On our recent road trip we stopped for a few days at Sun Lakes Dry Falls State Park in Eastern Washington. I was there last year but didn't get a chance to paint much. I knew I had to come back to this location and try an put the emotion of the morning scene on canvas. The wind was blowing, I had to strap my pack to my tripod to keep it from blowing away, and I was standing on a rocky precipice, hoping I wouldn't step back and fall into the water below. During my time there, I watched a hawk dive into the water after a fish, and enjoyed the company of several fishermen paddling around on the water. The joy of capturing the scene combined with my love of the outdoors made for a lovely morning and my memories of it shall be with me for a long time.  The scene below was done the day before we left, morning in the basin. Such a unique place this is. 

One of the destinations on my recent road trip was to Smith Rocks just outside of Redmond Oregon. This place is the destination for rock climbers who scale these rocks just for fun! I have visited this place of beauty in the past since my step daughter lives over there, and this was one of the scenes I had on my list to paint. I focused on the rock structures to near completion but laying in the foreground very broadly, no detail. I then took this 9x12 painting to my studio to complete the foreground. I especially liked the halation of the rocks meeting the light in the sky. There were a few clouds but mostly the morning light was lovely. This set of rocks angled sideways to the sun so that the light hit the peaks but not the lower face.