October 2025

Our annual stay at Lake Crescent Lodge

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Lake Crescent Lodge at Olympic National Park

Last week Katy and I stayed at Lake Crescent Lodge. It’s our fourth year to enjoy the historic old lodge, the fall colors, and the cool, rainy weather. We especially like the evenings, when we curl up in the sofas in the big lobby. The roaring fireplace, dark beams, and friendly atmosphere with other guests make it a favorite for us. A plaque says that FDR stayed here in the 1930’s, and it looks little changed since then.

In the morning we ate a leisurely breakfast in the dining room that looks out on the lake. Afterward, Katy took a long exploratory walk along the lake while I painted a watercolor of the lodge. This painting carries good memories of our stay.

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When is a painting finished?

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Skokomish River barn, with improvements

When I finish a painting, I take it back to the studio and critique it. Does it need something more? Should I try to touch it up?

It can be dangerous to fiddle with a painting. Often you only make it worse with additional brush strokes. Besides, you lose the spontaneity of the fresh painting. But sometimes it can be helpful to make improvements. In this case, I brought my plein air painting (below) to the group critique with my teacher Eric Wiegardt. He said that I had a split area of dominance and suggested that I darken the sky and the shed on the left side of the painting in order to bring the eye to the barn on the right. Compare this with the improved painting (above) and see what you think.

Skokomish barn, first version

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Keeping it loose in Port Orchard

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Marina in Port Orchard

Last summer I prowled the marinas of Port Orchard, a waterfront town on Sinclair Inlet. I took lots of photos and today I painted this watercolor. I like the looseness of the brush work and the general composition. The dark shadow under the dock is a main feature of the painting, leading the eye from the boat up to the building on the dock. The buildings were green, but I wish I had made them a different color to set them apart from the trees in the background.

I painted this watercolor while I was at the weekly meeting of Poulsbo Artist League. About fifteen of us meet each Wednesday afternoon in the parish hall at Vinland Lutheran Church near Poulsbo. It’s a chance to be with other artists and get some art work done at the same time. I’ve been a member for over fifteen years, so I know the other artists well. We are (you might say) mature artists, the average age being well over seventy five. These are my painting buddies.

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