Morning at Deepwood

This morning I spent a couple of hours at Deepwood in Salem, Oregon, with my sketchbook and camera.  I'm working on a series of paintings inspired by local nature I visit or see in my garden and, in particular, all the flowers blooming right now.  Deepwood has a historic house and gardens maintained beautifully and has a fun woodland area with meandering trails.  I started my morning looking at this:

with a little tea and a favorite cookie (Almond Tea Cake):

Yum.  And a sketch:

Then I found some rhododendrons:

they were quite amazing:

Love the lichen on this tree trunk (I guess that is lichen):

Under a vine covered walk:

Love these branches:

I don't know what these are but the colors were amazing (I think they turned dark purple as they ripened):

This tree has had a hard time of it:

At some point it had a label but it, like many others, is gone:

Amazingly, it is still alive:

That is a little growth coming out the side and then also in the canopy:

I can't remember what these are called (May Apples maybe?):

And now for some trees or perhaps I should write former trees:

And finally, some very spring-like flowers which I think might be natives:

I worked on another sketch but was eventually chased off by a determined mosquito, the sound of a blower, and a school classroom visit.  Next time I'll bring my iPod and some bug repellant and then it will be perfect.

There and Back again, Pages 66 to 70

I have stacks of these to post, but it will probably take me awhile at the rate I'm going...

From: There and Back again, An Illustration Project of The Hobbit

Page 66

Page 66: "The blink of red torches could be seen behind them in the tunnel they were following..."

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 67

Page 67: "These ran forward, as swift as weasels in the dark, and with hardly any more noise than bats."

Ink and colored pencil on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 68

Page 68: "...and crawled long for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel."

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 69

Page 69: Bilbo came across his found sword which glowed in the dark caves as it sensed goblins nearby.

Ink and acrylic gouache on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 70

Page 70: "He stopped, and he could hear, when he listened hard, drops drip-drip-dripping from an unseen roof into the water below."

Ink and acrylic gouache on 6 x 8 inch paper.

There and Back again, Pages 61 to 65

From: There and Back again, An Illustration Project of The Hobbit

I've had some fun working with ink on these illustrations lately as you'll see with this next group.

Page 61

Page 61: "...for now the goblins took out whips and whipped them with a swish, smack!"

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 62

Page 62: "It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world..."

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 63

Page 63: "...but let's have the truth, or I will prepare something particularly uncomfortable for you!"

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 64

Page 64: "Take them away to dark holes full of snakes, and never let them see the light again!"

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 65

Page 65: "Not for a long while did they stop, and by that time they must have been right down in the very mountain's heart."

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

There and Back again, Pages 57 to 60

I'm incredibly behind on posting my little illustrations and am determined to get caught up (well, slowly and over time).  You might notice I've stopped noting the page number on the front of the illustrations.  I was growing increasingly dissatisfied looking at each page with the page number on it and although I hate to change something so obvious to the series at this point I decided why not.  So now, no page numbers.  For now, anyway, I can always go back and put them on later.

From: There and Back again, An Illustration Project of The Hobbit

Page 57

Page 57: "The lightening splinters on the peaks and rocks shiver..."

Acrylic gouache and ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 58

Page 58: "You certainly usually find something if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after."

Ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 59

Page 59: "He dreamed that a crack in the wall at the back of the cave got bigger and bigger, and opened wider and wider..."

Acrylic gouache and ink on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Page 60

Page 60: "He wished again and again for his nice bright hobbit hole.  Not for the last time."

Acrylic gouache, ink, and colored pencil on 6 x 8 inch paper.

Show

I'm so excited to share that these two paintings were accepted into a juried show at Bush Barn Art Center in Salem, Oregon:

"The odd things that spark a memory" 

Watercolor, ink, and pencil on 18 x 24 inch paper.

"The threads which bind"

Watercolor and ink on paper.

The show is Radius 25, the theme was "Face to Face", and features artists living within a 25-mile radius of Salem, Oregon.  It opens today and runs through June 23rd.  (Click on the images to see them larger and on the lower one you'll see the dozens and dozens of lines I drew in ink.)  It is always a fascinating show and if you go you'll see that these two paintings are much brighter in person (something I need to work on for sharing digitally).  They are also the first paintings I've had framed myself which was a fun process.  I chose to have them floating in a wood frame and I think they turned out great.  I'll try to take photos at the gallery to share later.

Have a good weekend and Happy Mother's Day!