Onion, Pepper and Bottle

Oil on canvas panel, 8" x 6"
$180 plus $7 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


A somewhat larger painting today. I enjoyed playing with these deep, saturated colors. Click the image to enlarge.

Red Onion and Bosc

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


There is something I love about this simple design and color combination...restrained but somehow rich. The pear simultaneously fuses with and emerges from the surrounding colors.

What I strive for with still life is a sense of contained energy within stillness, a sense of air and space around the objects, and--most of all--a feeling for time...time frozen or time passing (that's the trickiest part.)

Lemon, Pepper and Cup

Oil on board, 6" x 6"

$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.

SOLD

Another still life variation. I'm enjoying combining these colors.

Cup and Two Gourds

Oil on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


These little decorative gourds have been around since Thanksgiving. It's amazing how long they have lasted, but now they are finally beginning to deteriorate. The one on the left has turned this most beautiful honey amber tone, while the other one is still pretty much holding its original color. I liked them both against the deep blue of this tin cup.

And here's a little video I shot of our Valentine's weekend trip to Portland, starring my wife Brenda and our son Jared. Jared lives in the heart of the city, and showed us the ropes of riding the MAX light rail. We went on the hunt for a restaurant that wasn't booked for the sweetheart's holiday and ended up having a great dinner at Henry's, near the world famous Powell's Bookstore. It was a fun change of pace from our small-town world.

Relax

Acrylic on board, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


Okay, maybe one more escapist fantasy.

Cove Grange

Watercolor on paper, 4 1/2" x 8"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


Today's painting is for those of you who may be growing just a little weary of winter by now. Take heart, spring is on the way!

I love the simplicity of the old grange halls that dot the rural countryside. I've studied this one for years and finally got around to painting it.

High Valley Fields

Watercolor on paper, 5 1/2" x 6 1/4"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD

Brenda and I wheeled out of our little burg Saturday for a long Valentine's weekend in Portland. It was a good change of pace--we were both showing some signs of cabin fever. Two of our kids live there, so it's always fun to see them.

I have some video of the visit, but for some reason the internet connection is horribly slow right now. I'll try to upload it tomorrow.

Drifted Hay

Watercolor on paper, 5 1/2" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD
The reference for this is a photo I took years ago--loosely interpreted. These buildings no longer exist--today there's a huge gravel pit where they once stood. I'm pleased with how the forms in this design interlock and balance one another.

I'll be away from the easel for a few days, so this will be my last post for awhile. See you soon.

Saltbox

Acrylic on board, 8 1/8" x 7 1/2"
$260 plus $10 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


This little barn shows up in quite a few of my paintings, I guess partly because it's such a convenient model--we live in the house in the background.

There aren't too many wooden barns left in this valley. Most have fallen into disrepair and been replaced by steel buildings. The longer roofline on one side relates this one to the saltbox style of architecture, which originated in colonial New England.

The barn also interests me because I have a lot of personal history tied up here as well. This property belonged to my wife Brenda's parents; she was living here when I first met her some 40 years ago. The home we built and lived in for many years was only a couple of miles from this place. I used to help Brenda's dad Dallas work his cattle in this barnlot. Dal has been gone for quite a long while now, but his memory comes alive for me especially around this barn.

No painting for today, but I'll promise you the moon:

Shoreline Reeds

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
Email don@dailyartwest.com for purchase


Another painting inspired by my day at Ladd Marsh.

The Marsh

Oil on board, 6" x 6"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny day. I spent the afternoon out at Ladd Marsh--protected wetlands covering hundreds of acres. Parts of the marsh probably look much like they did thousands of years ago, before settlers began draining swampy areas to claim farmland.

Ladd Marsh is a haven for wildlife, most noticeable of which are the birds. Hawks, scanning for field mice, drift in lock-winged circles high above. Large flocks of geese and ducks make raucous, splashy takeoffs and landings on open leads. Starlings wheel into bare treelimbs to sit and argue with one another. Pheasant and quail, reluctant to be exposed by flying, scramble through the dense, straw-colored grass ahead of me.

Here's a little video of the day:

Facing Downwind

Oil on board, 5 3/4" x 10"
$240 plus $10 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


More cows at leisure. Click image to enlarge.

A Casual Conversation

Acrylic on board, 6 3/8" x 9 3/8"
$240 plus $10 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


It is remarkable how freeing time, distance and a feeble memory can be.

The reference for this painting was a photo I took maybe 30 years ago. I couldn't even remember where the place was. This I found curiously liberating. There was no compunction to be "true" to the scene, since the scene didn't really exist for me, except for a little faded photograph and the vaguest recollection of taking it. So I drew freely, altered proportions here and there, imagined color and did a lot of editing of elements in the interest of trying to create a good, self-contained painting.

I tried to recall why I was compelled to take the photo in the first place. Most likely it was because of that steep pointed roof and its echoing shadow, which still excites me 30 years later.
Perhaps too because of that certain kind of light you get in this country on a sunny day in earliest spring, just before the greening comes.

The Corner

Watercolor on paper, 3 5/8" x 10 1/4"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD
As I mentioned earlier, from time to time I'll be posting dailies with varying size formats. I came across this scene in an out of the way corner of our local college campus. Click the image for a larger view.

Woodshed

Watercolor on paper, 5" x 7"
$125 plus $6 shipping in U.S.
SOLD


A painting can develop from the simplest of things. In this case, the crispness of the light and shadow patterns on this humble little building caught my eye, and then the wonderful S-curve of that upper limb.

Whitebark Pine Ecosystem, by Larry Eifert

Mural for the Crater Lake Institute. Copyright 2007 Larry Eifert

Click image to enlarge

The web of connections enabled through the internet and email is great, isn't it? My friend, artist/naturalist Larry Eifert (that's his painting above) sent me this regarding yesterday's post:

Hi Don.
Nice painting – nice essay.
They ‘teased’ the wool, is how the plant’s name came about, I think. I’ve painted a few of these in some park stuff I’ve done and learned it was the finest wool carder ‘made’ until the mechanical carder came along. In fact, the mechanical carder head was patterned after the natural one – with little angles on the barbs. The thing escaped to the wild mainly in places where they grow sheep – because they grew it there for the wool processing.

I’m enjoying your work!

Larry Eifert

Larry is a fascinating and talented fellow. Check out his work at http://www.larryeifert.com/.