Tree Lovers

This is a painting from last summer that was rediscovered on a back shelf, then finished with a few strokes to capture the memory of that day. I was walking along the creek near Reed College when I heard a "hello" from above my head, and there they were grinning, perched in a tree like a couple of wood nymphs, or someone from Greek Mythology, merged with Nature.

South Park Blocks

It was a sunny day in a downtown Portland park with my artist friends Vicki, Brooks and Carrie passed by, too. School children lunched noisely around huge statues of Abe Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, and a childrens marching band marched within inches of my easel! I sketched sculptures, trees and people and painted plen air, trying to capture the color and sparkle. Will try to return soon, but there are so many choices and too few sunny days!

Sun Breaks

In Spring we Oregonians must be grateful for sun breaks when and where we find them!

At the end of April I was in Hillsboro to pick up "Defying Gravity", my yoga painting, from the Sequoia Gallery, and afterwards went to paint at a nearby park. There was Fanno Creek meandering by, meadows and wetlands, birds, boys on skateboards, dogs, people enjoying themselves. I painted by the creek for a few hours focusing on water and trees, and then, just as I was leaving, turned to see the wonderful clouds and took a photo for a future painting.

Redhead

Sarah has long red hair and was wearing a clingy red dress, leggings revealing pale thighs and red high heels! I did several pencil studies, then concentrated on her face with delicate features, the red dress, and a vase of flowers.

Cherry Orchards

This time of year when the trees start to blossom is exciting! Last year I studied, sketched and painted lots of blooming trees and never felt satisfied. This year I started with a pink stripe on a square canvas and an orchard scene emerged that seemed to sum up all the scenes I had wanted to paint. Then I got out to Sauvie Island and painted with acrylics inside a just starting to bloom orchard on a rare sunny day. The air was filled with fresh scents and buzzing bees. Two weeks later I returned to the same spot to paint with oils, the first time I've used them plein air. It has been quite a few years since I handled oils and I wanted to compare them with acrylic. As expected, acrylics are fast drying which limits blending, while oils are slow, creamy, blendable, messy and smelly! For now, I'll continue with both media, sketching, plein air, using photo references and my imagination.

Purple Portraits

Drizzly gray days are great for figure drawing and painting from models. Despite my many years of figure drawing since high school, I find painting portraits very challenging and worked hard on these two. For some reason, purple dominated my color schemes, maybe I just got bored with dull colors and wanted to liven things up!

March Challenge

The March challenge was to work from photos, including this one of a cattle pond near the Dalles. Did not see any cattle or the necessity of adding any critters, but I did like the line of poplars, often used as a wind break, including the fallen "soldiers". The April challenge is to get outside and paint from nature, rain or shine!