Field Work

A selection of my Norway paintings are on exhibit.

It was a joy to be sketching on board and learning more about the WA State Ferry vessels, crew, and passengers.

Practicing painting large on a bicycle camping adventure to the Galiano Island.

I’m excited to paint on an arctic island in Norway this summer.

Collecting data on Cooper Island.

Exploring camp and colors.

Sketches and stories from my travel to Arctic Alaska.

My experience sketching with NASA was captured beautifully in this short video.

Sketches inspired by a family adventure.

I want to stand up for love and compassion in the USA.

Tabular iceberg studies from the Antarctic Peninsula.

Field paintings and update from the Antarctic Peninsula.

Painting rocks, ice, and penguins.

Sketches and paintings for the Southern Patagonia coast.

I’m in South America on my way to Antarctica.

Sketches and stories from Mt. Baker and visiting Girls on Ice 2013.

A look at my process developing studio paintings from my fieldwork.

I took a hot air balloon ride! It’s been a long-time dream.

Best wishes for 2013! This is a sketch I completed from Cougar Mountain in the Methow Valley.

Sketches from the Royal Valley basin in Olympic National Park.

I spent last weekend in the foothills of Mt. Rainier with blue bird skies.

I’m back in town after a relaxing vacation in the San Juan Islands.

New 5″ x 5″ watercolors featuring the North Cascades as I warm up and explore compositions in my studio.

Sketches from my adventure to Richmond Beach Saltwater park on a stormy springtime day.

A sketch, photos, and story from a ferry boat adventure looking for whales.

Sketches and update from my trip down the Colorado River.

Sketches, photos, and stories from hut skiing in the Methow Valley.

Sketched ideas for my ideal watercolor palette.

Sketches, video, photos, and details from my hike to the Hidden Lake Peaks in the North Cascades.

Sketch of the golden larches from Harts Pass.

Home safe from Greenland and a few highlights from my expedition.

Sketches and introduction to my new field tripod.

Reflections on what brings satisfaction, featuring a TED talk and sketches.

Sketch and time-lapse video of magnificent cumulus clouds.

Exploring color with palette and landscape studies.

Sketches from Gardner Hut in the Methow Valley. My paints were freezing on my paper.

The Aspens are brilliant yellow with the changing season.

I’m settling into my routine now after a great Wilderness First Responder (WFR) class in the Methow Valley, one of my favorite regions. Paul Nicolazzo, founder of the Wilderness Medicine Training Center (WMTC), taught the 80-hour course and was an inspiring instructor. I chose to take the class with WMTC in part because they offer

I returned to the Seaview East boatyard in Ballard Thursday and Friday to once again sketch the “Ocean Watch”- a ship that will soon depart for a year-long circumnavigation of North and South America for a project called Around the Americas. When I saw the vessel in March, it was land-bound and in dire need of a paint

I couldn’t stay inside during the glorious sunshine yesterday and spent a couple hours of the afternoon in the UW Urban Horticultural wetland area in Seattle sketching. It’s a marvelous region for birds and I found a spot to sit, sketch, and watch. I experimented with a new water-soluble pen of mine, the Pilot Bravo and watercolor, and

I was a vegetarian for 12 years until I started traveling. I strayed from my herbivore habits in 2002 when I traveled to Mali, West Africa for the first time with a Carleton College study abroad program. I wanted to fully experience foreign cuisine and didn’t want to be a picky eater. My host mother

When out in the field, I think about building my “palette of place”: my vocabulary of color, climate, and stories. People often ask if I work from photos and I do, but field work is integral to my process. Sketching and painting outdoors allows me to look at my surroundings closely and from different perspectives.

This week I’ve been working on my new not-quite-released website (almost there! Thank you steller designer and sweetheart Darin Reid…) and coming across my older fieldwork. One style has particular captured my attention as one I’d like to use more: walnut ink. When working with walnut ink, I often use a toned paper (such as

Yesterday was a beautiful day in Seattle and in the afternoon I took off on my bike to meet the adventurous Captain Mark Schrader at the Seaview East boatyard in Ballard.  Mark is working to prepare a 64ft steel-hulled sailboat for a year-long circumnavigation of North and South America for a project called Around the

Funny, I don’t feel any older. I’m 27 today and time just seems to pass all the more quickly. I try to remember to lean back in time instead of rushing forward in anticipation of what’s to come. Art and observation is part of this, taking time to appreciate the small details of the world: finding

It’s been a busy couple weeks with post-opening catch up (for everything I put on hold during my framing work), the holidays, and being knocked out by a cold which forced me to take real weekend (a restful one- I felt like I went into hibernation). Anyways, I’m feeling better and coming out of my den

