McKinley From The Ridge

I painted this one on July 3 from a location about 50 miles as the crow flies from the big mountain. We were visiting friends who have a great cabin outside of Talkeetna. When the mountain is "out" (that is, not creating it's own little cloudy weather system) this is their view! It's a challenge to paint the mountain from this location because there are few reference points by which to indicate its impressive size. It towers over the landscape. You see it here with a foreground of about a million trees.

The artist most associated with Mt McKinley is Sidney Laurence, who was actively painting the Alaska landscape in the first decades of the 20th century. His views of McKinley solve in various ways the problem of how to suggest its monumental scale. He is known to have worked near the Tokositna River, about due south of the mountain, and not too far from my location for this painting (I am to the Southeast). Here is a link to one of his paintings of the mountain with the Tokositna River in the foreground. More details on his life and images of his paintings can be found here.

This painting is SOLD.

6 AM Return

Here is the final painting from the Homer trip. Looking over these last 4 paintings, you can see that the landscape involved a fair amount of wet ground. I really loved those patterns in the mud flats! When the fishing boat came by, heading back to harbor in the early morning light, it inspired one short and one long stroke of the brush, and the painting was done. That was a fun moment!

10" x 8" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$290 plus shipping, unframed

Homer Wetlands

The is the 3rd Homer landscape from my trip there in June.

Since the last time I posted I have been up to the Arctic Ocean and into the backwoods of Talkeetna. More paintings from those places to be posted later!

This view looks out at Kachemak Bay from the Alaska Islands and Oceans Visitor Center in Homer. There are paths through the trees that go down into the lowland area. It is all part of a larger wildlife refuge, where one finds lots of birds, plants, and ecosystems to explore. I was there in the very early morning, enjoying the peaceful and soft light on the marsh.

9" x 12" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$390 plus shipping, unframed

Homer Spit, Low Tide

Here is another painting from my recent trip to Homer. Very low tides all that week in Homer!

This was begun in early evening on the spit. The Homer spit is a long, curving, narrow bit of land that stretches 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay. It's a very distinctive land formation, which has changed much over the years due to exposure to earthquakes, tsunamis, and storms. Today the spit is a wonderful place to walk the beach, camp, view eagles and other seabirds, and have a great meal on the little boardwalk. The view across the bay is always a pleasant sight.

9" x 12" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$340 plus shipping, unframed

Kachemak Bay First Light

I just returned from my yearly trip to Homer for plein air painting. The weather was overcast on many days, but at dawn the light came in from under the clouds. For this painting, I stood in almost the same place as last year, when I painted Kachemak Dawn #2 (back a few pages on this blog), but the mood is so very different!

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$255 plus shipping, unframed

Veg Van Painting #2, Completed

Here is the second painting for the Glacier Valley Farm Community Supported Agriculture van. The first painting has already been scanned and is ready for the next phase. This one needs to dry a bit more, then a coat of varnish, then to the scanner. With any luck, the paintings will be on the van by the end of June, if not before. I will post photos of the van once they are in place!

This has been a fun and challenging project, and kept me happily occupied in the studio through the unlovely dust and mud phase of our Anchorage springtime. Now the weather is fine and my outdoor painting kit is all packed. Look for some landscapes soon!

Oil on linen, 12' x 24"

This one is not for sale yet. After we get the image onto the van, I will price it. If you are interested in a purchase, please contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Bok choi start to finish

Here is the beginning of Veg Van painting #2 (see earlier posts for #1). Below are in-progress photos of the bok choi detail. I have been working on the bok choi for about a week, while also bringing other parts along more slowly. This first view is the toned linen, the sketch of my design in india ink, with the bok choi and some zucchinis roughly blocked in. Please forgive the uneven lighting, the left side is not really so dark.


I have added some shadow, and more surrounding detail.


Loosely sketching in the white veins on the leaves gives me some landmarks, and establishes the rhythm of the of the form.

Here I have started to refine the shapes and lines, and the zucchinis are also coming along.


Those green beans on the left have morphed into scallions! And the napkin under the blue jar is gone. The stalks of the bok choi are looking good now. especially against the background red. Further refinements to the leaves, finishing some detail on the lower leaves.


Many hours later, the bok choi is nearly complete. There may be a few touches when the rest of the painting is brought up to a similar state of completion. One of the zucchinis will get a little highlight. The sprig of mint will also be completed later. I'm happy with how this is going, I think it will look good on the veg van.