Old Faithful #2

Approx 7" x 5" Oil on Linen.

On auction at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

My painting of Old Faithful can make me stop and look after 2 years. I liked how the pink underpainting gave the sky some liveliness. So I decided to revisit it today and let a little more undertone show through. I still like the effect. It is a little unusual to come back and execute a smaller study after the big painting, but maybe this is just another in a series. 

Here is a peek at what it actually looks like on my easel. 

Note that I plan to cut and mount this at 7" x 5" so not much of the pink border will show.

From across the room I really like how the image pops with the surrounding color, so I am thinking about going further and visiting it again with am extreme vignette.

Spring Snow

10" x 8" Oil on Linen.

On auction at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

Our second full day of Spring came with another blanket of snow. It soon melted off of the trees, but for the morning they sported an appealing flocking against a shocking blue sky. This is the top of one of the towering specimens behind our house.

Mt Index Through the Clouds

14" x 11" Oil on Linen.

On Sale at DailyPaintworks (click to bid.)

Mt Index was playing hide and seek while wearing a brand new coat of snow on Sunday. Of course, the view was changing minute by minute, but it produced a dramatic effect as it went in and out of the clouds. Mt Index is my favorite and it's on the way in and out of Seattle.

Grand Prismatic Spring

14" x 11" Oil on Linen.

For Sale at DailyPaintworks (click here to bid.)

Grand Prismatic Sprint is amazing when you see those National Geographic aerial shots, but in person it is even more stunning. The colors are an amazing rainbow made by different bacteria living at the various temperatures out from the center of the spring. My most memorable view was this one from the hill to the south east (as I remember) that has an unofficial trail. Along the top of this painting you see the grey boardwalk that gives visitors a closer look at the spring.

I am considering whether this or some other composition would make a good larger painting.

Cold Morning Sun at the River

14" x 11" Oil on Linen.

For Sale at DailyPaintworks (click here).

This is a cold look into the blazing sun at the Wenatchee River in Leavenworth, Washington.

Swans

10" x 10" Oil on Gallery Wrap Canvas
On auction at DPW.

Over Thanksgiving, I visited the migratory bird sanctuary in the bluff country along the Mississippi in southern Minnesota. The day was cold but bright, giving the water nice blue tones. Most of the birds were fairly sedate or feeding, but sometimes there was some action I could catch. The white adults are just the color you would imagine for a swan.

Last Light, near Tumwater Canyon

14" x 11" Oil on Linen
Available.


The last light of the day sent a shadow across the lower half of this stand of trees. The light slants down from behind the mountain. This painting is from the valley between Tumwater Canyon and Stevens Pass.

Mist Rising, Sky Valley

10" x 8" Oil on Panel
On Auction at DPW

As the sun lit the new layer of snow, a mist rose up from the valley.

Blue Bird Day

10" x 8" Oil on pumice panel.
On Auction at DPW

Saturday was opening day for Stevens Pass. It must have been a great opening day with clear skies and un-tracked snow. Skiers call it "Blue Bird."

The sky was so nice that a sun dog came out to play. The tree had to duck!

(It is probably more rightly called a sun halo.)

Aspen Glory

11" x 14" Oil on linen.

Available.

Just past peak color, with the afternoon sun filtering through thin clouds, the aspen groves glow with golden glory. 

Just above Tumwater Canyon on Highway 2...

Crooked Aspen

8" x 10" Oil on Linen.
On Auction at DPW.

The fall color in the Seattle area has been outstanding this year. On our nice drive over to Leavenworth, we spotted a beautiful grove of Aspen mixed with some evergreens. One of the younger trees had an amazing crooked shape alongside all of the straight ones.

Old Faithful

24" x 18" Oil on panel.

$395 - Shipping to US included.

This one has been on my easel for a while. It was nice to get it completed and hopefully I can get in a New Year's (Resolution) swing. The holidays, woodworking, and a sore back have cut into my painting productivity.

