Tumalo Art Company in Bend, Oregon, will be featuring my work during the upcoming month of April, 2024. This show, Rising Air - Plein Air to Studio will be a compilation of both paintings created outdoors and studio pieces inspired by those outdoor paintings. 

Dancing Light (above), 48x48

One of my favorite poets, Pablo Neruda, has written a beautiful poem, entitled Pastoral. This passage within the poem eloquently describes the essence of painting outdoors.

“I copy out mountains, rivers, clouds. I take my pen from my pocket. I note down a bird in its rising or a spider in its little silkworks. Nothing else crosses my mind. I am air, clear air, where a wheat is waving, where a bird’s flight moves me…” – from Pablo Neruda, Pastoral.

Little Lava II (above), 12x12.

When I am immersed in nature, painting what is before me, I absorb joy and peaceful energy. Surrounded by the sounds of birds, wind, animals, insects…my shoulders relax and my mind goes blank. Hours can pass of sheer bliss. I notice a sense of floating on air, right next to the bees. The abundancy of life works its way into my paintings, becoming a statement on place; a relief from modern life.

This show is a collection of plein air paintings (created in a few of my favorite locations in Central Oregon, Colorado, and the Pacific NW), alongside large studio works created from inspiration of those plein air pieces.

Dancing Ripples (above), 36x36.

In painting outdoors, I begin to examine my relationship with natural landscape elements and the abundance of forest life. Later, I take those relationships to an interior space, both figuratively and literally, to create studio pieces. The larger studio pieces reflect a deeper dive into my connection to the earth, and an expression of the joy I feel in those outdoor spaces.

Painting in the Columbia River Gorge, Washington side, April, 2023.

Hope you get a chance to see the show during the month of April. And if you can, stop by during open reception First Friday, April 5, 2024, from 3-7 to say hi!

Thanks for reading. And if you haven't done so yet, get outside and paint!

Sarah