One More From the Coast

 "Yaquina Bay Boats"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

 $350

Click to buy

I saved the best for last, location-wise, on this trip to the coast. I love the fishing boats in Newport harbor, but the best light (and fewest tourists) are in the early morning. Which I've had to discover by trial and error. Lots of walking around thinking about painting and not doing it. Picking a perfect painting spot seems to be more a matter of serendipity than science. Why can't someone just come along and tell me exactly where to stand?

When I showed up to paint these boats, serendipity was on my side. I parked my car, wandered directly out onto the boardwalk, and saw my painting in front of me. Sometimes you find yourself in the right place at the right time.

On the Boardwalk

"The Sea Hunt and the Heidi Sue"

12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

Sold

My final morning on the coast, I knew exactly what I wanted to paint: more boats! Newport's historic bayfront is a great place to find them. I set up on the sunny boardwalk around 8 am, loving the morning light and the clear reflections on the water.

 

The boardwalk is a busy spot, and many people stopped to chat with me while I worked. Combined with coffee, the warm sun, and the sounds of the harbor, it made for a truly idyllic painting outing.

 I know I'll be back soon!

My Blood is Delicious

 

"Fishing Devil's Lake"

10 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

click to buy

The Cascade Lakes Highway is pretty amazing. There are so many lakes scattered alongside it that Devil's lake isn't even listed on most of the online maps I found. La-dee-dah, it's only an enormous, bright-turquoise puddle compared to some of the more impressive watering holes. Scale gets so distorted in an enormous wilderness state.

This lake was plenty big enough to impress. Unfortunately, the fish weren't biting (or maybe it was the fact that the daddies brought their raucous 2-and-3-year-olds along), and the mosquitos most definitely were. Biting. Specifically, biting me.

You see, I have delicious blood. I've always been a magnet for biting insects, and have loved living in the Willamette Valley because mosquitos are almost unheard of here...but in the mountains, the mosquito reigns supreme.

I had on long sleeves, long pants, and two coatings of bug spray, and still left looking like the only child who missed her chicken pox vaccine. (Did you know children literally do not get chicken pox anymore? Blew my mind when I heard). 

I'll spare you pics of the carnage. Here are some pics of the beauty:

Once I'd escaped to the parking lot, I treated myself to a consolation beer. I figured I'd earned it, in blood.