Tag: Oregon

South Toward Cannon Beach

South Toward Cannon Beach

Earlier this month a friend and I flew up to Eugene, OR, and spent about 5 days exploring Eugene itself as well as the Oregon coastline. I took a lot of photos but only now am taking a bit of time to edit them and post them.

The Oregon coast is known for its sea stacks, as is the coastline further north into Washington and Canada. Some are quite small, others are rather dramatic, such as the one known as the “Haystack” because of its domelike appearance. It’s visible on the far left of the ocean’s horizon line, faint and lost in the atmospheric haze.

I took this picture, merged from two photos, looking southward from Ecola using my G7X, a great point-and-shoot camera I use a lot for traveling. Being a Canon, it doesn’t have the rich colors of Nikon (my opinion, but many agree), but it caught the overcast qualities of the coast beautifully.

Back Road Near Sisters, OR

The other day I was browsing through a bunch of snapshots I took when I was up in Oregon for a week visiting a friend. We spent time on the coast and inland. This painting is from a picture I took as we were driving back to her house near Sisters, Oregon.

As you can see, in the distance are a number of snow-covered mountains. The are called the Three Sisters. I have a photograph I took from the car of this scene, and of the mountains. In the photo, the mountains blend into the blue of the sky, but when enlarged, you can easily see them. I kept the proportions of the photo but made the Three Sisters more visible. The photo is below, and clicking on it will take you to Flickr. Clicking on the Flickr picture until it is maxed out will make the distant mountains visible.

Outside Sisters, OR

It’s interesting how the atmosphere just blends the mountains into the sky. On the drive, they were visible, but very faint.

I did not strive for accuracy in representing the Three Sisters. I just wanted to make sure they were there. I also changed the landscape to my liking in my painting, and does it work? Hmm. My focal point is a bit vague to me, but the red buildings below the treeline are hopefully getting you where you need to be.

Watercolor, BaoHong 100% cotton CP paper, 9×12.

Toward Yaquina Head

Awhile ago I went to Newport, Oregon, with a friend. We spent a few days there and went to the various touristy areas around town as well as visited the Yaquina Head Lighthouse. It was a rather overcast day, quite chilly for the middle of summer. The hills were green and filled with wildflowers, the sea air fresh. Coming from a dry SoCal, it was a bit of paradise! I took a lot of photos, and this painting is based upon one of them.

The medium of choice was gouache with a tan heavy-weight paper as the surface. I usually paint on white, but as I have a big tablet of it, I decided to go ahead and try it out. I rather like the results, but truthfully have no idea if the tan paper makes a difference in the final appearance. The whites do seem brighter in this painting than they usually do, so perhaps there is merit in using toned paper. More paintings on the toned paper will be done as I like the surface for the painting.

Gouache, tan toned paper, 7×10.

Beach Day at Low Tide

After a busy several days, including the winding down of my summer painting classes, I needed to do some watercolor and landscape painting! Oil painting and portraiture require a lot of focus, but it is so restful to just think about colors and shapes, as I do in watercolors.

This painting is inspired by travels along the Oregon coastline. I tried to capture both the color of the sea as well as the mistiness of the distant mountains. The little dots representing a beach filled with people was a bit inspired because I needed to do something with some empty space in the middle. Nothing like being the god of your landscape, eh?

Watercolor, St. Cuthbert’s Mill Bockingford paper, 140# CP, 12×16.