Art on the Vine 2013 Oregon College of Art and Craft Auction

I am honored to be participating in the 18th annual Art on the Vine 2013, a benefit auction for student scholarships at the Oregon College of Art and Craft. With both my kids in college I understand the scarce sources for funding needed to attend  college or university.

"Lamar Valley Thunderstorm" is an 18" x 24" oil on canvas. This turned out to be a sweet piece, I am speaking in terms of color harmonies. I didn't intend on working in saturated hues, but at the time I was painting this piece the valley was filled with dense smoke from local and regional forest fires. I yearned for clean air and blue sky! My wish came true with this painting and at the same time I was able to express the beauty of this part of Yellowstone National Park.

Paris Gibson Square Annual Art Auction

I will be participating in the upcoming Paris Gibson Square 16th Annual Art Auction.

"Summer Light" is a 12" x 12" oil on canvas of the Missouri River white cliffs. Late July light with strong indirect compliments for warm light and cool shadows.

Missoula Museum Annual Art Auction

"Bitterroot Thunderstorm" is a 18" x 18" oil on canvas. This painting will be a part of the 41st Annual Missoula Museum art auction. The auction will be on Saturday, February 2, 2013.

This painting was created from a plein air painting I did near a bird reserve in the Bitterroot Valley in western Montana. This storm was part of very turbulent air the brought in a heat wave to the state. I had to paint quickly and change locations to dodge all the storms passing through.

Pioneer Mountains Big Hole River

Another must-go-to-every-summer location is the Pioneer Mountains and the infamous Crystal Park. Everything in this area is beautiful, the weather is dynamic and changes rapidly.

Last summer we got snowed on in mid August and it was 92 degrees the day before in Bozeman!

This is another small painting in the I-can't-wait-for-winter-to-end series titled "Pioneer Mountains" and is 2.5" x 2.5" oil on gessoed board. It is framed and ready to hang.

Tom Minor Basin

A favorite destination for the past 30 years is Tom Minor Basin just on the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park. This is the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park in Montana.

Autumn starts early here with the colors changing everyday along with early snow and colder temperatures. This day was just after a storm moved through and the day warmed up nicely!

"Yellowstone Late Afternoon" is a 4" x 5" oil on canvas. It is looking south from Tom Minor Basin into Yellowstone.

Gallatin Valley Thunderstorm

This is another painting influenced by a very gray winter and the yearning for warmth and sun is overwhelming.

"Gallatin Valley Thunderstorm" is a very small painting, one of the smallest I have ever attempted at a whopping 2.65" x 2.65"! I have concluded that these small formats are just as challenging as a 4' x 6' canvas. A quest for an economy of language to describe the feeling of the light.

This is oil on gessoed board, varnished and framed.

Summer in Winter

Summer! Montana summers are incredible especially the sunsets after the summer solstice. The atmosphere is clean, clear and warm producing the most beautiful sunsets.

When I get tired of shoveling snow or the cold temperatures are too much or the it has been gray too many days I paint a bright, warm summer painting. This is one of those still July evenings that I eagerly await for during these dark January days.

This is a small oil painting on 3.5" x 3.5" canvas panel and is titled "Spanish Peaks Sunset".