The second part of my Oregon roadtrip report

I chose the motel because it's close to the old part of Florence, which developed as a fishing town with a harbor on the Siuslaw River. (Just like Newport's on the... Umpqua?) The next morning I went down there, into a coffee shop, and sat at a big table cause all the small ones were taken. Pretty soon a guy sits down and we chat, and then another and another, and I realize I've sat at the “regular” table of a group of “regulars.” They were just a hoot – most of them retired military, so transplants to the town themselves. They could answer all my questions about where to go and what to do, though. I went up to Heceta Head and clambered up to the lighthouse. Took lots of pictures, as well as some of the beach. Headed back to the motel, relaxed for a while, then walked over the bridge over the Siuslaw hoping to see a good sunset, but it was a bit of a dud. Good walk, though. I also drove down south a few miles from there, to the Oregon Dunes. I got out of the car and looked at them but didn't find them interesting for some reason. Do I feel as though if you've seen one dune you've seen them all?

The next morning I drove to Mapleton, about 20 miles up the Siuslaw, where I was met by Lynn. She's a daughter of friends of my parents' whom I haven't seen for... 50 years. Yup. Of course we recognized each other right away because we both look like our mothers! She drove me back to her place, which is eight miles further, four of which are windy one-lane. She and her husband live in a big log house they built, on an island in the Siuslaw River. It's quite lovely – though unmercifully remote. There are several neighbors right there, though, so they're not the only people who want to live clear to hell and gone. They're trying to sell the place, though, and getting not much interest. We had a great little visit; her husband is terribly nice too. I had thought he was some kind of logger, probably because of where they live, but he's a retired CPA. Lynn showed me how to get to my next destination over some back roads, but getting to the freeway in time to get me to Rogue River before it got too late. The terrain was hilly, wooded, and fairly remote. I got to the freeway at a place called Oakland - and stopped to stretch my legs and get a latte. The barista directed me to a gallery around the corner where I went & chatted up the woman in the gallery. This was such an out of the way place I didn't understand how they stayed in business. I guess there are tour buses of retired people most times of the year. It's also in an area where they're trying to develop viniculture (sp?) which I think they hope will increase traffic.

I should say the weather had been excellent the whole way, and stayed that way for the whole trip. The weather reports talked about fronts moving in but they just skirted everywhere I went. No color on the trees yet; in fact, I noticed the alders are starting to turn here, just since I left, I think. Not that alders are very spectacular.

The drive to Grants Pass/Rogue River was mountainous all the way. I hadn't expected that. Typical of my non-planning approach to travel. Why on earth would I want to know what to expect? I got to my motel in Rogue River with only enough time to check in and turn around to go to Nancy's for dinner. This is a friend from the coast, who, with her husband, has landed there by a series of chance eventualities, and will stay for awhile. They're retired, and are about as nomadic as anyone I've ever met. We had a great visit. They're both lots of fun and interesting.

The motel I had found online turned out to be absolutely spectacular, in a very funky and idiosyncratic way. It's the Motel Del Rogue, Grants Pass, and I recommend it highly. It's right on the rogue river, and all the rooms have decks overlooking it. Lovely. The furnishings, except for the bed, were old, quasi antique. I loved the place. And the people who run it. I had a great chat with the owner. Here's an example of the idiosyncracy – if there's such a word. The microwave and frig were out on the deck. Neverthless I loved it. It's an older building, nice and stout, and you can't hear neighbors except on the decks.

A word now about getting online. I wasn't able to, at any point on the trip – so I drug my laptop along for nothing. I'm sure it's a problem with a setting on my computer – but I can't figure out why something changed. It worked the last time I took it out. Never mind. I'll get it figured out before I need to take it anywhere else.

The day after I got to Grants Pass I drove down to Jacksonville, at Nancy's recommendation. It's turn of the century buildings, all spiffed up, and was plenty busy for a September weekday. However, there was not one gallery of original local artists. I was told I'd have to go to Ashland for that. They'd had galleries come and go but there wasn't one at the moment. Also, the library, a big beautiful newish building, was CLOSED because a bond issue had failed. This was true for the whole county. I found that frightening. According to Kevin, the motel owner, the county council had just passed an emergency measure which would provide some operation funding.

So, when I checked out of the Motel del Rogue, I asked about art galleries in Grants Pass and Kevin told me about the old town area there and I went straight there. Ironically I liked the art gallery there, the Harper-Howell Gallery, better than any I'd seen in “artier” places.

And after waffling, I decided to go to Crater Lake as a side trip on the way home. Oh, I am so glad I did. I don't need to go into details cause you can see millions of pictures, but it was spectacular, to say the least. I was very aware of the elevation. It's at 7,000 above sea level on the west side, while the lake level is 6,000 feet. So you're looking down 1,000 feet to the lake. Wow. As I drove away I noticed another viewing area which was quite a bit lower. I shoulda stopped. It's one of the few regrets I have about the trip, but it's not a very big one. Mostly, the trip was terrific.

