Thomas Lake ID

ThomasLakeBirdRefuge Thomas Lake Bird Refuge in Northern ID is beautiful. Full of forest shores, lilypnds floating and wetland grasses and lots and lots of birds. Egret, eagle, hawk, duck, geese and much more.

The adventure started at 3 am when I hopped in the car, driving to meet my friend in Coeur d’Alene by 4:30 am. We continued carpooling from there in her great red van. Bet anyone who knows her already knows who my Plein Air buddy is. We did arrive in Time to see dawn and it was just spectacular. We will go there again together, it was a blast.

This is the latest oil painting from a plein air day spent there. It was a challenge and is the first time I used oil paints since the fire in August 2023. Aren’t the reflections in the water great storytellers?

Nighttime at the Cathedral

Nighttime at the Cathedral. This is an oil painting completed while attending the week of painting in Eagle Idaho, just north of Boise. It was a great time for artists and full of adventures in plein air.

Night time painting of cathedral

I have never tried to paint at night so this was an unfamiliar setup and subject. Outside in the dark, downtown Boise all alone in a parking lot across from a cathedral that had lighting that caught my eye. Cathedral of the Rockies10

Progressive stage. I will be painting at night again… it is a challenge. It feels like an opposite approach, rendering the highlights on a dark background. Drawing is usually rendering shadows on a light background.

Rediscovery

The rediscovery of my love for Plein Air Painting is now complete. I spent 2 weeks driving around Coeur d’Alene ID and painting outside. The beauty of where we live has brought my artist’s soul back to life. The art expedition involved multiple trips, cruising around, and sightseeing till I noticed a great view. Then, stopping to hop out, set up the easel, and paint my heart out.

Barn Elkhorn Flats H0523 — 10″w x 8″h watercolor on 140lb wc paper/board cradle. Old barn in the prairie where Elkhorn Flats Wildlife Mitigation Unit is in Idaho.

3 Paintings

This was the first plein air I did during the art expedition. An old barn stopped me on the road and I had to back up to go see it. The old barn won an honorable mention ribbon and was the first painting sold in our booth.

Roadside Centurian Stump — 11″h x 14″ w oil on stretched canvas. Stump on slow vehicle turnout from Hwy 97 E side of Lake Coeur d’Alene ID 23.2 miles from I-90

I pulled into a slow vehicle turn out to let traffic go by, and this guy greeted me right up front and center. What a personality this tree stump has. He didn’t win a ribbon but there was one young man who fell in love with it. He went off and brought back his whole family to vote for it as the people’s choice.

Blooming Wet H0723 — 11″w x 14″h x .75″d watercolor, acrylic & ink on 140lb wc paper/board cradle. A wetland about 25 miles south on Hwy 97, full of blooming lilly ponds, grasses and wildlife named Thompson Refuge in Idaho.

This painting won the “People’s Choice” award for the plein air booth. Bloomin Wet is a close-up view from the bank of the water full of blooming lily pods, grasses, reeds, and lots of mosquitos.

1 Demo Painting

As described in a previous post, I did a demo of plein air painting from some fresh sunflowers in the booth during the Art on the Green show.

Single Sunflower — 4″ x 4″ wc on 140 lb paper from a plein air demo at the Art on the Green booth.

This small 4″ x 4″ demo sold.

Sunflower Plein Air Demo 2023 — 11″w x 14″h watercolor sunflowers demo at our booth in Art on the Green in Coeur d’Alene ID 2023.

Here is another sunflower demo that I intend to finish later in the studio.

Baby & Mom or Jesus

Mom & Baby Photograph Baby & Mom or Jesus are the subjects of this family snapshot showing the “Smooch, I love you!” moment, between a mom and her baby. It used to be a common practice for me to fully draw any idea out on paper before laying it out on any kind of canvas for painting. So, I’d typically end up with a pencil drawing and a painting of anything I was illustrating.

“Baby & Mom K4006” is a 24″w x 18″h pencil drawing on sketch paper inspired by the above photograph.
Baby Jesus 01

Oil

I started on a rub-out oil on board painting in the middle of December. Right when the layout began to take shape on the canvas, a great Christmas carol played on the radio. The words captivated my imagination, and immediately changed the people in the painting into the characters sang about in the song. Baby Jesus 02

Mary, did you know
that your baby boy will one day walk on water?….

Baby Jesus 03 Oil on board painting, ” Baby Jesus L704“, 27.75″w x 21.75″h x .75″t

Baby Jesus 04 In 2004, this painting won a place in the west coast USA tour going from Seattle WA to San Diego CA for the Seattle VSA disABILITIES Art contest.

I received an unusual call right before the paintings were sent off for their year-long trek. They asked me to change the name of the painting. Having a religious reference in the title was not appropriate. Really? I was surprised and called them back saying the title was openly stated on my entry form from the very beginning. I would not change the painting’s name. If that is not acceptable, return the painting to me and choose another. They decided to go ahead and send it on tour and there were no problems that I know of.

When I received Baby Jesus back home, I took it to a show at a garden nursery, and He was sold on the very first day. I did not see very much of either the sketch or the oil painting before they found forever homes. The customers had no problem at all with the titles of the pieces.

Painting the American Flag

I am painting the American flag on our propane tank. The U.S. flag has always held a warm space in my heart. I was taught to respect our nation’s flag as a beautiful symbol of freedom. It always reminds me of the Olympics. So, as I start on this project it is important that I get the painting right to show how lovely our flag looks as it moves in the wind.

