Passages I

Passages I , a water media painting in warn colors , is based on the tools which can create a painting. Values, lights and darks, are muted to hold the relationship of shapes and color together. Texture provides interest and variety while line moves the viewer throughout the painting as it suggests place or emotion. The transition from area to area is as important as as sense of depth.

Second Beach

Second Beach is and easy hike fromn the trail head near La Push on the Washington coast.

Fog at Ruby Beach

Ruby Beach is part of Olympic National Park beaches , most of which are numbered ,1-2-3- ( Hwy 101 west of Forks)

The rocks or sea stacks are weathered by wind and water to interesting shapes which change as storms work on them. Foggy days can be very beautiful when enhanced with watercolor's subtle shades. Photographs will provide content but are usually near black and white.

And Now For Something Different

I teach Watercolor classes which will be fun to share with you.

The Olympic Peninsula has some gray foggy

weather which obscures the horizon and fades into misty coolness.

Soft edges eliminate details except in the near ground, background shapes are recognizable blending into the fog.

Colors are muted and less intense with a lighter than usual sky

• Try some color: Distance -thalo blue, ultramarine purple cool green/purple mix Middle ground warm up with rose and burnt sienna , muted red/browns Near ground detail is warmer and complimentary colors. Bright color or detailed objects accentuate the depth.
• Study foggy scenes,take photo
• Draw lightly so that the pencil marks will erase.
• Wet the entire paper for a graded wash
• Paint from background to near ground
• When dry erase pencil add detail and balance the three areas

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End of the Season

The Lavender festival is the last weekend in July, by then the fields are beautiful and harvesting has begun. Farms are open to visitors,most have artists displaying their work , food and entertainment.

Graymarsh Farm

Graymarsh has been an active farm ,growing strawberries, raspberries ,marionberries and blue berries for many years. Lavender is a recent addition.

Picket Fence with Lavender and Poppies

Painted for the 2008 Festival.

Lavender Barn

This barn with its view of the Olympic Mountains has been a very popular print . The original is now being shown at Blue Whole Art Gallery, Sequim

Print quality-size-Sales- Contact

All of the paintings shown previously have been sold
but there are prints made of them in different sizes.
Request a size of image from 2x3.5 inches business card
to 12x18 depending on the configuration of the original.
Prints are giclee', pigment inks on enhased Epson paper

Please contact me at studio@olypen.com

Lavender grows really well on the

Olympic Peninsula, sandy soil

and moderated damp climate.

The farm land still produces great berries,vegetables and flowers.

Organic farming has become a success as well as lavender which is keeping much of the Sequim Valley farmland.

Like everywhere the peninsula has the pressure of people's need

for homes and big-box-stores

Two Bees

There are several small watercolors close ups of lavender which were carefully representational of the plant.

(Watercolor Hint)

To paint it in a landscape I used a homemade tool , a sponge frond shape stapled to a folded paper handle to dip in paint and stamp into the picture

Lavender Watercolors

Bees love lavender. They seem to be doing well , there are a lot of hives at the farms. Our spring weather was late and cold which was hard on them.

My First Blog

The two paintings shown so far are oils but I usually paint with watercolor. There are a number of lavender paintings excuited over the past 10 years . I may try to create a page of them . I'm finding the blog journal an interesting way to organize and define them.

Jardin du Soleil

This is the Garden where I had my booth for the Festival for the last 5 years. The owners are very kind to their venders and the site is beautiful. There is usually little breeze morning and evening as we are close to the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Blogging is new to me so I'll just stick with the lavender paintings until I am more familiar with editing and getting the pictures to publish. I hope to be able to share some watercolor lessons.

The lavender Festival had good weather and attendance this year. My booth at Jardin du Soliel was a success. This print which was the 2002 Sequim Lavender Festival poster still attracts attention and sells well.

All the prints and paintings I show at the Lavender Festival are lavender related. I didn't have extra pottery for the show.