Lemon Water and Silver

"Lemon Water and Silver"

9 x 12 inches, oil on panel

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I get asked all the time if I eat the things I paint in my still lifes. The answer is - not always. Sometimes I try to get other people to eat them! But I drank every drop of this lemon water, along with batches made from those lemons lurking in the bowl. A favorite hot weather drink, for sure!

Lemon Water

 "Lemon Water"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$350

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I had a great week of daily painting. Six 10x10's and an 8x10. Phew! Thank you for joining me!

Here's the preparatory sketch for this one. It was actually done on tan paper, but I liked the look of it converted to black and white. Maybe I will get a gray sketchbook next!

Here's a collage of the week's paintings. These are all available - you can check them out on Etsy. 

Opening to the Light

"Opening to the Light"

10 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$350

On Hold

When I walked into the studio yesterday morning, I was immediately captivated by these daffodils - the way the blooms move from almost closed to completely open. I knew that was not going to last long once I turned the spotlight on them! So I painted the flowers first, and by the time I'd finished the rest of the painting, quite a bit later in the day, they were all wide open.

Thirsty

"Thirsty"

8 x 10 inches, oil on canvas

$250

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These flowers were only thirsty for a little while - I popped them into the glass once I finished this painting, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

The Ocean Rocks, Yes It Does

 "Ocean Rocks"

8 x 8 inches, oil on canvas
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On my second day at the coast, I returned to Yaquina Head - site of this lovely lighthouse - to capture a scene I'd scoped out on my previous painting trip.

If you stand next to the lighthouse and look to your left, you see this:

 ...And if you stand there long enough without a jacket on, you get VERY COLD, like I am in this picture!

A Newport Nocturne

"Sunset Bridge, Newport"

11 x 14 inches, oil on canvas

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I don't mean to brag, but Thursday was an incredible painting day. First, I painted the lighthouse, then I painted the swirling water, (then I took a rest), and THEN I went back for more!

Just a little more...it was getting dark fast. And cold. And people kept pulling over to investigate what I was doing by the side of the road, which is fine, but it's a little unnerving with the headlights and all.

 

I'm definitely in love with Newport.

The Sea, The Sea

 "Sea Chasm"

16 x 12 inches, oil on canvas

$350

Available Here

The Oregon coast offers incredible vistas just about everywhere you look - including down! I loved painting the color shifts in this swirling water, and the foamy highlights - so satisfying! 

Here's my start:

These lava cliffs are really a challenge to paint. What color are they anyway? I don't know! I had to make a decision and go with it, instead of chasing what I actually saw - which would have been an endless struggle, since I couldn't even name the colors I was seeing.

I like the way it turned out.

My Blood is Delicious

 

"Fishing Devil's Lake"

10 x 8 inches, oil on canvas

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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.