Green Scooter

"Green Scooter", 12" x 12" oil on canvas

The other day as I was driving home I had to stop to take a photo of this motor scooter parked in front of a shop.  Not my usual subject, but I immediately fell in love with this scene and had to paint it, which I did on top of a previous painting, letting some of the colors show through in layers.  I like the colors, shadows, shiny highlights, and reflections in the shop windows.  It makes me want to go for a ride!

Lavender Paintover

"Vibrant Garden" 14" x 14"

After awhile, my plein air painting of  "Lovely Lavender" at Red Ridge Farms from the Lavender Festival was not satisfying to me.  So I took out some lavender and added the brighter colors that were visible in the other views, and the lavender gradually disappeared!  Now it's vibrant.

Lavender Festival

 "Lovely Lavender" 14" x 14" gallery wrapped canvas 

 "The Old Wheelbarrow" 9" x 12"

Two plein air paintings in one day on my first day of the Lavender Festival!  The first was a broad view looking out beyond the lavender fields in full sun to a distant meadow framed by evergreen trees.  Then I switched to the shade of a tree where there was an old wooden wheelbarrow with picked lavender in front of flowers and a vine covered trellis.  There was also a lavender painted bicycle, chickens, dogs, kids and lots of people happily picking lavender and sipping lavender tea.

 ""Lavender and Rose Garden" 12" x 16" SOLD!

 "Lavender Fantasy" 14" x 14"

On my second paint out I visited Red Ridge Farms, which is like a European vacation with lavender fields, flower and herb gardens, a grove of olive trees, adjoining vineyards, elegant decor and a soothing fountain.

The location for my first plein air painting was on a narrow path near misting sprinklers, in full sun.  Maybe I was too uncomfortable to concentrate on the beauty of the scene, but that painting did not come out well. The next location was in the shade looking out past the lavender fields to the rose garden uphill.  There were poppies and all sorts of colorful and fragrant flowers and shrubs.  Later, I covered over the plein air painting that I did not like and created "Lavender Fantasy" from my imagination, adding a figure.

"Fragrant Garden" 14" x 14"

The last place I visited, Barn Owl Nursery, was also the most enjoyable.  Instead of sweeping vistas of fields, there was a charming quiet garden of lavender and herbs bordered by birch trees.  There is just something wonderfully soothing about the fragrance of lavender!  Next I must select 3 of these 5 to enter into the Oregon Lavender Paint Out, show and festival this weekend in Newberg, Oregon.  Come for art, music, fun!  www..wvlavenderfestival.org.

 Crimson Clover, oil 14" x 18" on canvas 

I went out to the Washington County near Hillsboro to paint the crimson clover fields about a month ago on a sunny Spring day.  White and yellow wildflowers mixed in with the red flowers and green leaves.  Since clover is a cover crop, it does not last long, so I'm glad I was able to paint plein air to capture all this color!

Plein air

Hartman Pond, oil 9" x 12"

Painting plein air at Benson Lake Recreation Area in the Columbia Gorge, I set up my easel next to Hartman Pond.  The day was partly sunny, not hot, with a cool breeze that riffled the water and blew off my hat. Logs across the pond make good fish habitat, and there were several people fishing off the pier.  The pond is between the railroad tracks and nearby highway, yet it was peaceful.  

Creekside Trees, oil 9" x 12"

After a quick lunch, I turned around and painted the trees between the pond and the creek that comes from Wahkeena Falls, a gentle trickle on its way to the river.  Cottonwood pieces of white fluff were tossed by the breeze.

Plein air!

 Spring Widflowers, oil  9"x12"

Plein airing at Cooper Mountain Nature Park on a part sunny and part cloudy day, searching for wildflowers. There were plenty of small delicate flowers in magenta, purple, blue, yellow, white, but in sprinkles, not vast colorful fields.  So I concentrated on the tiny daisies sprinkled among the green grass and used my artistic license to multiply them!  It was a good hike, and a lovely day.

Plein Air

 Plein air painting is about the adventure of going out and discovering the perfect spot to paint, getting all your gear together, dealing with weather and whatever may happen.  On this clear day a few weeks ago, painting pal Vicki Zimmerman and I stopped at Coon Point on Sauvie Island.  It's across from the Sauvie Island dog kennels, so we were serenaded by continuous barking, but that did not subtract from the serenity of the place.  Since the temperature was expected to rise to the high 80's, we looked for a shady spot with a good view.  Half way down this steep grassy slope dragging my wheeled cart, I stopped while Vicki went onward close to the edge of the pond.  I'm thinking: ticks, mosquitoes, dragging the cart back uphill in the heat of the afternoon.  So we returned to the shady spot near the paved walkway.

 This is my painting after a few hours.  There is a background thin wash of raw sienna to give a warm glow to the white canvas board.  I decided to leave it as a sketch to capture the mood and colors and not rush to finish.  By the time I stopped, the shade had dwindled away, the light was glaring and it was hot!  I had only a cool lemony yellow with me and was not satisfied with the brightness of the yellow greens.

"Coon Point, Spring" oil, 12"x16"

Back in my studio, I added some warmer yellow and yellow-greens and worked on varying the tree trunks. At a recent Alla Prima discussion, the subject was variety, and someone quoted "same, same, no, no"!  I hope my trees are varied and graceful!  I left some edges unfinished to preserve the sketchy quality.