Buckley Riverview, Kettle WA, oil sketch, 14x20"

Morning mist on the Colville River rises into the Cerulean sky. While painting plein air, there were a flock of 50 wild turkeys around me. The Toms resplendently courting the hens. I should turn to wildlife painting as much wildlife as I run across. While sketching today Betts and I found an eagle nest with a fuzzy yellow eaglet basking in the sun. It is hard to see in this little jpeg but maybe if you copied it and enlarged it you can see the eaglet. The eagle nest is in the top of the dead cottonwood.

"Wilderness" 11"x14", oil on canvas board, Bid on Ebay

This painting is available on Ebay. Follow the attached link.

My fingers were pretty numb by the end of this session. I captured the light spilling down the trail to our horse pasture. The the warm light on the Pines is a perfect contrast to the cool shadows falling on the cold snow.

A fun little number that would be a refreshing memory of Winter on a warm summer day.

West Seattle Sunset, 3x3 oil on masonite

Gold Mountains, Republic, WA 12x48 oil, sold

> Gold Mt Republic, WA 12"x48" This little town nestled in the mountains of Eastern Washington is a bootstrap community in the throes of re-inventing their economy that went the way of so many rural communities dependent on natural resources of logging, mining and ranching. The golden mountain was just that, the Knob Hill Gold Mine which was the oldest longest producing gold mine in the U.S. before it shut down.
Since then, mines have come and gone as is the nature of the boom or bust industry of mining. Today like so many communities where the economy has hit the bottom artists and craftsman such as myself are some of the few that have discovered what's left, the beauty and quality of life that has always been here. Deer, bear, moose and eagles all thrive in this land of mountains and clear streams, a haven that I am grateful to live and paint in. It's not surprising that a community that was nurtured by the blood, sweat and tears of the mining life should have such a difficult time re-inventing its economy. Ghost towns do happen.
This painting leapt off the easle into the home of one of my favorite patrons, Kate Kienast. Thanks Kate and Merry Christmas to you and Peter. Cheers! to All!