Old Faithful truly is amazing when you consider how long you have to anxiously wait for other geysers to deliver in the same basin. I captured it from the side with the crowd. I thought it was a perfect day with a deep blue sky and the wind blowing the sheets of water and steam very nicely.

Yosemite Falls in Spring

18" x 24" Oil on panel.
(Click for a larger view.)

$395 - Shipping to US included.

Yosemite valley in May is awesomely great. It's before the summer rush of people (it's still busy)and the waterfalls are at their peak. I fondly remember the short visit to the valley when I took the photo reference for this painting and I hope to be back next year.

The valley has great views wherever you turn, so there is a lot of classic material. I chose to have the upper falls just off center and the lower falls just inside the composition. The clear blue sky on that day just added to the blueness in the shadows vs the warmth on the rocks. I included the cars and foreground meadow to give a sense of scale. I may also investigate some cropped versions and larger formats of this view.

Skykomish River above Eagle Falls

10" x 8" Oil on panel.

Very early this year, I executed a painting of the Skykomish river just past Eagle Falls. It captured the red branches of bare bushes above the deep green river. This painting is of the stretch of river just a little ways up the road. There is a break in the trees along highway 2 that let me see these brilliant yellow bushes in the riverbed.

With this study, I was really looking to work on capturing the stunning color and contrast of the bushes, blue shadows, and bright gravel of the riverbed. The composition is too busy, but I think there may be a larger painting lurking here. I would like to better capture the rapids in the background and maybe leave out the still water in the foreground.

Seattle Skyline

14" x 11" Oil on mounted linen.

Afternoon sun lighting up the Seattle skyline. This is the view from the Bainbridge ferry pulling into Seattle. I loved how this glass dome stood out from all of the other buildings. This is one of those paintings that merges together nicely from across the room.

Balancing Rock #2

20" x 16" Oil on canvas.

$300 - Shipping to US included.

I really enjoyed Arches National Park last year. It is jam packed with strange and unlikely rock formations. Awe inspiring...and I like jam!

Here is a work in progress photo of the painting that I posted earlier. I enjoyed working on the variations in the sky. The second formation makes a natural balance in the composition with the side lighting.

Balancing Rock

(Click for a larger view.)

$100 - Shipping to US included.

12" x 12" Oil on deep gallery wrap canvas.

This is Balancing Rock in Arches National Park. I really like how the composition in the square format turned out. The balancing rock is in a strong position on the left third and is "balanced" by the small figures that relate the scale of the rock. I especially enjoy how I can barely see the people at the base from across the room.

Arches is an amazing place and I enjoy revisiting the photos I took while there last year. Balancing Rock looks even more precarious from other angles.

A Train at Mt Index

5" x 7" Oil on canvas study.

I am planning a larger painting to hang on the chimney over our wood stove. I have a nice big 30" x 40" canvas, so I am starting the process with some studies. The "client" says she wants a train in the painting. Mt Index is the most striking sight on our way into Seattle. This study is based on a little black and white photo in the recent history of Upper Skykomish Valley book.

Delicate Arch

24" x 18" Acrylic on panel.
(Click the picture for more detail.)

I completed the Delicate Arch painting. I like the dynamic of including the small figure. When you notice it, it really draws your eye away from the arch and keeps the composition from being static. I liked this viewpoint of the arch. That morning the hikers were just arriving at the arch. We had hiked a shorter distance to a viewpoint across a canyon. I have a lot more material from this year's National Parks tour.

Delicate Arch - Work in Progress

24" x 18" Acrylic on Board

Here is an update on what is on my easel. This one is Acrylic which is a little departure for me. Last week, I painted a scene on location in Arches National Park with Acrylics with disastrous results. The paint dried out like a hair dryer was blowing on it (that was about what it was.) Here in the studio they work much better.

I like this start, but have some more work to do. I could possibly use this as an underpainting for oils, but will probably just stick with only Acrylic.