Back from Seattle

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 I came back from a four day trip to Seattle last night.  I took my paints but, shamefully, didn't paint a thing.  But I do have these that I'd done last week.  I'd put the images in a couple of posts which I never posted and couldn't seem to finish from my ipad.  So now, here those are in a new post.
I painted this of the Good River with Ellie and Chris again near Ellie's house on the 5th.

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 These were of the only tulip that wasn't fading last week.

Picking  spruce tips, the new growth that comes each year, has become a little cottage industry around here.  They are used by locals to make various concoctions and are bought by the pound, mostly by the Alaska Brewing Company which makes a popular spruce IPA,  with a "tart, berry-like bubblegum character."


                      

Unfortunately some of the easiest trees to get to are at our beach and look like this one.... I painted this a few years ago.

Now it is time to get out and paint!

Three More

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 Rain all day yesterday.  These golden globe flowers are in full bloom in the garden.

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 I painted this old dead willow on June 1 and went back into the woods on Sunday to finish it, but the light was all wrong.  I decided to leave it just as is and painted this spruce instead.  Lots of mosquitoes.

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Lovely Day

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 June is starting out with lovely warm weather.  I went on my bike towards the beach yesterday afternoon, but didn't make it all the way as the wind was making it so hard to pedal.  This is one of two postcards that I painted of the Chilkats. 

Five More Postcard for the Month of May

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It has been really busy this week with two extra little people in the house.  I did this little gouache on Sunday.  

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 And this from the edge of the wood behind our house on Monday, .... the wood shed again.

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 I tried to paint at the beach on Tuesday evening, but didn't get very far.  I did these two from a sketch, looking towards North Pass.  The first one is mostly gouache.

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Yesterday, I met with two friends, Chris and Ellie, to paint together at Chris's house along the Salmon River..... a beautiful day.

May 26,2018

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Willows again, ever changing. I just picked up my grand daughter who is visiting from Florida.  Surprised to see new snow on the Chilkats.

Jack's View and Daffodils

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I forgot to publish this yesterday. I visited with Jack in his home on the Salmon River  and painted the beautiful view from his kitchen window .  The green above the bank are spruce boughs which will be used to help stabilize the eroding banks.

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 And another rainy day today.  I'm so enjoying the flowers blooming in the garden.

First Poppy of the Year

This one popped out yesterday.  I sat down and painted it after a day of mostly working on the garden.

Three New Postcards

I've been having a hard time getting on the internet lately, so behind on getting things posted.

The first postcard is was from the upstairs window yesterday.  Here is from the  same window in February.  we planted the golden willow a long time ago and they've been slow to get much size because the moose trim them every year.

I painted this from my studio window this morning.  The lavender flowers are primroses that are past their prime and the tulips are just coming into color.  I really should have thought more about my composition before I started. I went out in the wind and rain and cut some to bring in the house.  Maybe I'll paint the tomorrow.

This was painted last Wednesday except for the bridge, which I finished yesterday.   The cottonwoods are greener today.  Here is a view I painted last month from a little farther up the river.

Mountains

I went to the beach yesterday, set in the sun, and painted.  This is Mount Bertha, part of Crillion on the left.  I started with water soluble crayons on Nidiggen paper then used gouache.

This is Mt. Fairweather, sort of.  I had a hard time seeing the contour with the haze around, or maybe I just need new glasses.  And as I was in the sun (the only way to stay warm enough)  the paint dried too fast and unevenly in the sky.

City Hall

Most of this got painted on Monday before a little rain shower stopped my progress.  I went back Tuesday and the same thing happened and I finished it at home. 
 It is our city hall.  The building was once part of a church camp and was moved to this site where it served as our library and later the center for the community association.  It became our city hall after our town became incorporated in 2004.

Little Violets

I dug this little clump up from the yard which is full of little violets.  There are usually dandelions as well but there hasn't been enough sun.  Maybe tomorrow.

Willow are Turning Green

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 The willow are changing colors overnight.  This I did on Friday from my kitchen window.

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This I did yesterday from the studio window.

