View From Someone Else's Window

January 19, 2021 in Daily life

I’ve been really feeling the limits on travel and frankly even the ability to be somewhere other than my house now that has been too cold and snowy for outdoor painting for a couple months. So, I have been diving into WindowSwap, a website where people submit short videos of the view from their window. It has been an absolute delight! Not only because there are some really awesome views, but also because I am nosy and I love to see how other people live. There’s a great mix of mundane (view of blocky highrisers) and dramatic (snowy mountain, Brooklyn Bridge, etc). Another thing I love is that because these are videos rather than photos, you get the extra fun of sometimes hearing the environment elements, such as when a tropical rainstorm started during the video of a window in South East Asia or the surprise of birds sweeping into and around the frame of the picture. An absolute delight!

I do wish that there was a back button so I could return to previous views, but alas that doesn’t seem possible, so I just have to take what I can get. Oh well.

Pontassieve, Italy on what looks like a gorgeous fall day.

Back in August I drove across the state to go the Mt. Rainier National Park with a childhood friend. Long time readers might recognize her as the friend I went to Crescent Lake with around the same time last year. We’ve always enjoyed getting outsid… — Back in August I drove across the state to go the Mt. Rainier National Park with a childhood friend. Long time readers might recognize her as the friend I went to Crescent Lake with around the same time last year. We’ve always enjoyed getting outside together.
Finally managed to sketch this view at the Columbia Gorge viewpoint. It was 98 degrees and I had my sunhat cinched down to keep it from blowing away in the wind. Not ideal conditions, but I was tired of wimping out on painting whenever I happened to be passing by (Its too cold, its too windy, its too hot…). It is such an epic view, I’d like to try again with a bigger sheet of paper and perhaps in the spring with things are a bit fresher as well.

Mt. Rainier Camping & Sketching

October 01, 2020 in travel, 2020, PNW

I grew up on the west side of the state and I loved all the green and how lush it was, but I didn’t really appreciate HOW GREEN it is there until I lived on the other side of the Cascades in a high desert for a couple years.

We were lucky to be at Mt. Rainier National Park during peak wildflower bloom and it was wee bit chilly, thanks to the elevation but we found a sheltered spot and I did this painting of lupine and indian paint brush and yellow daisies carpeting the … — We were lucky to be at Mt. Rainier National Park during peak wildflower bloom and it was wee bit chilly, thanks to the elevation but we found a sheltered spot and I did this painting of lupine and indian paint brush and yellow daisies carpeting the hill.

My friend playing her ukulele and a quick sketch of the wildflowers. It was an interesting trip because we had to camp on a forest service road because the most of the campsites in the park were closed due to tree fall danger (perhaps the rangers we… — My friend playing her ukulele and a quick sketch of the wildflowers. It was an interesting trip because we had to camp on a forest service road because the most of the campsites in the park were closed due to tree fall danger (perhaps the rangers weren’t able to clear them earlier in the year because of Covid closures/lay offs?). No bathrooms and no running water besides a nearby stream, a 37 degree night and springing a leak in one of the air mattresses contributed to a bit more roughing it than we were initially planning but we still had a good time.

I stopped on the way home to sketch these windmills near Vantage. There’s a rest stop with a great view of them as you travel east. I sat at a picnic table and was grateful for the wind (even though it was warm) because it was still in the mid 90’s … — I stopped on the way home to sketch these windmills near Vantage. There’s a rest stop with a great view of them as you travel east. I sat at a picnic table and was grateful for the wind (even though it was warm) because it was still in the mid 90’s as I did this. I could feel sweat dripping down my back as I rushed to finish this. Despite the discomfort, I tried to embrace it. Soon, we’ll be in the time of year when I can’t seem to get warm and a 40 degree day is excitingly balmy! That what sketchbooks help me celebrate-living in the moment.

The Japanese Gardens at Manito is my favorite place in Spokane to go enjoy fall color. Not only are there so many amazing trees, seeing their colors reflecting in the pond is AMAZING.

Fall Love & Art Shows

October 26, 2019 in Daily life

Siemer’s Farm up at Greenbluff! This was drawn on location, sitting on the ground in the pumpkin field.

Teeny Autumnal Road scene (3” x 5”). I’m loving playing around in this smaller format becuase it lets me experiment with colors and compositions quickly and have a lot of fun.

Another 3” x 5”, this time inspired by sunset on a wet road seen this last year on my drive. This guy will be for sale at the Spokane Art School Holiday Small Works and Ornament show November-December!

I’ll be at the Woman’s Club Holiday show on the second weekend of November. I always look forward to spending time with all the other cool artists. I’ll have a bunch of my calendars! Come get your Christmas presents!

I will also be the Custer Christmas Arts & Crafts Show at the Spokane County Fair Grounds November 22-24th. It is $7 at the door for the whole weekend. This is my first time doing this show and I’m excited to see how it goes!

Painting at Priest Lake

August 02, 2018 in vacation

Priest Lake is one of my favorite places in all the world. I've been coming here, to a cabin my aunt has, for pretty much my whole life. It is beautiful and peaceful and driving up there, I always feel is a bit like coming home.

Yellow umbrellas on the deck while eating at Cavanaugh's.

We walked, kayaked, paddleboarded and ate a lot. A perfect long weekend. Do you have any favorite summer places?

Leavenworth Weekend

July 25, 2018 in vacation, travel

At the end of June, I went off to a weekend in Leavenworth with a group of my college friends to celebrate our 30th birthdays. We stayed in a house twenty minutes out of Leavenworth with a hot tub and a killer view of the mountains.

Since we were up on a ridge, it was both windy and COLD early in the morning. I did this on the deck wrapped in a blanket with a mug of hot water.

It was the Accordion Festival at Leavenworth so we got serenaded by a lot of polka. A concert was going on right behind me as I sketched the fancy facades of these buildings.

Sketched a friend sitting in the window at a restaurant as an accordion parade went by. Then I ate a giant soft pretzel and was very pleased with myself.

52 Weeks of Artist's Eye on Spokane

June 07, 2018 in Artist's Eye On Spokane

YAY! I did it guys! The first week of May, I officially completed 52 weeks of painting all over Spokane! What a wild ride! I learned a lot, got to see a lot of cool things that I wouldn't have otherwise and had a delightful time. Thank you everyone for following along with my journey! I thought it would be fun to look back over some of the things I sketched over the past year.

Holiday Lights at the Gaiser Conservatory!

Beautiful fall foliage at the Japanese Gardens.

A ride made of giant bears at the Spokane County Fair!

A lovely October afternoon at Highbridge Park.

Pumpkin season is a way off and I'm ok with that. I need to earn some more sunburns before I'm ready for frost again.

A group of Buddhist monks came to Spokane Community College to make a sand mandala as a wish for world peace. This sketch shows them setting up the preliminary details of a seriously complicated mandala.

A building downtown where a skybridge meets a facade covered in classical designs.

A classic car moment on a sunny, but COLD spring morning on the newly renovated Sprague Ave.

Just over a year ago, this is what our shiny new carousel building looked like. I stopped by this week and the finished building is so shiny and fancy!

Lilacs are gone now. We are in the short moment of reprieve just before summer's heat hits us all like a hammer.

A vendor at a Spokane Indians baseball game.

A burger and fries at Wolffy's Diner by Gonzaga. Get there early, there aren't a lot of seats!

The gorgeous light of a winter's afternoon.

The magical castle of paperwork-the Courthouse!

Our delightful local news anchors who are way more perky than I ever could be at 6 am.