There Goes July

It's finally hot, stifling hot, but not bad at all in the shade.  Fortunately we live in a state filled with trees, and shade is seldom far away.  This quick sketch was made in the shade along the Willamette, in Maddox Woods park, where I go to throw sticks for the dog and walk in the sand, enjoying the play of light on the water.  This trip, I came across a dead sturgeon on the shore, about six feet long; it was prehistoric looking, the lower jaw much like a shark, though there weren't any scary teeth showing.

I also hauled out an old photo I took in the park at Chateau Chantilly, north of Paris.  It's been far too long since I have been there, and the feeling was a bit forced.  Maybe it's time to return, once we Americans are allowed back into Europe.

And after all the work I have done on landscapes lately, it was a pleasure to switch to a portrait for a little work in the sketchbook today.

In the Fields

Through the Fields 12x16 oil

There's something about the morning light glancing across the tops of ripe grains, those amber waves, those brilliant swaths of brightness.  It is dramatic and it sends the soul soaring.

Tender Meadows 8x10 oil

I feel the need to work on this motif, this idea of a ready harvest and the abundance around us in summer.  In the time of Covid, maybe there is a deeper yearning for wide open spaces like this, something that speaks to safety and refuge.

But in the end, how can I ever forget water, and the way light dances on the surface?  

Near the Row Club 16x20 oil

Summer Heat

Luscher Fields 16x20 oil

Walking the dog in the morning through these nearby fields, the old rancher buried in my past can't help but shake my head at the waste of hay in these fields that used to be a part of a large dairy farm, but are now a park for dogwalkers and bicyclists.  This should have been harvested a month ago, and now it's past prime.  At least the colors are rich and even uncommon.

A notebook sketch of a friend tuckered out from leading a group of students through Paris.

Afternoon Glow 11x14 oil