It’s a beautiful Autumn in Seattle. I love the changing colors, blustery days, and crisp weather. We’ve even had sun! I spent most of today outside, riding around on my bicycle and sketching. My first stop was Volunteer Park with my group of painters from Gage Academy. Afterwards I rode down and met my friend Bubba

I joined scientist Mauri Pelto on Mt. Baker in August of 2007 to monitor a number of glaciers. We were traversing from the Sholes Glacier to the Rainbow and paused for lunch in the Portals Pass. I sketched and noticed the strong shapes and shadows. This year as I’m processing my North Cascades fieldwork, I

I spent the day making color studies for some paintings and exploring mixtures. I’m interested in painting with more varied color schemes as well as more expressively. One useful resource I’ve discovered through my teacher and artist friend Tom Hoffmann is a book by Tony Couch, “Watercolor, You Can Do It!” His sections on composition and

This afternoon my friend and I sat on the shore of Lake Washington (around the UW Urban Horticultural Center trails) and painted. We watched turtles ease themselves on and off logs, a blue heron fishing, king fishers flying by and scolding us with their chit-chit-chit cry, an osprey soar, and mallard ducks rummaging in tall

Here are some of my journals from my trip to the Cariboo Mountains (if you click on the images, larger versions should load). My new system for the field is to carry a small sketchbook with me that has replaceable signatures (stapled together leaflets- I love my long-arm stapler). This is my “hip pocket” book

This month has been a rush of travel. I just returned from an extended weekend for my friend’s wedding in California and before that, (the 7th – 14th) I was in British Columbia assisting my friend Matt Beedle with a glacier-monitoring project in the Cariboo mountains. His work is affiliated with the Western Canadian Cryospheric

I can hardly believe it’s September. Where did the summer go? I could use another week of sun here in Seattle… however I did have a fantastic weekend on Orcas Island in the San Juans for the wedding of dear friends. It was a great to get out of town, make ice cream, canoe, and

Exploring the ebb and flow of productivity with concentration, preparation, and rest.

I spent the morning working on some watercolor paintings. Here’s one completed sketch:  On another note, my boyfriend and I took a big step together today. We finally decided to… invest in coffee paraphernalia. We bought a cute espresso maker (Bialetti Moka Express), a little milk pitcher, and some Fran’s dark chocolate sauce. The past

I made some studies for larger paintings this morning. This one is a view from Mt. Baker.

When I was little, I would blame things on the clouds. “Who scribbled on the walls?!’ my parents would demand. “Oh, the clouds did it,” was often my reply. I always loved looking up to the sky and imagining how sponge-like the clouds must be, enough so I might use one to wash my Big

I’m back in Seattle after an inspiring 11 days out with “Girls on Ice,” a program free to select high school girls to learn about glaciology, mountaineering, and (this year!) art. My co-instructors were Erin Pettit who first began the program while a graduate student at the University of Washington and Cecelia Mortenson, a mountaineer

Thank you to everyone for their support of my North Cascades field work and development! All contributions are much appreciated and I am a quarter way to my goal of $5,000. I spent the afternoon working on postcards, exploring North Cascades compositions for larger paintings. A contribution of any amount (every bit helps!) will bring

Tag! I got a lovely handmade postcard in the mail from my friend today with a sketch of spring pumpkins. I’m tagging him back with my broccoli. Want to play too? Send me a postcard with a sketch or painting and I’ll return the favor. Here’s my address: 5217 NE 43rd St. | Seattle, WA

Monday night I returned home from a lovely few days on the eastside of the N. Cascade mountains. My boyfriend and I took his mom on a lovely overnight to Cutthroat Pass. It’s a 5 mile hike in from Highway 20 that ends with fantastic 300 degree views. (Read a trail description here.) I did

I’m heading off to my favorite stretch of highway to take a jaunt in the mountains. I’m taking my art supplies with me- check back next week for updates!

I rode my bike over to Bainbridge Island today (with the help of the ferry) to teach an ink and watercolor field sketching workshop with Bainbridge Arts and Crafts Gallery. We went down to water to sit in the shade and sketch and this is a value study I did with my chopstick, paint brush,

Today I tidied up my summer studio space which consists of 1/2 of the garage. Garages have high entropy, but after a go-over with a shop vac, things are looking better. When the weather is nice, the light and ventilation is fantastic. In the winter… well, maybe I’ll just head south to Antarctica. On the

Another penguin study… this one of a King penguin chick. They look like they’re wearing massive (and awkward) down furry parkas. Steve from my Silver Glacier trip a couple of weeks ago also sent me this great photo of me painting in the field. The view is of Silver lake and I’m hoping to complete

Slow Sunday today… laundry, gardening (I’ve got a late start this year but hope something grows!), prepping painting surfaces (my crackle paste boards are looking promising!), and this conté crayon mixed media painting. Conté crayon is funny- just thinking about using it dry it literally gives me goosebumps in that sort of nails-on-chalkboard sort of

I had a lovely day today at the Bellevue Daniel Smith where I gave two workshops on ink and watercolor field sketching. Both were full houses! I was delighted to share my work with everyone and enjoyed meeting new faces. I look forward to more collaborations with Daniel Smith- in fact this fall I will

Happy Fourth of July! I just returned from the Methow Valley in Eastern Washington after some lovely adventures with my sweetie Darin and friends. Most memorable was yesterday evening, hiking up to the Goat Peak fire lookout to watch a storm and visit with Lightening Bill. The hike is about 2.5 miles and 1500 ft.

