Spring Evening on Broken Top

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In May of 1985 four friends and I skied into the Central Cascades of Oregon for a weekend of exploration.  Broken Top is a remnant of an extinct volcano; and we made camp on the rim of the crater. 

There was still four to five feet of snow on the slopes of Broken Top; and with the warming spring temperatures we were able to ski in our shirt sleeves.

This painting is a compilation of two photos I took as we approached the mountain.

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Marmalade Bay

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I've based this oil painting on a sunset photograph I took during the winter of 1974 along the Pacific Coast Highway near Reedsport, Oregon while working as a bank courier and driving from Eugene to Coos Bay.

I don't know the correct name of the bay; but the colors in the photograph have always reminded me of a jar of marmalade.

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Arctic Outbreak

4.375" x 10 ", Gouache on Arches 140# Watercolor Paper
$125 framed.  The price includes shipping
Email finelinegallerymail@gmail.com for more info.  I do take payments.

Certified check or money order please.

This painting is the second in my series, "Seasons of the Giant". The Sleeping Giant is the prominent geological formation that overlooks the Helena Valley from the north.

Arctic outbreaks are powerful winter storms that roll down out of Canada along the Rocky Mountain Front with high, bitterly cold winds that scour snow from fallow fields. Temperatures drop rapidly to below zero degrees fahrenheit. The lilac-grey sky in this painting is the leading edge of the storm front just before it envelops the valley. When one of these outbreaks hits, it is time to settle in under a comforter with a hot drink and a good book.

(The camera was not able to pick up the strong lilac cast of the sky in the painting.)

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Spring's Arrival at Freezout Lake

6 1/2" X 9 7/8", Gouache on 140# Arches Watercolor Paper

$185.00 framed.  The price includes shipping.

Email finelinegallerymail@gmail.com for more information.  I do take payments.

Certified check or money order please.

Every spring and autumn tens of thousands of Snow Geese make a migration rest stop at Freezout Lake, which sits just east of the Rocky Mountain Front near Fairfield, Montana.

In early spring the mountains' snows are beginning to melt away, exposing the dark earth below. And in the sky, there are tens of thousands of large white geese with black wingtips. Their raucous calls fill the air; and it feels like spring from long ago.

It's a land of stark contrasts and persistence.

Returned by the Sea

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In the mid-1970's, while living in Eugene, I often drove to the Oregon coast during the winter months to see what I could find on the beaches after powerful storms. One of my favorite spots was the dunes at Florence.

After one especially violent storm I drove to Florence with friends to walk the beach. We found this old fishing dory lying at the water's edge. It was built from split & shaped logs, and had been tossed up on the shore by the Pacific's churn. During another later storm it was picked up by the waves and reclaimed by the sea.

A Window On Time

I created this piece around 1976 while living in Eugene, Oregon.  The work is based on the interior of an old cabin in Northeastern Oregon near Meacham.  I drove past the cabin five mornings a week while working as a bank courier. I stopped several times to make sketches of the interior with the basin, pitcher and broken window.  The view from the window is an imagined one.  The art sold shortly after I completed it and is in a private collection in Oregon.

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Winter Springcreek

8" x 8", Graham watercolors on 100# Arches paper

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Today's painting was inspired by my backyard. I've painted the view from down in the deep draw behind my home, taking artistic license and eliminating the houses that actually sit at the base of the mountain ridge. My home sits on the lip of the draw. There are underground springs, some of which originate on our property, feeding the small creek. The city of Helena also uses this draw to receive storm runoff water from the hills to the south of us.

This springcreek draw is a rich environment of cattails, red willow, wild roses, and tall grasses. Deer come here to graze and rest down out of the wind. And the habitat is also used by lots of chirping, singing, and hunting birds.

The mountain ridge is part of the southern rim of the Helena Valley. Mt Ascension, a prominent feature of the Valley, is on the right.

Autumn Sleep

4.375 X 10 inches

Gouache on Arches 100# Watercolor Paper

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Email finelinegallerymail@gmail.com for more information.  I do take payments.

Certified check or money order please. 

In my search for another painting medium, to use along with watercolor and oil, I've decided to experiment with gouache -- an opaque form of watercolor.

This is my first painting using gouache in a serigraphic style. On the northern rim of the Helena Valley we have a unique mountain formation that we call "The Sleeping Giant". This is one of those geographic features that provides a sense of place.

I enjoyed layering the gouache, much like is done with oil paints; and I loved the fact that gouache has a minimal drying time in comparison to oils.  Oils can take days to dry before any layering can be done.

Update from the Studio

Hello to my blog visitors and supporters, I set a New Year's goal for myself of publishing one new piece of work each week, but as with many good intentions, reality set in and I wasn't able to complete any of the five pieces I'm currently working on. There are a variety of reasons for that, but mostly a lack of physical endurance. My brain surgery had a mild stroke-like effect on my right side, and since I'm right handed, I tire easily after two or three hours of painting. I've spent most of January focusing on painting with acrylics, which have a short drying time, hoping that using them would help me to complete my pieces quickly. But I've found the medium completely frustrating; and I've decided to shift my painting focus to watercolors and oils. I've started a new watercolor and am trying to finish up a couple oils I've had in the works for a while. I look forward to posting completed artwork in February. There may be writing interspersed with my posts in the future. I used to write for a regional magazine prior to my brain surgery; and painting was more of a secondary pastime. But one of the side effects of the surgery was aphasia (difficulty finding words when speaking or writing)- not a good situation for a writer. Recently the aphasia fog has lifted and words are starting to flow again. So I intend to occasionally post a short piece of writing, be it a short essay about the inspiration for a piece, or just observations on my world here in Montana. I'm an historian by education so there may be historical tidbits as well. I hope you enjoy both my art and my writing. Thank you once again for your visits and support.