Inlet sunset

Inlet Sunset

I painted this a few nights ago....on my parents deck. 

 They have an amazing view 

and we've been having beautiful clear skies.

The sunset was great!

I gotta say....I'm really loving this painting outside thing!

I've been painting in my studio for years,

funny how I didn't think of this earlier  :)

My outdoor palette

Okay, look at this sweet idea!  A portable palette for my oil paints :)

It's an aluminum hard case for laptops, but I fitted it with a glass 

palette in the bottom.  Love it!!

This is an idea from Elio Camacho.

And the best part....I feel like a secret agent carrying it.

love that...

Inlet view

Alaskan Inlet

In the summer this view is creek, grasslands and ocean with the mountains in the background.

Throughout the winter it turns to creek and silt-covered ice chunks....and mountains.

I was so fortunate to have this beautiful scenery in my backyard growing up.....my 

parents house.  I love being near the ocean.  

The sounds, the smells....the wonderful wind and the sight of it feels like home.

  My ongoing plein air experiment..... my parent's deck made for a great spot to try 

it out!  I can't wait till it's alive with color.  I'll try again when the ground comes to life.

Thank you for looking!

"Lunch Date"

"Lunch Date"

20" x 16"  oil

Got your back

Saturday drawing session at UAA.  

Figure drawing is such a challenge for me. 

I love when others do it well, so I keep practicing.     

I've said it before, but UAA has a wonderful figure drawing session on Saturdays.

Great models, great lighting...great opportunity!

Open to the community as well as UAA students. 

more drawings....

Just some quick one minute studies. 

 I love the quick poses, they always have so

 much more expression to me.

So even though there is not a lot of detail, I feel like 

I can capture more mood with less rendering.

Turnagain Arm

This is my favorite road in the world.  I've never seen anything that has 

captured my heart as much as the Seward Highway, heading down Turnagain Arm.

Mountains and ocean together, and the road hugs the edge of where the mountains meet the water. 

It's a beautiful drive.

I'm not sure if anyone else can make out what I was painting, but I loved being out there

and this is what I saw when I painted along the roadside. 

Aggregate towers

On my way to work, I drive by this structure. 

 It always catches my eye, maybe because there is so much snow and this thing 

stands out with all it's bright orange, shooting into the sky.

We had a beautiful sunny day and it was just sitting there glowing.

So I grabbed my "stuff" and painted it from the parking lot across the street.

I like it.  I could see doing it again, but bigger.  Maybe when the snow melts.

  

Night painting

Again..... I was sitting in the parking lot, at the gas station, 

painting this one a few nights ago.

Lighting my pallet and painting at night was my challenge.

More abstract looking.....loose.  I like it.  

Maybe a bright head lamp would do the trick next time.

Thank you for looking!

Plein air....kinda....

Plein air?  okay....does it count if I sat in my car?

I was comfy parked in the parking lot with my set-up in my lap, and supplies in the 

passenger seat :)

I'm still getting used to hauling my stuff around, but it was fun not painting in my

studio.  Kinda like a pic-nic.... food tastes better when you're outside.

I bet this painting on location thing is going to be a new favorite.  

And if you would have told me this a year ago, 

I would not have believed it!  

Funny how things change when you least expect it.

More drawings.......

I think I'm doing more drawing than painting lately.  These Saturday sessions at UAA have been a great opportunity to work on my drawing skills.  I find the week slips by and I'm at the drawing session again.  

When it comes to painting, I seem to just fit it in whenever I can.

I think I should make a few times during the week that I have a painting sessions in my studio.

No excuses!  Just do it!  Be there or be square.....uh oh.... that was corny.

"Waiting for Enlightenment"

"Waiting for Enlightenment"

oil on canvas

I have a cool skull that I love to play dress-up with.  Some days I put a small toy in his eye socket......some days he wears funky hats and wigs.  I have a selection of goggles and vintage eye glasses he models for me.  

The burnt-out light bulb reminds me of times when I haven't got a clue.  Lately I find myself searching for more meaning in my world.  Why.......why do I do what I do?  Why do others do what they do?  Why are some days blissful and other days not.  Do I have some control over any of this?

Who's in charge?

This was a good way to focus myself and just think about color, shapes and light.

Easier than thinking about the other stuff.

Waiting for Spring

I'm waiting for spring.

I cropped this picture when I photographed it, I'm not sure why.  There are flowering branches above my head in the painting.  This is the time of year that I absolutely crave some color.  Alaska is all snow right now, and has been for the past 5 months.

I can't wait for green.  I have been daydreaming of plein air painting for a couple months now.

I'm planning a few trips out of Alaska this spring to do some landscape painting. 

Planning can be half the fun.

Things are starting to look promising here too.  Today was sunny and in the 30's....snow is melting.

 I like it!

Being outside feels so good....so painting and being outside sounds like heaven right now.

I'll have to give it a try.  I've never tried painting outside when it's winter :)