quilting

postcards from PORTLAND

QUILTING

30”x50” acrylic on canvas

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

TO CREATE A WARM COVER MADE OF LAYERS AND KEPT IN PLACE BY STITCHING PATTERNS OF COLOR TOGETHER....AS A LEISURE ACTIVITY.

I had just finished a modern quilting class in Multnomah Village and was experimenting with colors, hues, and patterns with paint.  New to acrylics, I was amazed at how quickly the paint dries, it's transparency, and how you can layer the colors.  These aren’t the quilts your grandmother made. Newly inspired by Kaffe Fassett’s designs, I wanted to play with some of the more simple patterns to see if color could inspire movement. This photo is from a studio workshop at Fibers in Motion.

the road not taken

postcards from PORTLAND

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

11” X 14” acrylic on canvas

Thursday, October 20, 2011

AGAIN I WAS DRAWN TO THE LIGHTING HERE AND HOW TO CAPTURE THE SCENE OF A SUNNY DAY.  THERE IS SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS AND ROMANTIC FOR ME ABOUT A SCENIC ROADWAY.  IT BRINGS WITH IT THE POSSIBILITY OF ADVENTURE.  I LIVE ALONG SKYLINE ROAD AND WE LOVE TO TAKE LONG BIKE RIDES THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE.  IF YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR THE BEST SCENIC BIKE ROUTE IN PORTLAND - LOOK NO FURTHER. SKYLINE IS ONE OF THE FIVE BEST RIDES.

two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both

and be one traveler, long I stood, and looked down one as far as I could

to where it bent in the undergrowth;

then took the other, as just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim

because It was grassy and wanted wear, though as for that the passing there

had worn them really about the same,

and both that morning equally lay in leaves no step had trodden black.

oh, I marked the first for another day!

yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh somewhere ages and ages hence:

two roads diverged in a wood, and I, 

I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference.

by ROBERT FROST

mountain views

postcards from PORTLAND

Thursday, October 13, 2011

LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN

36” X 36” acrylic on canvas  

blog 1.  LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN IS ONE OF THE FIRST PAINTINGS I DID THIS YEAR.  FOR ME, IT CAPTURES THE BEAUTY AND SERENITY OF THE MOUNTAINS ON A SUMMER DAY.  OREGON CAN BE A PRETTY TOUGH PLACE TO LIVE WHEN IT IS RAINING (WHICH IS MOST OF THE TIME).  THIS PIECE WAS PAINTED IN JANUARY AND I WAS IN DESPERATE NEED OF THE SUN BY THEN. YOU COULD SAY THIS IS ART THERAPY FOR ME.  WHEN I CAN'T HOP ON AN AIRPLANE TO GET AWAY, I PULL OUT MY PAINT BRUSH......