The Motherlode!

I’ve started several Elementals since I got settled… here’s one that has a deep metallic back wash with dark elementals in red, blue, purples and indigo:

But, I’ve also been wanting to start a few Fossils (I paint fossils with smooth rocks that I place in puddles of watercolor and then drop in various colors around it as the puddle dries over 4-36 hours).  I didn’t haul any of my usual rocks out here that I paint with in my studio, knowing that the Oregon beaches, particularly Agate Beach (just a 5 minute walk from my place, through the tunnel) is the Motherlode of painting rocks! 

I’ve been over to Agate Beach every day for the last few days searching for great painting rocks.  After this morning’s trip, I have enough to start some Fossils this afternoon.  Here is a picture from my trip to Agate Beach this morning.

Arrived in Oregon with a “bang”

I finally arrived on the coast with a bit of a “bang”… literally!  It took me 3 days to drive up between the weather (snowy in both Denver when I left and Portland when I arrived) and a blown tire.

The blown tire ended up being quite a problem:  I blew the tire on I-80 about 40 miles west of Laramie, WY.  Changed to the “donut” spare tire in bright sunshine, blowing ground snow and -5 degrees.  Drove to Rawlins, WY (going 55 mph) to discover they didn’t have a tire to fit my car in town, but they found one in Rock Springs, WY.  Drove 3 hours to Rock Springs…. still on the donut.  They had a tire in Rock Springs, but discovered my wheel rim was cracked.  No wheel for my car in all of WY.  But there was one in Salt Lake City, so spent the night in WY and then drove another 4 hours…. still on the donut…. to SLC.  After 4 hours and some great help from the guys at the SLC Saab dealership, I was finally back on the road.

Sorry I don’t have any pics of all of the above… I ended up being pretty stressed out and didn’t get my camera out to capture it all.  But, I’m now in Oceanside and have walked the beach and started painting.  I’ll be posting a few paintings-in-progress pics next week.  In the meantime, here’s a few of my view – just awesome!

View from my “painting room” this morning.

My “painting room” yesterday before I unpacked all my art supplies.