We had a wonderful weekend camping trip to the Deschutes River State Recreation Area. I really thought I'd spend more time painting, but we spent more time just marvelling at the scenery and enjoying the exploration of the place! Can you believe it....I rode my bicycle for 16 miles on Saturday! Part of me really wanted to go further along the rail bed up the Deschutes, but my legs and "saddle" were pretty sure we had gone far enough as it is.
After resting up from that adventure, Ken and I hiked a mile or so to a lovely viewpoint over the river. The wind was trying to blow away my art supplies, (I had to chase down my paper once), but I managed to get this one sketch done of a small isle in the Deschutes with white water racing on either side of it. Ken busied himself with colored pencils and did a drawing of the far hillside. (He isn't ready to share his art yet.)
Isle in the Deschutes, 5 x 7 pastel on Wallis
For this next picture we hiked down the road, across a bridge, and found a lovely place to sit on the opposite side of the river. A Meadowlark teased us with it's beautiful songs, but we simply couldn't spot it in the trees. We were amused by the Killdeer running ahead of us, though. It was such a lovely day. Once again I focused on the waters. The sun was bright overhead, causing the water to be so bright I almost couldn't look at it. This is an area of white water rolling around grassy stones in the riverbed. Ken chose a nearby rock to draw. I love that he is finding his own way to create art along with me!
Sunlight on the White Waters, 5 x 7 pastel on Wallis
It certainly does look windy in that first painting! The water in both paintings is full of motion. Nicely done.
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