Plein Air Painting at Smith Rock

Here are two of the plein air paintings I did at Smith Rock, while I was traveling in July.

I have a few more pieces which I started, but I'm still looking at them to see if they need something. Some definitely do.

(left)
"Afternoon Light on Wombat"
8"x10" Oil on Raymar panel
©2013 Diana Moses Botkin

Smith Rock, in central Oregon, is a very interesting place to paint, hike, or rock climb. I saw many climbers during my days at the park. Without exception they were a lean and fit group and many would make fascinating models for figurative studies.

I talked to several and one showed me a handy guide book of the area. I was very interested to learn that all the rock formations have names such as "Wombat", "Koala", "Monkey Face", "Kangaroo", and "Asterisk" (which indeed looks very much like an asterisk silhouetted against the evening sky).

The climbs also are named with phrases that might serve to warn neophytes to stay on the ground. Such routes as "Slit Your Wrist", "Time's Up", "Skeleton Surfer", "Ghost Rider", "Toxic", "Highway to Hell", "Suicidal Tendencies", and "Scene of the Crime" sound like places to avoid if you ask me.

(left) "Betty's Needle, Afternoon"
6"x6" Oil on hardboard
©2013 Diana Moses Botkin

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The first two days I was there, the sky was clear and very blue, and the light was intense. There were clouds on following days and some hours of the day were lit very differently from the sunny days. My paintings I had started on those bright days were especially challenging to finish. I worked on a number of pieces, changing to different paintings as the light changed during the day.

The weather was cold in the morning and evening, and hot and dry during the sunny hours, typical of that high desert area in summer. I was thankful to not encounter any rattlesnakes while I was painting or hiking.