Tag Archives: Orca Recovery

Commissioned paintings, New Painting Post, Waysides, Wildlife

Art for Orcas – A Trail for the Mind

November 9, 2019 Brush Man

A second painting of the current five, funded by the Orca Recovery Plan for Washington State. This one is about the same watershed in Everett, WA as the last painting, but focuses on the way this little forest cleaned the water that runs through it. Just a 100 yards west from this location, the creek flows into Puget Sound, cleaner than when it was up in the urban city above it. Clean water helps orcas, salmon and the entire ecosystem, the the forest does this naturally, no help from us except to leave it alone.

And here’s the initial sketch, showing some of the areas where text will go. It’s simply a way to get started. I’ll show you the other three soon.

Change of pace: Fall hiking and finding wildness.

While painting is my passion, so is hiking wild places. Always has been, all the way back to when I had to hold someone else’s hand to stay upright. So, that’s 70 years of looking for wild nature, and it’s still as important as it’s always been for my life, spirituality and sense of being who I am. We hiked a 5-mile out and back yesterday and returned feeling refreshed and with memories that stayed with me through the night – and right here on this page.

This collection of big-leaf maple leaves and probably one of the Psilocybe mushrooms is, for me, what a wild place is all about. It doesn’t have to be way out there (but that helps), alpine scree or giant mountains, but it’s more about finding places that haven’t been recently altered by humans. Just a small place will do, where leaves and the fall crop of fungi can make the place very special for me.

I may be in my 70’s, but these places just don’t get stale, don’t loose their thrill of absorbing the peace and well-being that nature brings. I’d like it very much if this short little essay resulted in a few more people out there, but if the trail is lonely, so much the better for us!

Thanks for reading this week.

Larry Eifert

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Waysides, Wildlife

Orca Recovery – Pigeon Creek

November 2, 2019 Brush Man

I’m now painting a bunch of art for 5 new wayside panels to be installed around Puget Sound. Recently, Washington State decided to help the remaining 80-some iconic Southern Pod in a big way, and a tiny part of that effort is going to me for some wayside panel art for outreach at some of the locations. Rain gardens and stream restoration – and my art telling about it. I’m happy and proud to be involved.

The Southern Resident orcas – or killer whales, are a large extended family, actually a clan, comprised of three pods hereabouts. Within each pod, families form into sub-pods centered around older females, usually grandmothers or great-grandmothers – I like this structuring a lot – we could learn a few things here. They live in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea in Washington State and British Columbia and primarily eat salmon, that are also in dire straits. I’m not new to painting orca or salmon as I just finished a bunch of others at Lime Kiln Point in the San Juan Islands, so this was an easy transition.

Above is the first panel almost finished. Pigeon Creek is in Everett, Washington and the water comes from urban neighborhoods and flows down into this green lush valley where the forest slows and purifies the water before it hits the bay. People think it’s just a place to walk their dogs, but this shows it’s more, a strainer for pollutants heading for orcas and salmon.

Here are the sketches, concept first. Then below is the enhanced version showing details. It’s actually fairly true to the final art.

It’s a pretty messy riparian forest, but I made a painting out of it anyway – including Bob who showed me around on a very rainy day. I got what I needed, as you can see up top – and even put in this little bridge. I’ll show more of these panels soon.

Thanks for reading this week. Now, get out there and take a hike in your nearby forest – and tell them I sent you.