Revisiting "Break with Color" 16x12

Break with Color 16x12 Pastel ©Brenda Boylan

Here is a piece I did back in 2009 at Shore Acres State Park on the Oregon Coast.  I think I may have posted this back in '09, but thought it was worth the re-post.  It's been a super busy summer with the kids at home and to be clearly honest, I haven't had any time to paint, and so there is nothing new from the easel. I think I'm going crazy from not painting! Especially since the weather has been supremely beautiful here in Oregon. Although not soon enough, I do have a couple of fun painting events I look forward to that have kept me focused.  The Oregon Invitational (see side bar---->) hosted next week by the Portland Art Museum on August 4~5th in the Park Blocks of downtown Portland.  And then there is the annual Pacific Northwest Plein Air 2012 event coming the end of August.  This event is always a favorite of mine because of all my neighboring artists usually join in the fun. Even if they are not juried, they are still welcome to paint together en plein air.  This year I am staying in an apartment complex with 7+ other artists.  Now that sounds like a vacation at best!  If you live in the Portland area or are interested in plein air painting the Hood River area, let me encourage you to join along and make it a holiday. Painting locations should be posted on their website here.

Break with Color, 12x9

"Break with Color" 12x9" Pastel on sanded paper Sold

This past week was Spring Break for my family, so we took a much needed trip to the coast. Traveling about 500 miles south of Portland we found a State Park in Sunset Bay, Oregon. We stayed in a Yurt, as described by my kids as, "a sort of hut with a silly name." As funny as it sounds, a Yurt is actually pretty cool to stay in. As much as I love Spring in Oregon, is a bit moist, or drippy to say the least. One day out of the whole time spent was actually incredible, and it worked out that that was the one day I got out to paint at Shore Acres gardens. This is my first plein air of the year. Rusty doesn't even come close to the feeling I had after setting up my easel! This is the pond at Shore Acres park. On the other side of the pond beyond the trees is a beautiful cliff, beyond and below is the ocean and I could hear the waves crashing while painting. Oooh, the outdoors!