"Dorothy's cream & sugar"  9" x 12" oil on wood sold

I enjoyed painting this little cream & sugar set made by my very talented friend, potter Dorothy Steele. 
We were on a working trip to the central coast.  After a tiring day delivering our work to galleries, we watched a confusing movie about love in Paris, while I painted.

To see Dorothy's work
Dorothysteelepottery.com

"fall chinook"   oil on wood panel, 13" x 19"

This painting is available at Earthworks Galleries

on the beautiful central Oregon coast.




"spring"      oil on isolated wood    20" x 24"

 

magnoia morning

oil on isolated birch

6 1/4" x 9 3/4"

Skipanon river morning
extended plein air oil on isolated wood panel
11" x 14"

David & I have been camping on the North coast for most of this past month, he doing a little fishing, I painting for every single  minute I could get away....  I spent a few memorable mornings on the Skipanon river in Hammond, Oregon.  I enjoyed the constant movement of the water, as the ocean tide pushes in.  The water is rough sparkle in the breeze.
I met a very nice family while painting here, who've lived and worked in Hammond for over forty years.  Their family business, the Skipanonbrand fish co. sells their fresh caught & smoked fish at local farmer's markets, and on the internet as well.  The boat in my painting is theirs, operated by son Paul; the building is their old cannery space, now replaced by an updated building a few feet from the river's edge.
Visit their website http://www.skipanonbrand.com/

"New leaf greenhouse"

en plein air oil on isolated wood panel

15" x 15"

I so enjoyed my recent visit to New Leaf Greenhouse in Cornelius.  Ginger Steele is the amazing woman who created this beautiful nursery.  She has the strength of a potter, & a green thumb you won't believe.  She shares some of her horticultural secrets on the New Leaf Greenhouse blog newleafgreenhouse.blogspot.com

I know you will also enjoy seeing the complex geometric designs in Ginger Steele's salt fired stoneware . insomniapottery.com

We had a lovely lunch at Ginger's with Merrie French of Valley Art Gallery in Forest Grove.   If you haven't been to this wonderful gallery, you owe yourself a trip!

Valleyart.org

 We laughed and let our minds wander...then we laughed some more.  Ginger took me on a colorful tour of her amazing studio & nursery.  I painted there for hours, belly full, laughed out, blissed.  I'm still smiling.

Thank you, ladies.



gingko moon

11" x 14" oil on wood panel

I found these two gingko leaves the last time I saw Tommy. He'd been released from the hospital on an afternoon pass. We went to see some of the shops on Hawthorne street. The ground was golden and wet shining beneath our feet. He was looking for a bracelet, or a perfectly round stone. I tried not to cry.

It felt like a day in Paris, though I have never been

oil on linen panel

Here is the painting I began at the reception the Portland Art Museum's rental Sales Gallery had earlier this year. My friend Dorothy Steele loaned me these three beautiful vases, I filled them with flowers and set them on a linen table cloth. This was such a fun experience, once in a lifetime for me. If you would like to see more of Dorothy's work visit her website at http://www.dorothysteelepottery.com/

Please join Dorothy and I this Fri. eve. for a reception at the Gallery to celebrate their spring show. I'm tickled that they have accepted this painting. David has made a beautifu frame for it our of wood that Uncle Ted and Aunt Marianne gave us. We will be there before six. The reception goes until eight, but I expect I will not be able to last that long!.

"bridge city of roses"

oil on wood 24" x 36"

I'm excited to be one of five featured artists this month at Portland Art Museum's Rental Sales Gallery. I will be showing several of my narrative landscapes.

There is a reception on Saturday from noon till three. The most exciting part for me is that Jennifer Zika (gallery director extroardinaire) and the wonderful volunteers at the gallery are making a place for me to set up my small easel and paint during the reception. What fun, to share my work in such a beautiful space, and in such excellent company.

My friend Dorothy Steele http://www.dorothysteelepottery.com is loaning me one of her fabulous slab built porcelain vases. I think I will put some flowers (pussywillows maybe?) in Dorothy's vase, with the RSG gallery window for backround. I'm looking for a tall panel that will fit on my small easel.

Wish me luck:) I'll post pictures when I can.

