Mountain Views

My husband and I are just back from 4 days in the terrain around the Mt. Hood area. It was, in turn, invigorating, relaxing, and exhausting. Saturday we took an 8 mile round trip hike to Salmon Butte. It was a hot, dry uphill climb through the forgiving shade of the forest, with a spectacular clear view from the top of Mt Hood, Adams, St. Helens, Rainier, with additional mountains to the east. I'll have to look them up. Wild flowers too ; intense violet penstemon, indian paintbrush and lupine, to name a few.

A Toe in the Water

The first showing of my work in a group show at the Elder Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina has come to a close. I sold one piece to a collector there. For a first time exposure, I am happy to have had a sale and recovered my costs with some extra. Always good to make more than you spend. I hope this will be the beginning of a great relationship.

Opening in Charlotte

The new artists show is opening at the Elder Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina on Friday. I will have 6 paintings in the show. The works are up and on the website. The reds and greens are not exact, but it does give some idea of the paintings. You can see the work of the other artists as well. The website is www.elderart.com

Off to Houston and Back to Oregon

I've finished the commissioned painting for Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend. It is being shipped to Houston to American Art Resources, the consulting firm for the job. They will stretch it, frame it, and install the work in Springfield, Oregon. Seems circuitous, but those are my orders.

Here's to Emma

This week on Monday we put our sweet old girl, Emma down. She had a type of invasive cancer that progressively made it harder and harder for her to breathe. After a week of sleepless nights, we made the hard decision. She loved people and always gave a warm greeting to any visitor. One of her final acts was to hold out her paw to the stranger who helped with her death. She loved to hold hands and always extended a paw. She loved the beach and chasing balls and sticks, but most of all she loved to engage with people. She was my constant companion and I miss her terribly. So here's to you Emma, and your kind, outgoing way of greeting the world.

An Invitation

I'm posting an invitation for an open studio this weekend. I hope you'll stop by. I would enjoy meeting some new folks and sharing my art and that of my friends, Jason Greene, Stephen Leflar, and Mary Real. We will have a variety of prints, drawings, watercolors and paintings on canvas in a variety of prices. Come on by!

Good News

I received good news yesterday that my work will be included in the new Sacred Heart Medical Center Campus at Riverbend in Springfield, Oregon. The work in this post, plus a larger commissioned painting will be part of their collection. The facility is scheduled to open in August. It looks pretty interesting from the website. There are drawings illustrating the atrium which makes use of natural materials and has a grand hotel feeling. Efforts have been made to make people more comfortable, and the building has several "green" aspects. All of the patient rooms have a view of the surrounding landscape. It seems they've gotten the message people heal better when they can see trees instead of buildings. Interesting. I look forward to seeing it after it's completed.

Spring Comes To Visit

I hope you had a chance to enjoy a bit of spring on Saturday. I took the opportunity to wander around Forest Park with my camera, and have dinner with friends on the outdoor patio at Wild Abandon.I think it was so unusual, it caught us all off guard. Needless to say, our typical spring has returned with a vengeance;a smattering of snow, sun, hail and rain. You know what they say."If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes."

A Movie Recommendation

This weekend we rented the DVD "Goya's Ghosts." It was directed by Milos Foreman and stars Stellan Skarsgard,Natalie Portman, and evil incarnate from "No Country for Old Men", Javier Bardem. It is visually beautiful and terrible and places Goya's life and work into the context of The Inquisition, war, and all the atrocities he witnessed and expressed in his work. There is a wonderful quick sequence of the art of etching which quickly illustrates the process. Acting is first rate with Skarsdard as Goya, Portman as a model and victim of the Inquisition, and Bardem as a Catholic priest who breaks free and then is undone by his rebellion. I will say no more specifics about that. I highly recommend the film if you love Goya, history, or masterful filmmaking.

Taking A New Plunge

This week my work arrived at a new gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina. The gallery is the Elder Gallery, Larry Elder is the dealer there. His response to my work was very positive, so we'll give it a shot.The gallery has an eclectic assortment of art from non-objective to classical Russian art. The website is www.elderart.com. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.