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We just returned
from a quick trip down the Oregon coast. The weather was wonderful.
The temperature was in the high 70's, low 80's and sunny.
It was perfect for photographing research material for future paintings.
I carried my digital camera and plenty of floppy disks. (I knew I was going
to need at least 100 disks.) There were roadside flowers and trees
to capture, farms with sheep, cattle and horses and quaint farm equipment,
as well as small coastal towns to record digitally.
Our ultimate destination was the Schreiner
Iris Gardens in Keiser, Oregon, just north of Salem. We caught the
irises in perfect bloom. Rows and rows of kaleidoscope colors greeted
us as we pulled into the parking area. A blanket of sweet fragrance
weaved itself around me.
My husband and I spent an hour and a half recording as many
unique irises as our floppies could hold. Back home in my studio
I filed the research photos in my computer. The rest of this summer
will be available to me to paint, paint, paint!
So, keep watching for new paintings of irises,
from white to pale pink; with purples, blues, browns and blacks in between.
Next Issue: How do you paint a mural? |
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For Love Of Boats
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| I have been intrigued
by boats all my life, from the small rowboat of my youth to the tugboats
and sailing ships in the Northwest harbors. There is something about
the shape of the hull that slices cleanly through the water, that draws
me back again and again to the water's edge. There is the symetrical
crossing of mast and spar that stands vivdly in my memory. I have
watched canoes and kyaks slip silently across a still lake on an early
summer morning. I have admired the sailboats dip and sway on Puget
Sound. A ponderous crab boat leaving the dock in the chilly pre-dawn quiet
is a joy to me.
"I have fished from a twelve foot
boat in a quiet lake"
A boat is my ticket to ride the element most
un-natural to humans. It is a time when I feel unsure yet exhilarated
by the depth and power beneath the fragile vessel bearing me onward.
I have rocked and rolled on a commercial fishing boat on the ocean
out of Neah Bay
Washington, and I have fished from a twelve foot boat in a quiet lake.
Each experience has left me with awe and admiration for the sea and all
its power and for the men and women who have built and sailed those vessels
that ride there-upon. I remain breathlessly grateful in the presence
of the solitary beauty of a mirrored lake or pond.
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Tugboats are fascinating!
Large or small these working wonders keep commerce humming. Ocean
going tugs work for weeks at a time, and seem to become a mere speck on
the mighty sea. In harbors and rivers you will find the reliable
tug boat performing tasks that would appear daunting to even an industrious
ant.
If you are fortunate enough to live in a place
where ferry boats run, you know the sleek lines and unique construction
of a boat designed to carry people and vehicles from home to work and back
again.
"Ocean going tugs work for weeks
at a time"
Keep your planes and trains and autos for another
day, another trip. Give me a boat today and let me feel the fresh wind,
hear the ripple of the water, smell the salt air, and when I return to
my studio, I will use oil, pastel, gouache or watercolor to paint those
memories I have gathered close to my heart; for the love of
boats
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