My family takes an annual trip to Washington to visit relatives and enjoy the scenery there. Once again, we traveled to the Pacific Northwest. We enjoy the joy change of landscape and the cooler temperatures there. This year, we reserved 2 nights to at the Mara Campground in the Olympic National Park only 2 miles from the ocean. Many warm afternoons were spent at the Columbia River to swim. We also made a trip to the Oregon Coast, experiencing a beautiful day at the Peter Iredale Beach. In a way, this trip is a “work” trip, where I create oil paintings plein air (on location). Before sharing the group of paintings made up in Washington, I will narrate some favorite experiences.
I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to stay with family in Washington and to have the ability to paint in their “backyard” surrounded by dense forests and lush vegetation. I am particularly drawn to the massive cedar trees with large, swooping branches. The morning light filtering through the trees sets me up for dramatic warm light highlighting the base of these big cedar trees. Also, the many shades of green astound me! I find myself making many warm tones of green mixing with oranges, and then the deep shadowed greens lean towards blue. It is a lot of fun to throw a touch of red on the greens for a pop of warmth.
The camping trip up in the Olympic National Park was amazing! The drive up there meandered through logging towns including Forks. We arrived at the campsite in the afternoon and were amazed at the large spruce trees casting the campground in cool shadow. After setting up our tent, we drove the 2 miles to Rialto Beach. We were surprised with wind and cold, whereas our campsite was pleasantly warm. The wind whipped sea mist into our faces, and the sea stacks were hazy with fog. We enjoyed a campfire to take the chill off, not possible in the summer months in our home state of Arizona. Our second day of camping saw us to a hiking trail to see a beach near La Push. The morning was calm and sunny, creating the reverse of the day before. Back at our campsite for lunch, we were cold, so decided to get back to the warmth of the beach at Rialto. I set up to paint there and made two paintings as the kids played and explored.
A favorite spot to catch some views is near a friend’s house, after a short hike, to a view of the Columbia River as well as distant mountains to the west. A bank of fog hovered against the cliffs/hills above the river and morning light filtered into the lower farming fields. After completing a painting of the river, I turned to the west and captured another scene of hazy blue mountains.
Another experience to highlight was a rainy day spent in town. Well, it was just drizzling, not really considered rain up there. I set up at Lake Sacajawea, attracted to the red bridge going to Japanese Gardens reflected in the rippling waters. A maple tree sported orange leaves in contrast with all of green!
Here is a selection of paintings from my time in the Pacific Northwest:
7×10 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
9×12 oil
8×8 oil