EARLY MORNING ON A HOOD RIVER RANCH, Pacific Northwest Plein Air Competition, Day 2

Morning Aspen Shadows, oil on panel, 16 x 12
(This painting isn't as dark as it appears in this photo.)

August 31.  At the private residence where we've been invited to paint for the day, it's already warm, and the dry grasses glow in the low-angle sunlight.  Shadows on the barns are changing fast, and the house is already emerging into sunlight from its protective grove of trees.  As I make my way across the field, I hear a burbling sound, brief, but repeating.  Behind a group of pines is a spring, surging with bubbles, then subsiding.  Spreading water trails across the field, evident in green swathes of grass.  I round the spring and set up in the shade of some aspen.  Everything here depends on the chance location of water.

CLOUDS, Pacific Northwest Plein Air Competition, Day 1

West Hills Clouds, 9 x 12 oil

Sally O'Neill and I move into the house we will be renting for the duration of the competition.  We have a vinyard across the street!  Late afternoon treats us to this cloud view.

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SUNFLOWERS IN HOOD RIVER, Pacific Northwest Plein Air Competiton, Day 1

Sunflowers Against the Hills, 12 x 9 oil

How fun to see all the familiar faces at the Gorge White House.  I really enjoy painting in the company of all the plein air folk.  The flowers on the farm are in rare form, rows and rows of Dahlias, gladiolas, and tall, rangey sunflowers.  Energy is high, and it's a delight to see what everyone is painting.  Don't miss the show, at the Columbia Center for the Arts, through Sept. 29.

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LILACS AND ROSES

Lilacs and Roses, 24 x 24 oil on canvas

A rare, for me, still life, painted in Sally O'Neill's flower painting workshop.... Outdoors in the sun!
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EUGENE

Eugene, oil on panel 9 x 12

After a really long drive yesterday, I have once again gotten up early to drive to a paint-out competition.  This view from Skinner's butte is my afternoon painting, looking down on the downtown area of Eugene.  It's a hot day, barely tolerable from under my umbrella, with the sun reflecting off the pavement of the parking lot.  Two years ago when I visited Eugene, the town looked discouraged.  Now it is waking up, with fresh activities downtown, and a really great community effort in putting on this art competition.
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MT HOOD DAWN

Mt. Hood Dawn
Oil on Panel, 16 x 12

What is it about morning light?  There is a fine mist in the valley, and the rising sun glistens on the Sandy River.  It's a day for visitors.  Several people stop by and watch us paint.  Another artist stops by and shares her portfolio.  Walkers, joggers, even people having breakfast in transit.  All of them leave us in just a few minutes.  Painting is such a great way to spend more time, really experiencing a place.

MT HOOD FROM JONSRUD VIEWPOINT

MOUNTAIN MORNING, 6 x 8 oil

I never get tired of this viewpoint.  As the morning wears on, the snowfields on Mt. Hood emerge out of the shadows.  It is quiet in the valley, with just a hint of river sound, like the echo of a distant highway.