Check out my newest book!

Hot off the press!  Here's the new book adapted from my 2007 Artist in Residence project for Glacier National Park.  It is an alphabet book packed with colorful paintings, photos and drawings that kids can color in themselves.  It also has lots of interesting information about plants and animals that live in the park area called the crown of the continent ecosystem.

cut and paste this link to the Blurb bookstore where you can review the first 15 pages of the book and order one if you're so inclined.  :-)

http:/www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/21001

or simply click on the "Jewels of Glacier Park" link over on the right.  Hope you enjoy the book!

Gunsight Lake

I'm back to Glacier again, it's so nice on this snowy, wet spring? day to hide out in summer for awhile.  This is from one of my favorite hikes in the park, from St. Mary Lake on the east side to Lake Mcdonald on the west side of the continental divide. You'll hardly notice the 20 miles, 2 passes and 4,000 ft. of elevation gain, the views are so spectacular! 

Bountiful

This is a painting of my cousins when they were small.  I have a long way to go on figure work but I like the timeless, classic romanticism of this one.  Brings back warm fuzzy memories of picking apples on a warm early fall day.... a good thing to share.   

On A Mission

I'm not sure about this one, although I like the original better than this photo of it.  I wanted the coyote to blend into the grasses so there is a lot of texture going on.  

Afternoon Shadows

I loved how the late afternoon light caught the curled edges of charred branches in this section of mixed forest that was burned not so long ago.  The understory is bursting with new growth from all that sunshine reaching the ground, a regenerating forest is a busy place.

Outlet Creek

The morning sun shot down this little creek as it joins the outlet of one of the Kootenai Lakes in the north end of Glacier Park.  This was an outstanding location for watching moose snorkel in the shallow lake.... lots of moose.  I think I counted 5 bulls and cows all out together next to my campsite and at least one calf besides.  

Renewal - fireweed

Fire is a big part of the ecosystem at Glacier Nat. Park.  Hiking through the burns is a testament to renewal.  It's also a wonderful place to bird watch!  

Crowd of Kinglets

This is a view right out my window into the cedars.  I loved to climb trees as a kid and I haven't outgrown that feeling.  My second floor studio is a good simulation of being right up in the trees.  These little Golden Crowned Kinglets often visit in small flocks.  They are tiny but mighty busy.  They can hover in the air like blimped out humming birds!  I didn't want to spend too much time on this painting and was a bit intimidated by the complexity of all those cedar branches so I started with a palette knife and just pushed paint around.  I kind of like the messy-nes of it even if the composition could be better. :-)   

New Kid

I really wanted to name this one "Fuzz Butt" however, since it is for an upcoming show at Two Vaults Gallery in Tacoma I thought maybe "New Kid" might be nicer.   The show will open in conjunction with the Third Thursday Art Walk in Tacoma, on April 17.  It is a group show of equine images and should be a lot of fun.  This painting has proven impossible to photograph accurately, I'm not sure why.  The colors are really a lot richer in the original but I like his "attitude" anyway.   :-I   

Pica and Stromatolytes

Here is a more impressionist approach to a pica rummaging around in multi-million year old rock formations in Glacier Park.  The swirly look comes from stromatolytes, fossils of ancient algae, that form some pretty impressive rock art.