Just sold a print of Morning on the Trail #3 (left) and a print of Corner Post (right) to a buyer in Bellevue WA.  Thank you, Bellevue!  Makes a nice pair, doesn't it?

"Lena Lake Trail #3" (oil on canvas, 40" x 30") was recently sold at Modern Villa Gallery in Cannon Beach OR! 

We are soon to be heading out to Upstate New York to visit our daughter, Karen, and son-in-law, Nick, who are expecting their first baby and our first grandbaby!  Details at 11!

There is little in this world as satisfying as pulling the long root of a bit of crabgrass from the ground.  The zen of weeding.

This little 8" x 10" was originally a very bad plein air pastel painting. I tried to fix it only to end up turning it upside down and spraying it (something I rarely do). I feel much better about it now, though not quite sure I like it. 

Today was a special plein air paint out at the Harbor History Museum in Gig Harbor.  Our focus was to paint the purse-seiner fishing boat, Shenandoah, that they are currently restoring.  The winner (as determined by the lead on the restoration) was my painting seen here.  It is oil on canvas board, 14" x 18".  After it dries some, I'll frame it and it will hang in the Museum for 6 months!!

This is the last of the four pastel paintings I did last weekend at the Casey Klahn workshop on Bainbridge Island at the Blodel Reserve.  What a beautiful place to paint.  I took lots of pictures for future reference.  This is a veiw of the service road leading away from the Educational Center.  It was hotter than Hades while we were there, but we were in the cool shade of the forest so it was at least tolerable.  It was a great workshop!  Thanks, Casey!

Yesterday I went out to the Purdy bridge for some plein air painting with two other artists and came away with these two 9" x 12" oil paintings.  Both paintings - "Purdy Bridge at Low Tide" and "Purdy at Low Tide" were done using only pthalo blue and burnt sienna adding a little Naples yellow and white at the very end.  When I was done with the bridge painting, I turned about 45 degrees and did the low tide painting.  All in all a good day.  By the time I left, the clouds were beginning to burn off and definite shadows started to appear. 

        

My pastel painting, "Hyak Shade", won Third Place at the Peninsula Art League's Summer Members show during the Gig Harbor Summer Arts Festival last weekend.  It will be hanging at Kimball Espresso and Gallery in Gig Harbor for a couple of months starting Monday, July 23rd. 

This is a plein air oil painting I did last Saturday at the Blue Willow Lavender Festival in Vaughan WA.   There was thunder in the distance and puffy clouds in a blue sky, a really beautiful day. 

These are the three pastel paintings I've entered into the Emerald Downs Equine Juried Art Show for this weekend.  If you happen to be out that way, I hope you will stop by to see the show - always wonderful to look at especially if you like horses!  Top: Benny, 17" x 11; middle: Carousel #2, 11" x 17"; and bottom: Fair On Board, 17" x 23". 

Just finished this new oil painting, "X Marks the Spot", 48" x 30".  It went pretty quickly - took me about 3 days of concentrated painting (with occassional breaks to watch Harry Potter movies ;-).

Thank you to everyone who voted for my painting, "Where Nymphs Play" as People's Choice at Collective Visions Gallery during Bremerton's First Friday Artwalk!  The featured artist this month is Dee Molinaar.  He has quite an impressive collection of watercolor paintings of mountains, and Gail Hornsby's students are showing their work in the Boardroom.  Come and see all the wonderful art through July 28th at 4th and Pacific in Downtown Bremerton. 

I just finished this little oil painting (14" x 11) as part of a series of six alpaca paintings for use as greeting cards that my brother and sister-in-law will be selling through their Sun Gate Alpaca Ranch (www.sungatealpacas.com) in Evanston/Casper WY .  Check out my Alpaca Gallery page at http://mary.mcinnis.artistwebsites.com to see all six paintings.

Last Sunday I participated in the Gig Harbor Garden Tour.  This is one of the two paintings I did on site at the garden/farm on Horsehead Bay.  It was bright overcast and perfect weather for plein air painting. 

I've been working on three large forest paintings and I think I've finished two of them.  This one is called Lena Lake Trail #4, 40" x 30".  (There are only so many names I can think of for trail paintings!)  I started this one out very loosely and was please with the progress.  Tell me what you think!

Last Tuesday I was invited to do a pastel demonstration at the Rainier League of Arts in Tacoma WA.  They had a really good turn out of members.  The image on the left is how it looked when I stopped painting, and the image on the right is how it looks now, finished and signed.  It's from a photo I took while cross-country skiing up at Hyak last winter.  It was a beautiful, sunny day (my favorite skiing weather!) and the shadows on the snow are so interesting and beautiful. 

I've got a show of 14 paintings - oils and pastels (and a couple of acrylics!) at Viridian Art and Frame on Mile Hill Drive across from SKHS ballfield in Port Orchard. It's a mix of new and not-so-new. Hours are 10a to 6p Tues-Fri, 10a to 4pm on Sat and closed on Sun and Mon. Sage is a really good framer and very creative.  You will see this pastel, Morning Walk #1, 17" x 11", one of my favorites.

I tried out a new surface - Pastelbord by Ampersand.  Not sure if I like it but I think the painting turned out ok.  I've tried other surfaces that I didn't like yet got some good results from them.

Finally updated my website - www.mjmcinnisfineart.com - after several months mainly because I'm so lacking in tech savvy.  Anyway, take a peek and see some new paintings I've done.  Here's a new one that I did for Bill McEnroe's "class" - Winter Turns to Spring, pastel, 17" x 11".  The assignment was to show the passage of time, going from new to old.  I decided to turn it on it's head and show something going from old (winter) to new (spring). 

Just sold this painting, Where the Tree Bends, (oil, 48" x 36") to a buyer from Portland OR this morning!!  She was thrilled to have it and has the perfect space for it.  You may have seen it on display in the front entrance at Bluewater Artworks in Poulsbo WA when they first opened last January.  Then it went to my new gallery in Issaquah WA - Patrick Daley Gallery @ Gilman - where he had it in his front entrance.  One of my favs!

Good grief!  I can't beleive I haven't posted anything on here for over a year.  I have been sending out updates on Fine Art America - guess you could say that was the replacement.  I'll try to do better but I'm not promising anything!  I guess I've just been very busy.  For those of you who are interested, our daughter Karen got married last July and is now due with our first grandbaby in September, ergo, I will not be participating in the Gig Harbor Open Studio Tour this year as we will be in Upstate New York where she and her Army husband live.  I am still on the GHOST website, though.  And speaking of websites, I finally got mine updated (kicking and screaming!) so go see what's new at wwwmjmcinnisfineart.com.  This new oil painting is called "Anne's Driveway".  There's just something about paths and roads that I really like!  And the lighting!