Hosmer Lake

This summer has been dotted with camping trips. Mostly to the coast and central Oregon. In July, we took our kayaks and went to Hosmer Lake in Central Oregon. I was so amazed at the beauty of this area. I set up an easel at our camp and painted. These are watercolor sketches are of the area around our campsite.

Mission State Park studies

A quick trip to Mission State Park turned out to be an opportunity to enjoy fall color and do a few quick watercolor sketches. I chose a palette of  Payne's grey, alizarin crimson and cadmium yellow. It takes a few attempts to loosen up and  enjoy the  painting process.

Inn at Proposal Rock

We stayed at the Inn at Proposal Rock on November 9th, 2014. We woke up to a surprisingly clear morning. The view was fantastic and deserved a sketch. I drew the scene form the balcony before the sun burned off the fog.

 This seagull landed on the next door deck railing. He was watching me paint, eyeballing my paintbrush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bonney Meadows in October

Bonney Meadows

Lone Tree

Recent Sketches

I have been doing some sketches lately. The sketches are of cranberry fields near Longbeach, Washington. These sketches were done from photos on my iPhone.

We spent a few days camping at Fort Stevens on the coast. Cool and overcast most of the time. I took my easel to Coffinbury Lake and did this little sketch.

We spent a few nights at little Cooper Spur Resort. I walked up to the ski resort and did this little painting of the ski runs. It was very quiet, almost spooky. No one else was around.

I am presenting these pieces as challenge to myself. A painting a day.

Watercolor sketches

I painted this from a photo, concentrating on large color patches and value. I tried to keep it loose with a limited palette. It ended up being really fun.

Limited palette

These watercolor sketches were from photos. I wanted to limit the palette and concentrate on value. The two groupings began with a palette consisting of Alizarin Crimson, Payne's Grey, Cadmium Yellow and the second group consisted of Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and Cobalt Blue. I could not help but to use a few other colors as well. The lesson and success of focusing on the limited palette is creating the greens and depth of the forest without focusing on the local color.

Powell Butte

I attended the Johnson Creek paint out at Powell Butte. The sky was hazy from the Dollar Lake fire. The hills in the back were barely visible. I painted from the top of the butte in the shade of the orchard. Hot, sunny day with deep shadows and golden fields.

Watercolor / Pastel

I am having too much fun. I picked a couple of photos and started the paintings, jumping from watercolor to pastel. Since both studies require thought as to order and application of color and value, and are opposite in process, it was both challenging  and exciting. The photos are a little washed out, but reflect the spontaneity and the intensity of color.

Snow studies

I worked on these two pieces simultaneously. I move from soft pastels and applying layers of colors to watercolor. The palette for the watercolor has been explored during the pastel painting, so I concentrate on simplicity and the transparent qualities of watercolor.

Johnson Creek

I painted Johnson Creek for the the Johnson Creek Art show. It was a really fun experience and a great feeling to be painting plein air. Nature is a challenging teacher, but you come away learning  and growing artistically.

I take a little time to explore a new palette. The oranges and yellows lend to play with complementary colors. I also wanted to challenge myself with the play of light in clouds and the interplay of warm and cool colors. The subject matter has little importance as the exploration begins.

This piece was from a photograph. What intrigued me was the opportunity to challenge and change my palette. I felt I had grown too comfortable with certain colors. I wanted the oranges and yellows. A bit of red.

Chinook

Winter Project 2 from the PPASP "Subject to Interpretations" blog.

These two pieces were from a photo off the PPASP website for a painting project. The painting on top is the first painting. After I did this painting, I questioned my palette, and felt I had chosen colors I enjoy working with rather than colors that capture the image I was painting and the season and mood I intended to convey.

This was a painting from a painting that I did. The object was to loosen up with the subject material and explore the painting process.