One of the things I love about Oregon is its topographic diversity. Known for its dense forests and rain, the state is actually mostly desert. The majority of Oregonians live in the damp Willamette Valley and then escape to the east for desert weather. Our family is no exception. This week, we spent a couple of days in the small town of Redmond in central Oregon. We swam, walked along the Deschutes River (where I gathered a sampling of wild flora), and enjoyed the company of friends.
On our way back home, we saw from the highway Smith Rock State Park- a famous mecca for rock climbers. I hear the sheer rock cliffs are stunning to photograph at sunrise. Another desert spectacle not too far from Smith Rock is the multicolored Painted Hills. Take a look at these amazing images on Google. The place looks more like Mars than green Oregon! I think I have our next family destination to the Oregon high desert already planned.
I've been a little sentimental this week about summer vacation coming to a close. Our family has had so much fun this summer hanging out together in some of the most beautiful, natural places in the Pacific Northwest. As I look through the photos from the past couple of months, I want the memories and images to stay with me. One of the ways I preserve my memories is by painting them. So my latest painting, Wy'east, is inspired by our trip to Trillium Lake.
4 comments:
Hi Cathy, thanks for sharing your neck of the woods (or should that be desert!) its great to experience others sources of inspiration. I've emailed you re the swapathon - I'm so excited to be one of the lucky ones!! S:)
Hey Cathy, Oregon looks like such a magical place that I would love to visit one day - your photos are lush! Love the idea of collecting wild flowers, twigs and leaves in your sketchbook, I think I must try that before the snow comes. Your new painting is really beautiful - will you be making it into a print?! :) Katie. xxx
Wonderful landscapes indeed!
I also love those natural treasuries you collected - I've been doing exactly the same while wandering around Azores in my vacation too.
I also feel nostalgic about the end of summer vacation... but you can always think that they've been a great inspiration source for some future work ;)
Thanks ladies for your comments. Maybe one day I should run a home swapathon! I know that I'd love to visit where all of you are ; )
Katie, I'm happy to hear that you like the new painting. Because it's a smaller painting, it won't be made into a print. But I'm hoping to release two new prints within the month!
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