When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

rocks

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Beach Rocks

Tuesday, May 10th, 2022


 

Beach Rocks, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Beach Rocks, Summer sky reflection, Oceanside beach OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.

Microbial Diversity

Wednesday, April 27th, 2022


 

Microbial Diversity, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Microbial Diversity, colorful algae along Oceanside OR beach, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, framed size 27H x 33W”.

This piece is now being showcased at Gallerium Art Prize international smart online group exhibition opening May 20, 2022, continuing until June 30, 2022.

Crater Lake OR

Thursday, March 24th, 2022


 

Crater Lake OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Crater Lake State Park OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.
Crater Lake’s water is in reality a vivid and surreal blue. I reworked the lake colors and background textures quite a bit, trying numerous techniques to create unique water representation, and at the same time make the surrounding mountains recede… resulting with these vertical line textures. I finally made the call to stop because in trying to fix things in some areas, other areas that were fine started becoming messy. Pastels and paper were pushed to their limits.

Dawn at Bell Rock 02

Tuesday, March 8th, 2022


 

Dawn at Bell Rock 02, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Dawn at Bell Rock 02, Sedona AZ, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.

 Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.

Cape Meares Cliff

Sunday, January 2nd, 2022


 

Cape Meares Cliff, OR - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Cape Meares Cliff, Oregon Coast, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, framed size 27H x 33W”.

Crescent City Shoreline, CA

Thursday, September 30th, 2021


 

Crescent City shoreline, CA, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Crescent City Shoreline, CA – view from Preston Island parking area, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches, white wood frame, crackle finish.

Rock Creek

Sunday, July 25th, 2021


 

Rock Creek, Rood Bridge Park, Hillsboro OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Rock Creek, Rood Bridge Park. Hillsboro OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper.

Cape Kiwanda, OR

Saturday, May 22nd, 2021


 

Cape Kiwanda OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area, Pacific City, OR – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper

Red Rock State Park, Denver CO

Friday, January 22nd, 2021


 

Red Rock State Park, Denver CO - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Red Rock State Park, Denver CO – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper.

Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB

Wednesday, January 6th, 2021


 

Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB - 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Prairie Dogs, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches.

The Canadian Badlands in Alberta and Saskatchewan are recognized for having unusual mudstone and sandstone landscape formations, and also for having the largest deposits of dinosaur bones in the world. The geography in Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta is ancient and incredible, and the prairie dogs – Albertans call them “gophers” – are an influential  part of prairie ecology, having extensive impact on vegetation and animal life. They live in colonies of up to several thousand, burrowing in networks of tunnels where other ground-dwelling creatures move in, and rain water is reserved and redirected.
They are cute to be sure, but they are sometimes a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip in the holes. Pest control programs during the 1900’s meant their numbers have declined, which had an impact on the grasslands they helped sustain. As their own highways became populated with humans and cars, particularly during Springtime they are a road hazard.

In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to utilize the unfortunate casualties. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small hamlet where there is not even a gas station, along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road about an hour Northwest of Drumheller. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the conversation-provoking side-trip if you are planning to visit Drumheller and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.

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