The Mayors Mansion

 I was conceived in this house but never lived here. My family lived in the Mayors Mansion on S.E. Ankeny Street from 1950 to 1960. They moved to a ranch home in N.E. two months before I was born. My father and his brother went in on the home together but after the two families spent two years together they were ready to sell. However, the house remained on the market for 7 more years. I have always wanted to paint it and I had some time to burn while my 13 year old had track practice in Laurelhurst Park today. It is a very large house to fit on an 8"x10" panel.

While outside the owner came out. We had met almost twenty years ago during a tour of the home with my mother who brought a box of photos of the house in the 50's. Recently the house had been on the market with no movement and it is now due to open as a bed and breakfast.

Fechin at the Frye

I have admired the work of artist Nicholi Fechin since first being introduced by California artist Dan McCaw while at Art Center College of Design in 1981. I saw some of Fechin's work while visiting the Fechin house in Taos a decade or so ago.

I went with a group of painters to the Frye Museum in Seattle, Washington yesterday. Up close and personal with these paintings was a spellbinding experience for the group. You can't quite take it all in while you are there and are planning your next trip before the first is finished. (the painting pictured is not in the exhibit but one of my favorites)

Plein Air Weather is Upon Us

I am impressed by Celeste Bergin's dedication to painting and to blogging. So much so, that I am prompted to make a post just to give myself the incentive to venture out of doors, outside, not in the studio. I have to confess I haven't been outside painting since last fall at the Alpaca farm in Hillsboro. Its like starting back to anything, 1 day a week will do!

Upcoming Landscape Show October in the Pearl

The landscapes in this upcoming show were painted on location Spring through Fall of 2009 around Oregon and Washington. Painting outdoors for me requires a methodical yet quick and spontaneous response to the surroundings and rapidly changing light.