Silence is worth gold...

Close up from Siuslaw River Bridge.

Close up from Siuslaw River Bridge.

Exquisitely content when it's so quiet I can hear the paint drop into the interstices of the canvas. Pure heaven. Closeup from a new painting, Siuslaw River Bridge, Florence Oregon. 

Get. A. Job.

Crown Water Tower, Portland, Oregon.  Acrylic. 40x30"

Crown Water Tower, Portland, Oregon.  Acrylic. 40x30"

Does anyone else ever have a painting that won't grow up and leave home? This one came close to a dose of gesso. Why is totally curious to me. Could be the figure this one is painted over wasn't happy about her outcome. I was happily rambling and when I saw this quaint water tower, I was totally charmed. Then the painting became so high maintenance, I finally told it if it wanted to survive, it needed to go find a home of it's own. 

Possible painting...

Acrylic and Charcoal on paper. 24x24 ish. 

Acrylic and Charcoal on paper. 24x24 ish. 

 

Experimenting with different papers and surface treatments. May have found one I want to pursue. 24x24ish. This may grow up to be a painting one day...

There has to be a first one...

Stacks, Oil, 40x15.75"  From Working The River

Stacks, Oil, 40x15.75"  From Working The River

The first painting from Working The River series. A professor suggested to us, if we wanted to develop a "style" and loosen up, we needed to paint one substantial painting a day for a year. Spend at least three hours with a 16x20" ish canvas everyday, no matter if we were sick, just dumped by the boyfriend or the world was ending ~ we paint and at the end of the year we'll know who we are as a painter. This piece was my brave beginning of this era ~ a return to oils and to find out who I am again in the work. Completion took double the time over the course of a couple days. As a more mature artist, I learned I want to take some time with painting. I don't want a quick date, I want a whirlwind romance so when I pass my work on the street I at least know the name. 

Very. Serious. Work. ...

No Exit from Working the RIver series. Oil. 36 x 18"

No Exit from Working the RIver series. Oil. 36 x 18"

Some things crack me up and I wonder if anyone else sees the humor in life around us the way I do. This door is several stories up in the Blue Heron Paper Company. As if a few frayed ropes would stop someone who is determined to ingress or egress. Part of the series showing this fall. 

Normal is only on a washing machine...

Black and white charcoal on toned paper. 11 x 14"

Black and white charcoal on toned paper. 11 x 14"

Tried to "slow down" and "get normal" in the sketching this morning. Couldn't pull it off. It's best to move out of the way...