Three new Paintings

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 It is so easy to get behind on things.  I painted this from my car from south of the airport, yesterday.  It  is part of Excursion Ridge, unofficially called "the knob" or Rink's knob.  The cottonwood in the foreground are budding  out.

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It was such a beautiful day, I drove down to the dock and again painted from the car looking across Icy Passage to Pleasant Island and Icy Strait. 

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 And this I did last week from my window  on one of the rainy days.  The willow were starting to show some yellow-green on top. 

Bartlett Cove

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 I drove out to Bartlett Cove this morning with local artist, Kathy Hocker.  We walked on the forest trail and ended up at the beach.  This is looking across Glacier Bay to the west side.   Kathy went back into the woods and sketched devils club.  I hope she  puts her drawing on her blog. 

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 The temperature was almost up to 60 yesterday afternoon and I went into the woods north of our house where I painted this.  It really felt good to be there.

Reid Glacier

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I've had some problem getting on the internet last couple of days, so behind posting. I had to come to my neighbor's house this morning.

I really want to just paint from direct observation on this blog, but I've been lacking enthusiasm for  the same old colors outside and the rain keeping me inside.  So, I've been painting from photos.  This is of Reid Glacier.

Gazebo

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 It was a dry cold overcast morning yesterday and I stayed busy with my garden starts and framing until  about 2:30 when I left to find a place to paint from the car.  It immediately started raining and I  ended up at Kim and Wayne's where I painted their gazebo from the window.  Kim use to sell her pottery there, but now its a garden shed.  Good to see some green in the grasses.

Cloud Studies

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So glad to see some blue sky this morning,   The clouds were moving rapidly with a west wind and hard to capture.  I added a little gouache on the top one

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Leaf and Twig

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I added a leaf to the Barclay willow twig that I painted on April 21.
It is another rainy day.  I'm anxious for the willow and grasses to turn green.

Aimee's View Today

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Crocuses #3

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Saturday's was #2.  #1 is not to be seen here. Another try yesterday.  I just can't get the color right.

Crocuses

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 I've enjoyed the crocuses for the last week and went out yesterday afternoon and made a very poor attempt at painting them.   Today, I dug some up and brought them inside and did this one.  I might try again tomorrow.

Sandhill Cranes

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Huge flocks of sandhill cranes have been coming through.  Gustavus is a stop off point for the Pacific flyway population of about 25,000 birds.  I drew these from a photo I took on Wednesday.

Here is a photo of just a small portion of one flock.  I love their sound and wish I had recorded it.

Another Willow

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 This is from a taller more tree-like willow than the more common barclay willow.  I think it might be a Pacific willow.

Swans

 There were nine swans at the Airport Lake this afternoon.  I got close enough to start a sketch from my car, but it started raining.  I finished at home with a photo.

SE Wind

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wind and rain today.  Hoping for better weather tomorrow.

Pussy Willow

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 The willow are starting to show life.  Salix Barclayi is the most common willow here.  Painted with gouache on nidiggen paper.

Spruce at the Beach, Again

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 I keep painting the same spruce year after year.  There are a lot of others there, but the ones that get painted the most are the ones I can paint from my car without driving off the road...... I detest the ruts that vehicles make on the beach. Painted yesterday afternoon on Arches Cover paper which I'm finding quite good for watercolor.

The Cottonwood

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There are seveal cottonwood trees around our house, but this one we call THE cottonwood.  I drew it with a fountain pen and didn't add much color as the ink is water soluble.

Catching Up

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With all the nice weather, I've gotten behind on scanning and posting.  This one I did on Monday,   I got a little closer to the willows.

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 This one I started last Friday afternoon on the Good River and quit after some cold wind came my way.  I went back yesterday and finished.  It was over cast Friday and cloudless blue sky yesterday and the tide was higher, but left it overcast.

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 Today, I visited a neighbor and painted this while enjoying tea and cookies and watching rain drops come off the roof.  I don't know why this spruce is so much lighter in pigment than the others around.

Yet Another

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This one I did on Sunday, from the window.  I keep trying.