Elk Hideaway was our home lost in the Oregon Road Fire of August 18, 2023. This is a watercolor painting of it from what pictures I could find. The finished painting reminds me of the peace surrounding our forest home, before.
Our hideaway was a DIY house that we designed and built, my husband and myself. We did most of the work ourselves over 5-years, which is probably why the loss is so hard to settle. Painting this portrait begins with a light wash background and the structure surfaces placed in light yellows.
Next, the shadows and brown pigment are added to the structure along with a little foreground highlighting in the painting.
More darkening on the structure begins to show more of the detail.
I add light wash coats to the foreground and background which seem to start to bring it to life.
The final touch is dropping a beautiful blue skyline over the rooftop. Fini! I get a feeling that everything will be alright.
Our new house is almost ready for the basement slab to be poured. So, we look forward to having a home by the end of summer, hopefully. All of the trees are gone now so we now have wide-open views of all the neighbors and the far-away mountain ranges. But, the neighborhood consensus is, that we all feel kind of naked without our trees. Their beautiful shapes and colors with all of the wildlife were daily inspirations. We miss the trees so very much, but maybe it is the privacy they gave us that we miss the most.
Great painting Val, that’s how I remember it!
We do feel kind of like we are in a fishbowl now but with plantings hopefully a sense of privacy will return.
Yes, I look forward to lots of growth this year to bring some normalcy back.