We’ve been here 5 months. We’ll be here at least 3 more. We visited Camano Island for the first time on a drizzly Saturday in 2016 and honestly, we weren’t terribly impressed. I mean, it was pretty, as almost all of the Pacific Northwest is, but it didn’t blow us away. But when hubby took a contract doing home health out of Everett, WA and we were faced with the choice of a little apartment on the water on Camano vs. a little, more expensive apartment in Everett, we decided to give it another shot.
And boy are we glad we did.
These past months have been filled with beach walks, whale sightings from our living room (!!!), watching for bald eagles and sea lions, glorious sunrises and sunsets, and more fresh crab than we’ve ever had in our lives. (thank you, kind & generous landlords!)
There has been so much to inspire me artistically that I can’t paint fast enough to get it all out.
I admit, I get a bit jealous when I see artists participating in a fabulous residency in a beautiful place. I’ve applied for a few myself, knowing that with my still limited professional artist experience, gaining a spot in one is a long shot.
But as I was unpacking in our new temporary lakeside home in Washington, it occurred to me– I am in a new “residency” every 3-6 months! Every new place brings with it new experiences and new inspirations, so why not treat each one as my own independent residency?
This place especially, has my creative juices flowing thanks to the beautiful little lake on which we sit. Not to mention the trees, the rocks, the sky.. There is so much to take in!
While I’m here “in residence” on Offut Lake, I’ll be working on a new series, ECHOES, inspired by reflections in water. This idea was already germinating at the end of the VENTERS series and when I began to see how the reflections in the lake change throughout the day, I knew I had found my muse.
Summer is the season for slowing down. For taking time. While I’ve been working in the studio a lot over these last few months, this summer has also been about renewal. As often as we can, whether it is a long walk down to the beach or a secluded hike or a weekend of camping, we are cultivating a habit of intentional quiet time.
As we approached the shore of Richmond Beach a few days ago, we happened upon an amazing installation of more than 30 cairns stacked along and in the water’s edge. We marveled at the time and patience it must have taken to create each of those sculptures, knowing that they are temporal. Creating art feels much the same– I work long and hard at painting, only to one day ship it off, where it will hopefully, go on to live a life completely apart from me. My time with my work is fleeting. But the hours spent creating it are the best kind of quiet meditation.
I’ve never been an early riser. So catching the sun rise over the Atlantic when I lived in Florida didn’t happen often. But being on the West Coast, sunsets have become my happy place. At least three evenings a week, the Mr. and I walk the mile and a half from our apartment then down (and back up, ugh!) 188 steps to Richmond Beach on Puget Sound. Many Friday evenings we take a bottle of wine and end the week watching the colors slowly shift over the Sound. It is an incredibly peaceful and lovely way to begin the weekend.
Last night’s display was so incredible that Instagrammers all over the Seattle area were posting their sunset views. We were all taking in and experiencing the same collective beauty but each from our own unique perspective. What a gift of a communal yet individual experience!
These magical sunset views are informing my new work in the VENTERS series– not always literally, but in the way the light becomes soft and dreamy, how the sun melts into the horizon, the way the colors morph and move one into another.
See the current VENTERS paintings on my website here. The newer paintings are even softer and more dreamy, if you can believe it! Can’t wait to show you.
One of the big advantages to our current traveling lifestyle is how many amazing places we are able to see. These adventures are a huge source of inspiration for me as an artist. But seeing so many incredible sights can also lead to a bit of inspiration overload and lead my artsy brain in all sorts of different directions!
With each new location, each new season, comes a whole new set of inspirations! So how does one artist handle so many different sources of inspiration?
For me, I keep my eyes open and take special notice of what inspires me, not just once, but on a continual basis. It’s easy to find one spark, but the trick is finding what will continue to spark over and over and over. Look not for the firecracker, but the forest fire– the spark that leaps and creates more sparks, more fire.
I make note but I don’t necessarily pursue those sparks right away. My sketchbook is full of idea scribbles, some pretty well developed, others simply notes on colors and forms. I also have a folder on my phone where I dump those quick sparks when I don’t have my sketchbook handy. Then, there is my favorite inspiration keeper– Pinterest! I have at least half a dozen boards where I hoard visual inspirations from subject matter to color palettes. I keep them private so they are for my eyes only until I decide I am ready to share them with the world.
