On the way home through the mountains near Sisters last summer, we stopped to walk through an area of forest where the pine trees were completely bare. They looked like bleached driftwood standing among
bright grasses and other distant living trees on a sunny day. We learned that bark beetles had eaten the bark, which kills the trees as they stand and also makes them more vulnerable to fire. But the trees seemed beautiful to me, like deciduous trees in winter. At first I painted the scene in all grays, thinking it a suitable subject for the Gamblin Paints Torrit gray competition. But all in gray, it just looked dreary. It needed the addition of color to contrast with the pale gray trees. "Forest Bones" is 11" x 14"
Kat Sowa's Studio 30 at Cathedral Park started up again on October 31, and it was a treat for me! Perhaps being influenced by Halloween, the portrait of Bronwyn, or Bronnie, came out "witchy". In the last half hour, I dashed off a second 11 x 14 painting that included more of her body, costume, and elegant hands. The cat appeared later.
Painting at the Forest Park Arboretum on a cool October day, warmed by the excitement of golden sumac. Thanks, Vicki Zimmerman, for the photo and companionship! This may be the last of our plein air adventures for the season.
A beautiful Fall day at Sauvie Island Farm where I painted among the flower fields looking towards distant pumpkins waiting to be picked. Sunflowers are fading but zinnias and dahlias are bright. There are hay bale pyramids and mounds of pumpkins and squashes of every type. More pumpkin pics to come!
Fall is a great time for plein air painting! I returned to Clackamette Park in Oregon City, where painting buddy Vicki Zimmerman took this photo of me happily at work. The leaves are just starting to change, and fishermen lined the banks hoping to catch coho salmon. Mallards, seagulls and pigeons added to the excitement.
"Calackamas River", in progress. The confluence of the Clackamas and Willamette Rivers is just beyond.
"Clackamas River", 11" x 14"
"Clackamas River Bridge", also 11" x 14".
On Wednesdays during the non-rainy months there is a farmers market in downtown Portland full of fresh produce, flowers, good food and lots of people. I set up my easel across from the flower sellers watching them make and sell bouquets while others passed by or relaxed, eating lunch. "Bouquet for the Lady in a Straw Hat" is 9" x 12", painted in oil en plein air. Later, I re-worked a previous painting of the same scene, "Flower Sellers", also 9" x 12", adding more color.
At Sauvie Island Farm on the last weekend of summer, I painted plein air among the sunflowers, feeling very Van Gogh-like. The clouds kept shifting so the sun was not too intense. There are cornfields beyond the sunflowers. I brought home flowers and corn to continue my summer feast. "Sunflowers and Cornfield" is 9" x 12".
