Mt. Hood

We topped off a 300 mile Sunday drive up the Willamette Valley, then through the Columbia River Gorge to Hood River, and around Mt. Hood, by going up the mountain as far as the Timberline Lodge. New snow was glistening on the slopes higher up. If you look closely (click the image to enlarge) you will see some dark specks on the lower left ridge which are hikers (maybe climbers?). They lend a sense of scale to the scene.

Rocks and Water

Here are a couple of images from the recent trip down south to Brookings. There are more of each type at my Image Odysseys Blog. (Click on the images below for larger views).

WSO Convention

The Best Western, where the WSO convention was held, can be seen across the harbor at Brookings. Stephen Quiller was the juror for the exhibition, gave some excellent critiques, and made a demo painting on the last day of the conference. A special technique he used in the painting involved laying in a thin glaze of color with acrylics to tone the paper, then using watercolors through the remainder of the process. The acrylic wash does not seal the surface or form a resist as I might have expected. And the overlain watercolor layers can be removed down to the acrylic paint without removing the previously dried acrylic wash.

A week-long workshop being taught by Stephen Quiller for 30 WSO members should be wrapping up shortly today.

WSO Convention in Brookings

Watercolor Society of Oregon members from Brookings and the townspeople were very good hosts for the WSO Convention held there this past weekend. There was plenty to see and do, good food to eat, and scenic views/subjects galore. Harris Beach State Park, just a mile north of town, is certainly one of my favorite locations on the coast.
Many thanks to those who put together such a fine convention, Horst, Lorelei and all of the others involved.

Now I am looking forward to the Fall 2010 Convention in Salem. It is being held at the Phoenix Grand Hotel and Salem Conference Center October 1-3. The juror and workshop instructor will be Karen Vernon (www.karenvernon.com).

Albany Artists Juried Show

Poster by Lynn Powers - Painting by Heather Kier
(See a larger view of the poster by clicking the image)

creativeLive

There is a new free live classroom website that should be an excellent resource for creative subjects like photography, painting, imaging and web software, design and video - some of my favorite things! Take a look at the introduction video on Chase Jarvis' blog. The live classroom website is at creativelive.com.

George Lepp at the NPPNW Meeting

Today was the day for the spring meeting of the Nature Photographers of the Pacific Northwest (NPPNW). George Lepp was the invited speaker and gave some very informative and enjoyable talks. The subjects included panoramas, HDR, time-lapse movies, and extended depth of field. He also demonstrated some of his "gigapan" images with amazing resolution. His website is definitely worth a look - www.georgelepp.com.