Tag: Pacific Northwest

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.

Oregon Coastline – Your Thoughts?

The Pacific Northwest – Oregon, Washington – has some of the most dramatic and beautiful coastlines. I could easily spend a summer just exploring them. The rock formations, deep beaches, wildness all hold such an appeal. Any rugged coastline fascinates me, and perhaps someday I will get to spend weeks in Maine, Nova Scotia, and other places of such beauty.

Today, I decided to revisit Oregon from a trip awhile ago. Sea stacks run out into the Pacific, some merely rocks, other crowned with pine trees. Take a look at the two paintings below – the same, but with a bit of variation.

This is the painting as it now stands – but what do you think of the one below?

They don’t vary a great deal – and I am not going to tell you what I did – but if you have some thoughts as to which you like, and why, let me know.

Meanwhile, painting this, I worked really hard to create a sense of depth. The photo I used was an overcast and rather murky day. The distant sea stacks were not much different in value than the nearer ones; the coast itself was a bit brighter. Overall, the light was flat here and twas a bit hard to conceptualize it altogether. I am fairly pleased with it, but as with any painting, I see areas for improvement, some I like, some I think are great, etc. Anyone who paints knows this!

Watercolor, CP 140# paper, about 10×12.