Pioneer farmhouse in Big Valley

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Frederickson homestead

Big Valley was settled by pioneers early last century, and their farms and fields remain as their testimony to their sacrifice and hard work. I’m grateful that Big Valley hasn’t been turned into sterile housing projects. It’s one of my favorite places to paint.

On a lovely autumn morning, I stepped into the pasture of this farm so I could paint a view of the house, the flaming maple tree beside the big fir, and the red shed above. It didn’t look like anyone was living in the house. I wasn’t far off the pavement, but technically I was trespassing. I was focusing on my painting, when I saw a man approaching. “Are you the owner?” I asked. “Hope you don’t mind if I paint your farm.”

Luckily he was quite generous and we had a nice conversation. It turns out his family homesteaded this property and built the house in 1905. I told him how much I appreciate his stewardship of this historic site.

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The tide flats at Gorst

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Sinclair Inlet estuary

Gorst, WA, is sometimes known as “the armpit of Kitsap County”. Located at a sharp bend in Highway 16 at the end of Sinclair Inlet, it’s a crazy collection of gritty businesses — car dealers, tire stores, muffler repair shops, metal recycling lots, and bikini barista coffee shops. But if you sneak behind the concrete block buildings, you’ll find the lovely estuary of Sinclair Inlet.

The grassy bottoms are bordered with willows and shrubs, and old stumps and snags remain from earlier days. Ducks and geese dabble in the small creeks that empty into the mud flats. In short, it’s a painter’s paradise.

On a cool, moist morning I pushed my way through the reeds to find this lovely scene. I had the place to myself while I focused on this painting. When I got home, I made a studio version.

Studio version

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Fall color at Lake Crescent Lodge

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Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park

Every year in late October Katy and I spend a night at Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park. We always get into great conversations with other guests in the evenings while sitting in the great room with a fire blazing in the fireplace, and we love the historic character of the place (FDR visited the lodge in 1939!).

Before we checked in, I made this watercolor of a big maple tree in front of the guest cabins next to the lodge. Several guests, including some from other countries, stopped by to see my progress. It was cool and cloudy, but occasionally the sun would illuminate the white cabin behind the tree.

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A rainy day at the estuary

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Gardiner Beach lagoon

I found this saltwater lagoon on Discovery Bay while exploring the back roads of the Olympic peninsula. It’s a hidden gem! I especially liked the reflections of the trees and the house, as well as the long spit with clouds hovering above it.

I nearly had the place to myself. A woman runner stopped briefly to chat, and another woman passed by with her two old black labs. Several fishermen ignored me as they launched their skiffs at the boat ramp nearby.

It was raining when I got there, so I had a chance to test out the new umbrella that Guy gave me for my birthday. It works great. It has a spike that goes in the ground to support it, and it’s large enough to keep my painting dry.

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Shed on Big Valley Road

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Big Valley Road

You can still see the fences and pastures of the old pioneer farms that settled Big Valley years ago. As I drove up the road winding through the valley, my eye was caught by this old shed nestled against the woods above the pasture, and by the blazing orange of the bigleaf maple tree next to the dark fir tree.

It’s hard to find a place to park along Big Valley Road, but I managed to pull over safely and walk back to this pasture. I set up my easel in the shade of the trees to the left and began to paint. A pleasant elderly woman came out from the house next door and admired my painting. “I hope it’s all right if I paint here,” I said. “Oh, heavens, yes,” she said.

When I got home, I made a studio version of the same scene, making sure to show how the field slants upward. Somehow I lost that in the plein air version.

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Shed on Central Valley Road

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Central Valley Road

When autumn leaves start to fall, it’s a great time to be a painter. I drove up Central Valley Road, looking for a good subject, and came across this shed in the woods a couple of miles from our house. I found a place to park along the road and set up my easel. It was a fresh autumn morning with partly cloudy skies, and it felt great to be alive.

I kept the painting fairly loose and I’m pretty happy with the result. After I got home, I noticed that the two apple trees are spaced equally across the middle of the painting. It’s better to create unequal divisions. Also, they create a “bulls-eye” pointing to the shed. That’s a little too obvious.

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Windy day at Shine Tidelands estuary

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On a blustery day I walked along the beach to the estuary at Shine Tidelands State Park. The wind was blowing and the tide was coming in rapidly. It felt good to be alive! Because of the wind, I couldn’t set up my easel, so I knelt down in the grass and painted while kneeling.

Below the painting is a short video taken on the spot. It’s difficult to hear because of the wind, but it gives you the idea of my experience.

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Liberty Bay on a cloudy day

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It’s not easy to find a good subject to paint on a cloudy day. There are no shadows or streaks of sunlight to paint, and every surface has the same dull light. The good thing about cloudy days is that you can paint a more moody picture.

On this day, I went to Virginia Point Road where it crosses an inlet of Liberty Bay near Keyport. The tide was high and I found a good place to paint just off the road. I had to paint the clouds in the sky and the reflections twice because they weren’t dark enough the first time, but I think I got it about right. I like the sky and the feeling of depth in the painting.

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Dappled sunlight on house

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I chose this house as my subject because of the dappled sunlight on the front of the house. When I set up my easel across the street, I noticed a woman in the back yard, so I waved at her. She waved back, and I went across the street to talk to her. She was probably 50 years old with long blonde hair and a weary face. She said she’s lived there for 18 years. She was surprised that anyone would be interested in painting her 100-year-old house, but I reassured her that these classic old houses are my favorites. Besides, the sunlight and shadows made a great subject.

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Getting the groceries

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On a sunny autumn afternoon, the warm sunshine and cool shadows on RK Mart in Manette caught my eye. Manette is a lively, funky neighborhood of Bremerton, just across the Manette bridge. As I painted, a number of people with yoga mats passed me on their way to the yoga studio nearby. I enjoyed painting the figures as they were coming out of the store or going in.

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