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I donate  "House Portrait" each year to the Methodist Hospital Guild Style Show Benefit.  Over the years I have painted perhaps a dozen lovely homes. This one was not a donation.  The owner had purchased raffle tickets and had not won,  So it because a commission.  She's quite an art collector and I really wanted to do something especially nice for her.  The home is stately and lovely.  So are all the other homes in her neighborhood.  What stood out to me was a mature Japanese Maple tree the stood in front of her burgundy colored door.  This was in the spring and I couldn't quite imagine what happened in the fall when that tree turns color.  So we waited.  This year 2022 was a triumphant year for Japanese maples and it was stupendous as it framed the burgundy colored front door.!

Thanksgiving in the Columbia River Gorge is a tantilizing time for an artist.  The mosses green are still there from all the rainfall.  Also present are the autumn colors of the aspens and birch as well as the wintered down colors of the firs and cedars.  There are no landscapes that are not riddled with boulders and stumps.  The paintings here are from an area above the gorge in the city of Hood River.  It is a quiet stroll around the forest near my son's home  I suppose one ould get jaded with such sights constantly bombarding their eyes.  I walked in wonder through the falling leaves and moss covered boulders each time seeing things that had excaped me the day before.

Like a tunnel of ochre the arching trees filtered the sun's rays to make lace like patterns on the ground.

Commissions are different from the usual way at artist selects the subject matter for a painting. This one came from the recommendation of a Gallery Curator. It involved reproducing a wedding bouquet.

The Bride had wanted to preserve it in some manner and watercolor was her choice.  I am not a "flower"Painter! I've done a few but my subjects of choice are either figurative or landscapes.  Somehow the memories of 

my stint as an artist for Hallmark Crds kicked in and I decided to give it a try.  The result is this painting 16" x 21". It is done on 400 gm. Arches watercolor board.