I’m continuing to play with mixed media which so far has been great fun. I like the limited palette and may push it further, looking at old sepia photographs for inspiration. Any feedback on these experiments is appreciated! This afternoon I’ve decided to take an early weekend and go out the Methow Valley, one of

This morning I set aside one hour to make my “painting of day.” I decided to experiment with sepia conté crayons- the lovely warm tones of which I’ve always loved. Playing around on a 300 lb Arches water color paper, I used my waterbrushes to make washes and layered on brown, sepia, and white crayon.

“How long have you been painting?” is a question people often ask me. The short answer is that ever since I could scribble on paper, I’ve used art to express my emotions and play. Pivotal to my being the artist I am today, though, is the time I’ve spent in Japan with my family. My

I’m catching my breath after a busy past few weeks which have included moving from Bainbridge to Seattle, teaching a nature journaling workshop, and now I’m just returned from a wonderful trip to the mountains. This week I had the privilege of accompanying North Cascades National Park scientists up to Silver Glacier on the flanks

I just arrived home from a wonderful tour de Washington loop (out on I-90, back on Highway 20) that included chaperoning one session of Garfield High School’s “Desert School” outdoor education program. The program is based at Camp Delany in Sun Lakes State Park, embedded in a landscape carved by the great flood of Lake

It’s raining out this evening after an exuberant past few days of sun. It’s been near impossible to stay indoors and I’ve been cycling, running, and painting. On Saturday I had the pleasure of hosting an artist group I’m part of in Seattle and five women came over to share work and sketch. It was

I did two small studies today as I planned more iceberg paintings based on images from the Antarctic Peninsula. Working small and quickly is fun and I’m exploring using thicker paint to create more texture. These small paintings will be scaled up to 36″ x 24″ and I hope to begin my large underpaintings tomorrow.

I have several oil paintings in process and they’re reminding me how much fun studio work can be. I confess, when I paint I can listen to the same music over and over (sometimes even a song on repeat if I’m really into it) and lately it’s been the White Stripes and Jack White’s band

I’ve just returned from a lovely few days on San Juan Island attending the Pacific NW Chapter of the Explorers Club Compass Symposium. A big thank you to Lynn Danaher for organizing the weekend. It was my second event with the Club and a wonderful opportunity to meet all sorts of adventurous people. My godfather,

I finally took my first swim in Puget Sound this year and it felt great! This afternoon the tide was high, the water was calm, and periodic sun-breaks made a swim irresistible. I covered myself head-to-toe in neoprene and gear including: thin swim cap, neoprene swim cap, ear plugs, goggles, wet suit, and neoprene gloves

I have moved to Bainbridge Island, a 35 minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. A generous woman I met offered me a waterfront studio and cottage as an artist retreat for the next few months- a space where I can focus on my painting and have some distance from the busy pace of Seattle. It

Today was lovely, with ample opportunity to paint both on land on board. A highlight was visiting the historical British base, Port Lockroy, which was renovated in 1996 to operate as a ‘living museum.’ At Port Lockroy, I met one lovely Rachel Hazell, who has been living on the small island with two other folks,

My second voyage with Quark Expeditions has begun and with a truly international crowd. The passengers come from 23 different countries! I love hearing so many languages and am particularly delighted by the francophone folks on board. It’s great fun to use my French and to learn new vocabulary (such as for “life jacket” and

The past week and a half has been stimulating, but exhausting, as we’ve steamed over from South Georgia to the Antarctic Peninsula, and finally into the Drake Passage on our way back to Ushuaia. This voyage has covered hundreds of miles at sea and I confess, it’s been a bit rough for me. High winds

My voyage with Quark Expeditions as Artist-in-Residence began with a blur of meeting new people, discovering new rhythms, and finding my place on the Clipper Adventurer. We left Ushuaia February 2nd and headed north-east to the Falkland Islands. I thought I had my sea legs until we were chased by a storm and winds that

I made it safely to Ushuaia, the Southern tip of Argentina, arriving Jan 30th. Impressively, my baggage made it as well, checked all the way through from Seattle. I’ve spent the past couple days recovering from the 36 hours of travel it took to get down here and preparing my art supplies, workshops, and presentations