Tag Archives: Olympic

New Painting Post

Bark Shanty Bridge, Olympic National Forest

Greetings to all our friends: This email begins a slightly different slant of our on-going Blog. For years, Nancy has sent out periodic emails announcing new printed products to our customers, clients, family and friends. While this has worked well, there is much more we’d like to share, such as published articles, fine-art paintings and special interpretive projects for many parks. So, here’s our first ‘edition.’
To opt out or say hello, just click this to send us an email.

Bark Shanty Bridge
Here on the Olympic Peninsula, it’s called the Big Quil River. And this little bridge is called Bark Shanty because many years ago there used to be a squatter’s cabin nearby made of big slabs of Doug-fir bark, probably the easiest building material he could have found here. The shanty is long gone but the bridge remains.

Thirty miles south of our home in Port Townsend, we hiked the two miles from road’s end, a flat and level trail along the Big Quilcene River. The entire trail was in an emerald-green tunnel beneath enormous old-growth firs and hemlocks. This is national forest land, and past administrations have left it pretty much butchered up by a forest industry that cared little for our national legacy. However, here and there you can still find the old lowland forest, and here along the Big Quil life goes on much as it has for centuries. The trail eventually crosses two beautiful wooden bridges, and this one is the second, probably installed in the 1930’s by WPA crews. After 80 years, the two old-growth logs that make most of it are still in fine shape. We stood on these rocks and listened to the rush of clear water. A winter wren competed with a very loud dipper as they both tried to overpower the crash of the river. It was as pure a scene as could be imagined. As a painter, I especially liked the swirling mist beyond the bridge, indicating more whitewater upstream. It intrigued us to go farther.

We have eight-color Giclee prints either unframed or framed, between $39.95 and $239.95 available of this painting and the original painting is available for $700 unframed. Email us.

Link here to the Bark Shanty Bridge print on our website

Or, you can go to our Giclee Print Index here

Or, send us an email to opt in or out of our email family – or just ‘talk’ with us.

New Painting Post

Salmon Cascades – Olympic National Park

We were doing some research up the Sol Duc River, about 70 miles west of our home in Port Townsend. I was painting some images for Olympic National Park, and we stopped at the Salmon Cascades to see if any fish were there. They were – a group of coho circling below the falls waiting their moment when a big perfect jump would take them to the top and on to the rest of their journey to the spawning beds upstream. It was a thrill to see these big fish, and the scene with the sun shining through the water’s mist wasn’t bad either.

We have eight-color Giclee prints either unframed or framed, between $39.95 and $239.95 available of this painting and the original painting is available for $700 unframed. Email us.

Link here to the Salmon Cascades print on our website

Or, you can go to our Giclee Print Index here

Or, send us an email to opt in or out of our email family – or just ‘talk’ with us.

New Painting Post

Lillian Ridge – Olympic National Park

Lillian Ridge Trail
To the west of Port Townsend, Olympic National Park fills our skyline. This trail begins at road’s end, over 6000′, at what we hear is the highest road in the state of Washington. It meanders along the ridgetop with amazing views on all sides for miles. To the east, the narrow chasm of Grand Valley shows hints of lakes and waterfalls. To the west, the Mt Olympus complex fills the view. This is Mt McCartney in the distance as one hikes south along the ridgetop spine, often through acres of endemic wildflowers.

This mountaintop has never been glaciated, so walking here means walking in the same footsteps as prehistoric man. I keep looking for mastodons, or at least their tracks.

We have eight-color Giclee prints either unframed or framed, between $39.95 and $239.95 available of this painting and the original painting is available for $700 unframed. Email us.

Link here to the Lilian Ridge print on our website

Or, you can go to our Giclee Print Index here

Or, send us an email to opt in or out of our email family – or just ‘talk’ with us.

New Painting Post

Sol Duc Water

January 2009

Sol Duc Water
I’ve been painting a lot of the Sol Duc Valley for Olympic National Park. This painting was one was for me. It’s a very wet place, almost approaching to look of a temporate rain forest in places. These season waterfalls come and go, and I loved the water’s plunge over this little shiny rock.
Prints are available, as is the original painting. The painting is in acrylic on paper, and is 14″ x 20″. It’s offered for $350 on this blog, unframed.

New Painting Post

Klahhane Ridge Trail

Klahhane Ridge Trail
Since this is currently covered with snow, I worked from photos I took last summer. This trail leaves the visitor center and heads along the south side of Klahhane Ridge. It’s still a place you might find mountain goats on occasion. Heading back at the end of the day, this scene is exactly the high mountain view one would expect here, with Mount Olympus rising to greet you at every turn.
As of the posting date, the original painting is still available and prints are too. Email us for details.
Painting is in acrylic, 14″ x 20″, making it about 24″ x 30″ framed with mat or linen liner.

Uncategorized

Olympic High Country

Obstruction Point – Olympic National Park

This image is destined to be made into jigsaw puzzles, posters and probably cards for Olympic National Park. I’ve wanted to paint this scene for years. From this ridge, if you turn 180 degrees, it’s possible to see our home forest 25 miles below in the distance. This is the dry side of the Olympics, and because of its isolation, there are many plants and animals that have to evolved to grow only here – the Olympic Marmot, Olympic Chipmunk, Olympic Weasel and others.

It’s a special place for Nancy and I that few ever see. The original painting is 24″ x 36″ and is acrylic on paper board. It’s currently available for sale.

New Painting Post, Wildlife

The Fisher Returns to Oympic National Park

American Fisher
This commissioned painting is for Olympic National Park for use as the summer 2008 park newspaper cover (100,000 copies) and interpretive exhibits. The last Olympic fisher was trapped about 50 yrs ago, leaving an empty ecological niche. ONP is releasing 100 of these animals in a re-population plan. About the size of a large housecat, fishers hunt small birds and rodents.
I painted this scene at about the place the first group were released, the Elwha River Valley. The models for the trilliums were from our own backyard, and so is the cone midden the junco is messing about in. The junco could have been here too, if it had stood still long enough.
Because of the interest in this project, we decided to offer high-quality giclee prints of the fisher painting. Here’s the fisher link and easy buying info.