Near Santa Fe...

Still getting reacquainted with water media. Gouache and watercolor pencil painted from a photo taken during a trip to Santa Fe. Something small to do in the gallery without making a big mess and often pieces remain “unfinished.”

In Alaska, historical is a log fort from the Russian occupation or a Native American village site.

I was stunned when I first came “outside” by the “ancient” architecture of Seattle, then the magnificence of European construction blew me away.

As I render these beautiful buildings, I ponder on the question of elegance reaching toward heaven and how many poor and ill could have been helped by the same monies and time spent to construct religious edifaces all over the world. Yet, something in every culture and denomination drives us to make incredible sacrifices to erect sacred structures.

Vista House view...

 

Sketching for a couple of hours in the Columbia Gorge, and more experiments with water media. The view is from Vista House toward Beacon Rock and across the river to the farms. The drawings start out fairly serene. As the construction noise grows and tourist interruptions become more frequent, the tension shows in the rendering. Sunburned, tired and happy. Great day.

Tremont Activity Center...

 

Tremont Activity Center, 7119 SE Knight Street, Portland, Oregon. Gouache, watercolor pencil and pen. Approximately 8” x 10” in a watercolor sketchbook.

I’ve been intrigued by religious structures since seeing a small church on Big Island silhouetted by the sun against dark storm clouds in 1991. One day, I’ll paint the little church. Wandering around Europe I couldn’t turn a corner without bumping into a cathedral, chapel, synagogue or mosque. After returning home, I realized Portland has an abundance of religious architecture to explore with a pen. 

 

Objects in mirror...

I use the bathroom mirror as a huge whiteboard… because it’s big enough for the big ideas I have first thing in the morning and because I’ve been yelled at since I was three for writing on the walls. This statement is part of the current intention. 

The Hubs was driving me to an event and I was eating worms over a perceived lack of time, energy et al.

He:  (Attempting to remind me of the affirmation) “What do you read in your mirror?”

Me: (Rousing from the gloom to glance at the side mirror) “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

I was in Hyperdrive speeding toward Venus while he was waving frantically from Mars. 

After considering for a couple of days, I realized the mirror is indeed a teacher especially when we understand with our soul the intentions we set really are closer than they appear.