I commit myself to what I’m especially inspired by at the moment and concentrate on exploring that inspirational idea fully. Each inspiration exploration becomes a series of work to be revisited again and again as I continue to find new ways to express that initial spark.
Once I feel like I’m done exploring a certain subject for a while, I’m ready to move on to another idea. But how to decide? Sometimes it takes some exploration in the studio to see what is moving me creatively or it could be as simple as how excited about an idea I am! The most exciting prospect wins!
At the moment, I’m exploring beachy and coastal inspiration in my VENTERS series– it is proving to be perfect for the coming summer on Puget Sound!
When lamenting my delay in beginning to paint seriously again, an artist friend told me– you needed time to fill up. Looking back on the experiences of the last five years, I realized how very right she was. Florida has its own beauties and is inspirational in its own right, but it wasn’t until we began traveling the Northwest that something long buried was awakened in me.
My first job in the art and design world post-college was as a photo researcher for a stock image licensing company. I worked in the editorial department, selecting images for publishers of books and magazines. I distinctly remember being especially enthralled by images from the Northwest, specifically Olympic National Park. I was particularly taken with the images from the Hoh Rainforest— a rainforest? In the US? I knew I wanted to see it.
We’ve been lucky enough to live a close distance to the Olympics twice now, the first time being our very first travel gig. We made our way to ONP as much as we could during those first thirteen weeks, we hiked and backpacked, taken in by the cool, lush, fern covered forests, turquoise Hoh River, and towering Olympic Mountains.
I had my first from-the-trail bear sighting in the Olympics. The feeling there is of a primeval wilderness, something out of another time. Driving into the park, you lose cell service and don’t miss it. You are transported to a different century.
Not being a “major” national park, there is a peace and a sense of quiet in the Olympics that can be hard to find in the more popular parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone. What you hear is only the rush of a waterfall, the rustle of the wind through the forest, your breath as your climb.
The Olympics continue to inspire and inform my work, the lushness and sense of quiet, its coolness and mystery.
favorite trail | Staircase Trail
There may be more dramatic and challenging hikes in ONP but this one holds a special place in my heart. We took to this hike on a sprinkly Fall morning and after a hectic summer in Seattle, the quiet and peace we found was exactly what was needed. The trail leads past enormous felled cedars, fern covered forest floors, rocky riverbeds.
don’t forget your | Layers and rain gear
The weather in ONP can be variable and unpredictable, temperatures range depending on the area of the park and elevation. The Hoh Rainforest gets an average of 144″ of rain per year, so definitely make sure you have your rain gear when venturing into the Hoh.
what i love most | What the water brings
The wet atmosphere of the Olympics provides the ideal conditions for a lush, incredibly green forest. The ferns and mosses make my heart happy, especially when sunlight streams through amidst the misty rain.
Have you been to Olympic National Park? What was your impression? Favorite area? I’m always on the lookout for tips because I never know when we’ll be back on the Olympic Peninsula!
To see more images of the places that have inspired the LATITUDE show and series, follow the #findinglatitude hashtag on Instagram!
1 | the angular distance north or south from the equator of a point onthe earth’s surface, measured on the meridian of the point.
2 | freedom, room to move
Before I was approached by Teresa Roche at Art & Light last Fall to present a solo show of work in March of this year, I had already been working on nature based abstracts and abstract landscapes. Exploring wild and scenic places is a big part of our life and travels, so it has been a natural well of inspiration.
bolinas, california
When beginning to think about the body of work I wanted to create for my first solo show, I knew I would be seeking to capture not just a place on a map but the feelings of freedom, peace, and beauty in the experience of a particular moment in that place– LATITUDE.
mr. f on the rocks in trinidad, california
mt rainier, washington
Traveling the Northwest with my hubby provides me with endless artistic inspiration and with both of us endless moments of beauty to share. While many of the places that have inspired the LATITUDE show and series are incredibly beautiful, often the sense of specialness was not simply in the place itself, but perhaps in the way the light bounced off the water, the quietness of a morning beach all to ourselves, the way the landscape brought us peace, brought us joy.
friday harbor, san juan islands, washington
Over the coming weeks leading up to LATITUDE’s opening, I’ll be sharing more images, experiences, and inspiration from some of these very special places. You can see more of the places inspiring LATITUDE on Instagram, by searching #findinglatitude.
