Luminous Views

For this First Friday October 7th I will participate in two show openings. At First Circle Gallery, 640 SE Stark, Portland, "Luminous Views" includes several recent landscape paintings, both plein air and studio based on Northwest scenes. Many are of water, the Columbia River and waterfalls, such as "Columbia Twilight" looking east on the Columbia Gorge. The opening reception is 6-9 pm.

Also at Full Circle Gallery, Mercedes Rodgers of the Full Circle Gallery in Florida, will be showing the SOS Security Blanket made of squares of recycled plastic. Artists are invited to create 5" or 10" squares to be included. For more information, see FullCircleGallerypdx.net.

The Johnson Creek Art show also opens Oct. 7 at Spring Creek Coffee House in Milwaukie, 4-8 pm. There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at the Johnson Creek confluence with the Willamette River to celebrate an improved habitat for salmon and trout. Contributions from art sales will be made to the Johnson Creek Watershed Council to further their commitment to a cleaner environment.

I hope you can join me or visit either of these art shows during October!

Summer Haze

It's been hot and hazy, due to wildfires in nearby mountains, creating a bright orange sunset and golden moon. Walking on Powell Butte, the haze covered mountain views and it was too hot for me to paint plein air, so I photographed wildflower covered meadows and retreated to my studio to paint. The next day I cut and tore and pasted papers for collages, and painted an abstract on canvas, still influenced by the golden haze.

Three Shows

Early Fall has been a busy time for me. On Saturday, September 25 I went to Hood River with John for the Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2010 "Quick Draw". That meant completing paintings and delivering them by 2:30, then showing up for the reception at 6:00pm. In between, we relaxed in the sun next to the Columbia River. I did not win an award for my painting of "The Yellow Blouse", but I enjoyed the experience and meeting other artists.

Friday October 1st I set up two paintings at Umpqua Bank for the Johnson Creek Art Show, and the next morning I brought seven paintings to U.S. Bank to display for a month. And I'm still getting out to paint plein air while the weather holds.