Postcards from Idaho #9

"Trees on Lake Pend O'reille"
8"x10" oil on panel
Available

Another painting from Jan's beach on Lake Pend O'reille. What a great place to paint, very peaceful, plenty of shade to stand in and spectacular views all around. Wish I could paint here more, but we're starting to pack up now. I have a couple of paintings that will have to be finished at home. But for now, it's almost adios to Idaho and all our good friends.

Postcards from Idaho #8

"Jan's Beach"

6"x8" oil on panel

This painting was done on Lake Pend O'reille on property owned by our friend Jan. The Lake is so large is hard to do a painting that can express it's size and beauty, so I decided to focus on a little piece of it. The light yellow streak through the middle is actually the grassy sides of the train trestle crossing on the lake.

Postcards from Idaho #7

"Farm Across the Field #2"
12"x16" oil on panel
Available

Here's another painting of Alvin's Farm in a larger format. The hay fields here are so beautiful with the undulating patterns of line and color. I love the paintings of Gary Ernest Smith from Oregon, and these fields inspire the kind of composition he uses.

Postcards from Idaho #6

"Alvin's Barn"
10"x8" oil on panel

I know...another barn..another red barn, the kind of barn picture that any elementary school child would paint from his concept of "barn". But, this is a special barn. It's Alvin's barn across the road from our cabin property. Alvin died two years ago, he was about 95 years old. Alvin was a legendary farmer in this part of the world and a good friend and mentor to my partner Steve. This farm will be sold soon and with new owner's will come changes. All of my farm paintings from Idaho are of Alvin's farm-a visual memory of Alvin and his place in the world

Postcards from Idaho #5

"High Mountain Trail"
8"x6" oil on panel

The mountains around Lake Pend O'reille just go on and on as far and the eye can see. At the high elevations beautiful meadows, tall trees, and and huckleberry bushes thrive. It's berry picking time now, so we'll soon be headed out with our buckets in search of this local treasure.

Postcards from Idaho #4

"Apple Tree in the Lane"
8"x6" oil on panel
$100
Available

This apple tree is from a volunteer seed, planting itself amidst a forest of tall cedars, pines and fir. For years it really struggled to reach the sunlight, but managed to stretch itself up sufficiently to get what it needed, and was still able to produce a load of apples for the deer in our woods. Now we have cleared out some of the trees around it and it has more light, and has been pruned into a more shapely tree, but I don't know that it thrives the better for it. Still it makes a beautiful site reaching it's arms high in the light.

Postcards from Idaho #3

"Abandoned Camper Shell"
6"x8" oil on panel
$100
Available

Steve left this camper shell on the property almost 30 years ago when he moved to the Virgin Islands. The vines and other greenery took it over, and moss is growing all over it. We've never been able to figure out how to get it out of here. It usually seems like an eyesore, but this morning the lift shining on it and in the grass we mowed down a few days ago, it looked like an ancient structure worthy of painting. So here you go. Happy Fourth of July.

Postcards from Idaho #2

"Light in the Clearing"
8"x6" oil on panel


The color on this photo is terrible, I apologize, there's actually a lot of yellow-green that is not coming through. Anyway, this painting was done from the cabin back door. Until two years ago, this was the "scary woods". We did a lot of clearing in this area, and now, seeing this light on the other side of the woods is a real joy.