Plein Air Paintings​
Documenting some of Don's favorite plein air painting adventures.
Cheese Country 9 x 12 inches
Alkyd on Raymar Panel $300 Unframed
I heard Oregon Route 6 between Tillamook and Portland was quite scenic. Surely I'd find plenty to paint there. Road construction! How could I paint between flaggers with heavy construction equipment bathing my canvas in dust? A side road led past this view of a farm. I'll bet this farmers cattle contribute to Tillamook Cheese. We eat a lot of Tillamook Cheese. OK, I confess, I did move the barn -- but not too far.
Along the Hoh 9 x 12 inches
Alkyd on Raymar Panel $300 Unframed
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I headed to the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. I can't get enough of those towering old-growth trees clothed in layers of mosses and lichens -- each footstep revealing a new primordial landscape. For Kären, this landscape triggers her vertigo. This time a grove of maples framed by backlit alders Along the Hoh River distracted me. A bonus, the showers quit just as I reached this setting.
Cabbage Patch 9 x 12 inches Alkyd on Gessoboard Panel Sold
A picnic on a warm sunny day at Greens Camp a few summers ago provided Kären with a chance to explore one of her favorite beaches while I dug out my paints. There an upland scene, an extensive patch of skunk cabbage, beckoned to be painted. I can't say I got a sun tan that day, but I got a painting out of it.
Ruby Creek Crossing 9 x 12 inches
Alkyd on Raymar Panel $300 unframed
Curiosity about the terrain in the forested hills of Idaho, lured me on a one day "explore." There, along a rural highway to Elk River, Idaho, Ruby Creek cut short my "explore." Soon I discovered a dirt track that led me to a ford across the Creek. Painting subjects beckoned in all directions. I got so involved in the painting that I failed to notice the approach of a critter until it was a stone's throw (this time an easy lob) distance from me. A cow. Could it be a potential patron of the arts?
Abandoned 9 x 12 inches Alkyd on Raymar Panel $300 unframed
A sign announced the road from Nezperce to Kamiah was closed. No problem! I'd just take a detour that led to Grangeville, Idaho. I'd never been there. I found the route dominated by rolling farmland with scattered ranches -- until I spotted a side track leading to an abandoned house. I couldn't resist. However, brush and trees seemed to engulf what was once someone's dream so I opted to pass. Returning towards the highway, I discovered several abandoned apple trees. Another future abstraction idea. The apples were tasty, too.
West Fork 9 x 12 inches
Alkyd on Raymar Panel $300 unframed
A sign "Reasonable Rates" drew me to Montana's Lolo Hot Springs Resort where the West Fork of Lolo Creek "spoke" eloquently of scenes of the high country of Utah and Wyoming that cemented my love of wild places back in my youth. My desire to migrate to Alaska was set during those formative middle school years. Everywhere along the valley bottoms, riparian areas rekindled happy memories. I stayed at Lolo Hot Springs one extra night.
Waiting for Rain 9 x 12 inches Alkyd on Raymar Panel $300 unframed
During a plain air painting road trip through Montana I spotted a sign -- White Pine Creek Road. Umm, I wonder what was up in those mountains? Off I went for a painting -- a dry stretch of White Pine Creek. I guess they needed the rain that was about to hit.
Coho Country Top 9 x 12 inches
Alkyd on canvas Sold
Beyond the Bend Bottom 9 x 12 inches Alkyd on canvas $300 unframed
We had little summer in 2011. Not much, but some. I took advantage of a bit of it to head out to the upper road crossing of Falls Creek. Years ago, when I was out to capture our island in 35 mm images, I set a minnow trap here. It quickly caught juvenile coho salmon and Dolly Varden char which I plunked into a home-made, ant farm-sized aquarium. What fun I had photographing those captive salmonids with all kinds of backgrounds -- including a photo of a living room torn out of an issue of Better Homes and Gardens. That year, for three days running, I headed to this old hangout with my easel. The sun proved illusive, but here are two of the resulting paintings.
Abandoned 12 x 16 inches Alkyd Sold
Years ago a fur farm was located on Mitkof Island south of Petersburg. Eventually it closed and was turned into a Forest Service tree farm. Now that, too, has shut down. However, down on the beach remains of the old fur farm can still be found. There a sadly leaning shelter with a skiff that shall sail no more still survives. The skiff's role in the project, to fish for food for the mink and foxes raised in the fur farm, long gone..
Wilderness Track
9 x12 inches
Alkyd on Canvas
Private Collection
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Driving on the Alaska Highway, a tad east of the Alaska/Yukon border, I searched for a place to capture the magic of the area. Spotting a side "road" leading north from the highway I hit the brakes. Perfect!. Wondering where the track might lead, while trying to ignore the din of a welcoming committee of hungry lady mosquitos, I scrambled to execute this painting before resuming our travels.