Looking at the tank last evening and then while walking down to the tank this morning I have decided to change that fold near the blue and stars. I am not seeing the flowing movement that I want in the flag fabric and the stars are bugging me because they are not very consistent in size.

No worries though, because we can change anything we want as long as there is a paintbrush in hand. I will change the stars area into a slight wave in the fabric instead of the fold keeping the fold on the right side with red and white stripes. That should do it. I need to move the blue part a little more to the left and widen the first white stripe into an easier bend. Adjustments!

I mask off new locations in more consistent sizes. Masking allows freedom to freely paint the shadows and highlights of the flag fabric without worrying about messing up the stars. Applying masking tape strips to cover where the stars should be, then marking a star outline using a sharpie, followed by using an Exacto knife. Wa La!

The real painting begins, making adjustments to the layout and mixing paints to get highlight where the flag reaches out. I have to pay close attention to where light and shadow should happen. Add shadow where the flag tucks into a wave base or continues after a fold. The right side of the tank will have a red stripe leading off into the back. I decide to add a shadow around all the stars while the masking tape is still there, hoping to get them stand out.

Lastly I remove the masking tape covering where the stars are to be. Then carefully paint white in the stars and we are finished.

Tank Beautification

Remove an Eye Sore

My propane tank needs some tank beautification! Seriously, this is the propane tank that I see when I look out my kitchen window. I asked Pete if we can move it and he just laughs. Really, it seems out of place in our natural forest landscaping. It is just one of those things that really bugs me.

As an artist, I can change that, so this project begins. First I get a water hose out there and spray the tank down. With a bucket of warm water and TSP (trisodium phosphate) and a green kitchen scrubber, I get to work. Over the years, layers of pitch from the pine have accumulated a thick layer from the trees alongside it. That combined with lots of mildew have created a gross thick layer of icky stuff on the tank. Good-old TSP is a powerful cleaner that easily removes all the coodies on any surface needing paint. Make sure you read the label before you use it though because it is not a nice chemical if you handle it incorrectly.

Looks quite different clean doesn’t it? I go back into the studio to come up with a drawing to get things right.

tank as a canvas area — Tank as a canvas area

I am wanting to put the American flag flowing in the wind on the tank. Starting with the blue background for the stars on the far left with the stripes going over the rest of the tank at an angle.

chaulk lines on tank — Chaulk lines on tank

I know it isn’t that easy to see but, I use blue chalk to layout areas on the tank for the different colors. Then I quickly paint a rough underpainting of the design on the tank.

undercoating of design — Undercoating of design

I walk back up to the house and let it dry overnight.

Butterflies on the Brain

Butterflies on the brains so I just had to paint them. I noticed an unfinished oil painting that I started more than a year ago and just couldn’t quit thinking about it. So, I got out the oils, thinner, and linseed oil. Found some of the tubes beyond expired. But, was able to get a pallet out and go to work. This first image is over a year ago because my “Moose” coffee cup is in it, and, it broke more than a year ago. It is amazing how something can sit for such an extended period of time.

This picture is how the butterflies looked as they sat, waiting for me. If I don’t keep an eye on the drying rack and stacks of paintings, these poor paintings may never get done. Over a year of dust is not okay.

This year I will be doing shows to sell paintings already done. My goal is to finish all the partially painted pieces and use up all the supplies in my studio before I kick the bucket. Cleaning out the studio, recently brought a complete inventory to my attention. I could paint 24 hours a day and still not run out in a year.

Here is how the butterfly painting looks after a day of work. Finishing the background more fully with the blossoms and leaves better shaded. Taking each butterfly’s position and background coloring I was able to paint them in. So, the layout is pretty much set. I am happy with the progress. But, I will have to let it dry a while before I can finish it.

Stormy Approaching Oil

Storm Approaching Oil. This painting won a blue ribbon at the Spokane County State Fair. It was painted as a demonstration for students to try out doing the rub-out oil technique.

Storm Approaching H0309, 24″w x 18″h, oil on canvas board

Ski Lift View

The Ski Lift view always takes my breath away. This is an oil rub-out painting entitled, SunThruSnowyTreesL804, which focuses on the sun rays shooting through trees early in the morning up at 49 Degrees North Ski Resort in Chewelah Washington.

One of the most entertaining parts of skiing is the ski lift ride back up to the top of the hill. After putting some real effort out speeding through whatever terrain you are doing, you quickly slip into the lift entry gate to catch your breath. Then as you take your seat you experience a take-off into the tree heights. Up to a level where you can observe pristine quiet mountain views as you float over and through the treetops. It is a real meditation time with soft breezes and nature to the max. Some of the most peaceful and extravagantly beautiful skies and mountain scenes I have ever seen were from my seat on a ski lift. It never gets old.

First Day Back Skiing

First Day Back Skiing… in three years! YAHOOOOOO!

3 years ago, I had open-heart surgery so skiing was put on hold for quite a while. Yesterday we went skiing and I am feeling so glad to be alive. Life is SO GOOD! When you find something that makes you smile just thinking about it – go for it YEAH!

Thought you might like to see a favorite view I painted from time spent on the hill, here is a shot of the painting just started and then another of it finished. See more about a great mountain at, 49 Degrees North Ski Resort in Chewelah Washington.