grove 9.5x10

Roddy

Headed Home 14x10

Late Winter Awakening 5x13

My wife and I were at a motel in northern Minnesota and this was the view from our window. I had a few painting supplies with and decided to do some sketches while sitting at the table. It was late winter, still cold enough outside that day to make the snow sound like styrofoam when walked on, but this pine seemed oblivious to the cold and seemed to almost relish its circumstances. It was a beautiful tree, not in a perfectly sheared Christmas tree sort of way, but beautiful in a strong and determined way.

Winter Pine 5x7.5

Night On Bald Mountain

The feeling on this evening had, to my mind, a kind of Peer Gynt quality to it. Shadows with exagerated forms stretched across the snow and outcroppings, wind whistled through the tree needles and the bright moon light would flicker on and off like a faulty ceiling lamp from the clouds above. If there was a night for trolls causing mischief it would have been tonight.

Goodnight Sacagawea, Bridger Range, Montana 6.5x7.5

Wedding Flowers

One of my favorite paintings, Wedding Flowers represents all good things on that special day.

Basket & Butter Churn

My father-in-law was a woodworker in his retirement years and he built these two pieces. My mother-in-law is an artist and painted the basket.

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