Plein Air Painting in the Pacific Northwest

Every summer, we travel to the Northwest to visit family and enjoy cooler weather. We also planned to visit a few new places. I lugged my plein air backpack along most excursions to enjoy fresh challenges of less familiar scenery. We drove up to Paradise in the Rainier National Park to be surprised by the abundance of snow still up there. Flowers were growing where they could, and the bright blue skies really set off Mount Rainier in vivid clarity. The waterfalls were a highlight from that day. We enjoyed the lush forests especially in morning light. One morning, we were treated to fog filtering the sunlight into distinct rays. We headed to the coast on a rainy-day adventure at Cape Disappointment State Park. The lighthouses, rugged coast, and quaint beaches nestled in the coves were a delight! I set up at Waikiki Beach for a drizzly painting of the old Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. Later, we hiked to Deadman’s Cove and up to the lighthouse for some spectacular views. Another coastal trip found us at Seaside, Oregon for a windy/foggy beach day. We tried to enjoy the chilly temperatures before a few summery hot days came to the area later that week. On a technical note, I chose to pack Holbein’s Aqua Duo water soluble oil paints. These turned out to be a good choice for those rainy days. The paints may have gotten a little wet but didn’t affect my ability to complete a painting. If you look closely, there are rain streaks appearing on the Cape Disappointment painting. Another painting of the old plum tree was painted during a downpour as I hid under the branches of the tree, before rushing inside as the rain soaked through the tree canopy and dropped onto my painting palette. Here is a slide show of paintings and photos in no particular order from my enjoyable two weeks in the Pacific Northwest (click on thumbnails for full image).