I’m so with you, Lucy Maud Montgomery! Mr. F and I were talking this weekend about how October is just the perfect month. The crisp air is such a welcome change following summer, the turning leaves are in full glory ( it’s been exceptionally colorful here in Western WA! ), and for us in the Northwest, the winter rains haven’t yet set fully in.
We took advantage of a clear, crisp day and made a beautiful drive to hike at Mt. St. Helens. We both hate getting up before the sun, but I love our day trip ritual. A stop at Urraco Coffee for a latte & croissant for the road, trees barely visible through the morning fog and NPR on the radio as we chat about the week past and future plans.
October feels to me like that last wonderful hour of a party.. you know, the one where the people who really love hanging out together are just kind of sitting around, chatting and basking in the afterglow of a fun time together. No one wants to say goodnight. Because once you break the spell, the magic is gone.
[ norway pass hike, mt. adams in distance ]
But then, there is something equally lovely about that post-party feeling. Taking off your shoes, climbing into a warm bed and snuggling. Sometimes we need that recovery day as much as we needed the party. Following its eruption in 1980 ( I was in the 3rd grade.. 3rd grade was big for me, St. Helens erupted, I won the spelling bee and my little brother was born ), acres around the mountain were devastated. Within just days, new seeds of life had already been planted.
[ old destruction, new growth ]
We need that, too. To slow down, sometimes to destroy in order to rebuild. And although things may not look exactly the same ever again, we emerge, perhaps even more solid and strong.
[ mr. forager, mt. st. helens & spirit lake ]
As we move into this season of hibernation, I’m sad to see October go. But I’m looking forward to cozying up to November, to entering a quieter season, a season for thinking and planning, for resting and renewing.
[ homemade seafood chowder ]
[ fall decorations at urraco ]
How does this change of season make you feel, Artsies? Do you get as excited as we do? Or were you bummed to see summer go?
There is a strange bright light coming through my window.. I think it might be the sun! Hello old friend. Where were you this weekend, huh? The rain came down hard and often all weekend long. We braved the weather to make the picturesque drive up along the Hood Canal to one of our favorite spots, the beautiful artsy Victorian seaport town on Port Townsend. It had been over 2 years since we’d been there last, so we wondered, would we still love it like crazy? The short answer? Yes yes yes! Even in near nonstop rain and gusting winds. The conditions meant that we didn’t get to enjoy the PT scenery as much as we would like, hence the lack of outdoor snapshots for you, but it made for a relaxing day darting in out of the rain and then slow, casual browsing and lounging.
It was one of those blissful weekends in which we didn’t spend much time on the laptop or iPad, more time spent talking than typing. And can I just say that if the rain leads to weekends like this, then keep on fallin’! 😉
Hope your weekend was just as wonderful, dear Artsies! If you’d like to see more from This Artsy Life, follow me on Instagram. Let me know your Instagram handle in the comments so I can follow you, too!
If you’ve been following the This Artsy Life posts, you know Mr. Forager & I have been doing a bit of island hopping recently. Once we decided for certain we were leaving Seattle, we knew we wanted to make sure we hit one last island. One thing about living a traveler’s lifestyle– you make sure you get out and see as much as you can, as you never know when you may pass by that way again. As many times as Mr. F & I had been to Seattle in the past, we’d yet to make it over to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. And since it’s possible that we could soon be on the other side of the country, we decided to make a weekend of exploring the island.
[ friday harbor ferry dock ]
[ gothic view ]
[ orca! ]
[ lavender ]
[ romantic boat ride ]
[ sunday morning fog ]
The island did not disappoint! We explored from one end to the other, the range of activities as diverse as the weather. Next weekend: we finally hike in the North Cascades! Want to see more from This Artsy Life? Follow me over on Instagram.
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 43 [ Dear October, We Love You ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/1382980020.jpg)
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 39 [ Rain-soaked Northwest Days ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/IMG_1452.jpg)
![This Artsy Life: Weekend 29 [ One Last Island Before We Go ]](https://artsyforager.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/20130722-125603.jpg)