Saturday Jan 29th 2011

Portland Art Museum's Rental Sales Gallery

12 noon till 3

1237 SW 10th Ave.

Portland, OR

503-224-0674

There will be snacks and friendly folk, and so many wonderful artists are represented... stop by if you can!

redwings in tulips

22" x 26" oil on wood

Our tulips were so beautiful this year, and always so welcome after our dreary wet winters. I painted these tulips out in my garden, then brought the painting into the studio to paint the redwing blackbirds. I sent this painting with Merrie French today for Valley Arts bird show. I made a nice frame for it out of 2" radiata pine. I oiled the pine and it came up a nice deep yellow that echoes the tulips.
I kind of wasn't ready to let it go. I guess I never am.

crow moon

oil on isolated wood panel

6" x 16" x 1/2"

I've had a bit of a heavy heart this past few months, bringing Tommy home from Denver, and seeing how ill he is... I guess it's been weighing on me more than I'd like to admit.

When Merrie French asked me to be in a "bird" show out at Valley Arts Gallery in Forest Grove I was a little bit inspired, and painted these tulips from my yard, with a crow visitor.

I feels good to be working again.

three moon Seattle

18" x 24" oil on aluminum

An open studio is just what's needed to inspire a good studio cleanup. It feels so good to get ready for company, and spruce things up!

Dorothy Steele and I have combined forces to promote our east county holiday studio sales. Dorothy has her wonderful organic shaped slab built porcelain for sale at her home studio, and I am offering paintings, reproductions, ornaments, cards journals and combination gift sets. If you can't come during the open studio hours you are welcome anytime, if you give me a call and let me know you're coming.

I have cookies!

Old Town Christmas

mixed media on 16" x 20" Isolated illustration board

Here is one of the images I've been working on just lately. I'm making Christmas note cards for the Local 14 Women's art and craft show in early October.

" special"

22" x 28" oil on hardboard

This painting began as part of a peony painting festival I was having all by myself here in the studio. (Oh, they come and go so quickly, and I promised myself to paint them this year.) The mussel shells are from a dinner with new friends, and I liked how they echoed the blues and violet of the curved porcelain tray.

I was working on painting my perfectly ripe pear when the raven image fell from a shelf onto my table, an old photo from Yellowstone. He began to watch me through the window, and I feel he is strong and rough enough to offset the drama queen peonies.

When Howard, steady on sales rep. called to remind me of my promise to provide him with an image featuring the Astoria Megler bridge, I picked up the study I'd been working with. I thought how nice it would be to have this bridge in the distance, the edge of the endless Pacific, the mighty Columbia coming on home . The starfish and the sand dollar discuss the ocean and provide me with stars. Of course I had to use one of my old jars for the bouqet. I chose "special" because that's how I felt about the peonies, and I also liked the "made in the usa."

Thosewho know me best already know there are stars caught in my curtain lace.

Astoria Megler bridge study, with stars

12" x 16" mixed media on clayboard

oil, paper and foil stars.

bridge city of roses

24" x 36" oil on isolated wood panel

I've been working on this painting off and on since early this year. I wanted to bring the rose garden down to the sea wall...then started wanting more. The heron image was a gift from a friend, and seemed to want into this painting; then the salmon started showing up, not to mention the dragon boat! I see so many things come and go in the work as I paint, but more and more and more I want to keep it all.

Willamette roses

oil on 14" x 14" wood panel

It's hard for me to accept that it's been over a year since I posted....sometimes I just fall out of the world it seems.

Made in Oregon moon study

11" x 14" oil on isolated museum rising paper

I am interested in working with Portland images again, but find myself resisting literal interpretations. This made in Oregon sign is above the Burnside bridge.
I imagined the crescent moon, the swirling sky, the river of stars.

clementine moon

7" x 12" (aprox) oil on recycled anodized aluminum, wood.

Knight visions gallery, Bothell, Washington

red pear moon

12" x 12" cold encaustic on aluminum leaf, birch

Knight visions gallery, Bothell, Washington

crescent moon salmon

10" x 20" mixed media on isolated paper

Knight visions gallery, Bothell, Washington

I sent these three paintings to Lori Knight last month. I enjoyed working on them, and continue to spend some time each week working with cold encaustic on small wood supports.

blackbird sunrise

plein air oil on galvanized steel 24" x 36"

I painted this when we spent a couple of days in summer with my husband's brother in Burns, Oregon. I painted a sunrise and a sunset. When I was there, you could stand at the edge of their yard and see forever. Right now they have so much snow it's a challenge to get up their driveway.