The other regret is that I didn't take a picture of Dennis' cherry tree. But I can get him to take one & send it to me.

I stayed in Albany that night, and got home the next day. Oddly, I didn't try to figure out the mileage of the trip, though I might do it sometime. I'm a bit stiff & sore from so much driving the last couple of days – but that will pass.

Now to study all my pictures and decide where to start in painting all the different kinds of places I saw!

PS: As an example of my lack of knowledge of Oregon, I thought, until this trip, that Bend was somewhere on I5. Imagine my surprise when I perused my map during my trip and found that it's way off to the east......... Too far east for this trip but I've heard it's crawling with retirees and tourists, and I prefer to find out of the way spots.

Back from a roadtrip

I've been on the road for a week. I needed to get away. Here's the first part of my journal:

Saturday, September 15

Dropped the dogs off at Pet Spa – I tried to tell them it was a spa, anyway – and trundled off to Longview, getting there in time to see Katie's high school varsity team play the alums and get beat. Too bad!

Sunday we went to the new IKEA in Portland, partly to check it out and partly because Katie needed curtains for her bedroom – having lived for years with sheets push-pinned up. We were thrilled to see that it's visible from the freeway, right next to the airport, but not so thrilled to find that if you miss the one right way to get there, you're screwed. It was a comedy of errors, but we finally got there. There's only one way in, and if you go past that one turnoff you're thrown into a warren of freeway entrances and exits. Pooh. Katie did get curtains, I got picture frames, and back to Longview we went.

Monday I got over to Astoria to see Dennis and his new house. It's a great old place with a fine view of the Columbia River. He has an old, gnarled cherry tree in his yard which has stuck with me. I'm going to ask him to send me a picture of it, as a possible subject for a painting. We had lunch at a new restaurant on the waterfront and it was good. Then I barreled down the coast – stopping only at a gallery in Lincoln City, the Ryan Gallery, which my brother had recommended. Florence is quite a way down the coast, and I didn't get there till... dinner time, I guess. Checked into the motel and found a Thai place for dinner, which was good, though I thought the service slow. Maybe things are just slower in Florence.

More trip journal soon, or, later.

Actually, it's been two months

So I'm a bit frazzled. Anyway, here's another image. This is my grandson Tim. He's 17 now. Still cute though.

So it's been a month

But what a month. In other words, I have all kinds of excuses for ignoring my blog for a month. A month ago I was on my way to have my work photographed, and that did happen, and I eagerly awaited the results, and they came, and they're fine and dandy. The collages don't photograph well cause they're a little bit three dimensional. Bas relief? Anyway, I'll post some of them soon but bear in mind they're lots more fun than they look like in their pics!

And then, I GOT A SHOW. My first!!! I am so excited. I have stage fright. There's all my stuff, being stared at (or not?). So I had to put everything back in its frame, quickly, after taking it out to have it photographed - which is a lot of work. And the show's at a coffee shop in Seattle, so I had to hang it myself. Lots MORE work. I had lots of help, thank goodness. Anyway, if you're in the area stop by Bus Stop Espresso, 800 NE 65th, have a latte and admire my work. Better yet, make a special trip to Seattle to see the show and of course buy something. It'll be up through the end of September.

Everyone says I should be looking for the next venue now. I'm trying. I'm thinking about approaching a coop gallery in the area. Anyone have any opinion about coops? I like the feel of the place; it seems serious - as opposed to being about crafts. But do they sell anything? Or should I approach the glitzy place, which does sell stuff - but which seems to be more about glitz than about art. I don't know whether any of them would want my work anyway. So I need to get busy. But I'm going to take a little road trip next week. I NEED IT. I've earned it. Tomorrow I'm going over to the coffee shop to see how things are looking. And collect all those checks. Thursday evening there is a neighborhood art walk. I'll be represented so I'll be there with wine and chips and salsa from 6 to 8 p.m. Stop by!

Have I had time to do anything creative? Well, I did manage to do a pastel of the Palouse. Ever been there? It's wheat country in the southeast corner of Washington which is unlike any other landscape in the world, I think. Miles and miles and miles - and more miles - of rolling hills of wheat fields almost unbroken by roads or any sign of civilization, except for the fact that it's all planted with wheat. I'm fascinated with it and have done several landscapes. There's another part of Washington state which is also fascinating and completely unique, the channeled scablands. The WHAT? I should do a series on it, too. Washington State is actually a wonderful place. Not just the west side, where there's most of the population and all the green lush vegetation and the ocean and Puget Sound and Seattle and that famous and beautiful stuff - but all of it. It's incredibly varied. I double-dare you to convince me your state is better.

