Summer Forest

12x16", Oil on Linen.  This scene reminds me of the heady herbal sage-like perfume of the sun-warmed wild yarrow that scents the air in the late summer in the high desert chaparral and forest areas of Eastern Oregon.  It also reminds me of the cottontail rabbits that I almost always see when out painting in this area.  

Mountain Road

From a recent camping trip in the Hells Canyon Wilderness. 14x11", Oil on Linen.  Available at Holton's Gallery. 

Wildflowers & Pines

I ventured a little higher in elevation this morning and spotted this area with abundant wildflowers, red-violet lupine and a yellow daisy-type flower that I don't know the name of, in a pine meadow. The sunlight was very soft, filtered by heavy haze. A pair of whitetail posed in the middle of my view that I resisted the temptation to add since they would probably look too precious. An elk would have been more tempting. This is the first study I've done in a while that I am really looking forward to working up into a real painting. This is one I'd love to get lost in the abstract shapes and two dimensional surface plane of the image. I think that the time I spent with Maria Entis last week is having an influence. She has a new website, check out her work: www.mariaentis.com. Another influence from visiting Vancouver, was the art glass work of Robert Held. His studio produces a wide variety of styles, all of which are gorgeous, but here I was thinking about some of his wildflower series that seem to shimmer and glow and are very Klimt-like: www.robertheld.com.