Oops, I got on a rant and it's a bit off the subject. But wait - it's my blog - I can talk about anything I want - and that's what it says at the bottom of it so that sure gives me permission if nothing else does.

Oh yeah, I've been having some work done on my house. My house is a project too. More needs to be done, before The Rains come. In this part of the world it's not just the rain, it's The Rains. But the rain makes everything so beautiful. It's worth it.

So now I'll just choose one of the images I had done last month, and pop it on here. What'll it be? I think I'll show you my 'signature' collage. It's on my business cards. It's based on a tiny scribbled character my granddaughter did when she was six. She's eight now.

Having my work photographed, and framing it

I took lots of my work out of frames and schlepped it to a nearby town a couple of days ago, to have it photographed by a recommended photographer. I'll see the results in a few days. I'm pretty excited about this. It's a step I've known I needed to take if I was serious about getting into galleries or shows, so of course I've put it off! Well, part of the reason for that was that I worried about how much it would cost. But I had inflated that in my head. So I came away a happy painter. Now all I have to do is put it all back into those frames. It's all over the dining room table - there not being room in the studio for such a messy job. I have high hopes for the results - and I'll be showing it off here, maybe just about the same time I get indexed.

There are some great things about watercolors and pastels, but a drawback is that you have to mat and frame things to show them. Speaking of expenses. I think I've gotten the process down as cheap as it can get. I watch for sales on inexpensive frames at the big box "craft" stores like Michael's and JoAnne, and I order mats, and better frames, from framesbymail.com. I've had great luck with them so I recommend them. Once I made a mistake myself, which I took to be their mistake, and they fixed it without arguing. Only later did I realize it was my mistake. So I'm making up for it here by recommending them. I think I shopped around a bit and found them to be at least as cheap or even cheaper than everyone else. And they have a good selection. And since you shop online you can live anywhere and shop there.

Go paint!

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

I did a series of lighthouses a couple of years ago. This one is on the Oregon Coast. Email me if you're a collector of lighthouse pictures - the original watercolor is for sale, as are high-quality prints. I'll be publishing more from time to time. ep

Theorizing about women painters

I have wondered about this for years: i'm not aware of many women painters who are driven to paint - so driven that other parts of life are subsumed. I mean driven like Van Gogh was driven. That's why Louise Nevelson is one of my heroes. She knew what she wanted from when she was young. She was sidetracked temporarily by consenting to marry and have a child, but then she left the marriage - and the child - and spent the rest of her life doing whatever it took to keep on producing. She was driven. She didn't have a well-placed mentor like Georgia O'Keeffe did, she was on her own. I totally admire her. I wanted to be "an artist" when I was young, and spent hours drawing. But one of my teachers in high school didn't appreciate my stuff and had another favorite student, and it squelched me. My ego, or whatever, didn't survive. It was easy for me to do other things, since my ego wasn't tied up in those things. Through my life I've gone through phases of drawing, then doing no art, then taking another class, then doing nothing again. It wasn't until my kids were grown that I started producing fairly consistently. If you believe, as i do, that practice is a large part of "talent," I have a lot of catching up to do. Any comments on this would be welcome. In the meantime, here's another painting - this one is a view to the west from a friend's house, showing off the wonderful Puget Sound with the Olympic Mountains in the background. I love this area - but I grew up in Eastern Washington which has a totally different ambience - high, dry, spacious and dramatic in its own way. I'll be throwing in some of those kinds of landscapes too.

Here's a watercolor sketch

This was a quick study, done from a photograph.

For starters

I've been thinking about starting this for a long time - and what got me going was that I want to get some business cards made so I wanted to get my url for the cards. Whatever works. I've been painting for quite a long time, and drawing for my whole life. Now I've decided I need to get serious about marketing. I'll be having my work photographed in a couple of weeks. A big step for me. I'll be working on the blog little by little. I realize it's a bit bare-bones for the moment, cause I clicked the wrong key and seem to have chosen this bleakish format, but I'll tart it up as I go along.

So the main topics are painting and marketing. The two things are so different they're practically mutually exclusive. I'd so much rather paint, or even procrastinate about painting, than try to market my stuff - but I've gotta believe I can do it.

I do watercolor, pastels, and collages. Watercolor is fantastic, cause it's so hard to control, and sometimes you lose control and it's horrible and sometimes you lose control and it's better than you could have imagined. Pastels are the opposite: you lay it on and it stays exactly where you put it, and if it's right it's cause you had the control you needed and did it right. I do the collages because they're FUN. I started them because I had so many reject paintings lying around I thought I'd try to use them somehow. Then I found stuff everywhere I could slap down. One of my best "suppliers" is my eight-year-old granddaughter, Ellie, who's a great artist in her own right, and whose work I've borrowed for collages.