City Girl, 9x12 Oil on Board

Seattle is a beautiful city, and a very busy one. This girl caught my eye as she was striding purposefully down the sidewalk with her big bag. I love all the hanging plants in the city, especially the dangling ones like the one above her head. The composition pleases me, as do the reflections in the doors.

PURCHASE

Serpentine, 6x6 Abstract

Had to loosen it up a bit after the previous post. This is acrylic paint and glue, truly mixed media. For some reason "Far out, Dude" keeps running through my head when I look at this one. Maybe it reminds me of a lava lamp.

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Waterlily, 7x5 Oil on Canvas

I've been posting vistas, so here's a change of pace--a closeup of a waterlily. I do quite a variety of subjects, but I do seem to lean toward landscapes and seascapes. Every now and then it's good to get a bit closer in. This is a redo of a painting I did years ago and I just like the dramatic value contrasts.

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Ruby Beach, 20x20 Oil on Canvas

I am not used to painting misty places like Ruby Beach on the Olympic Peninsula. It was so beautiful there, but very gray. Out of view in this painting were piles of bleached driftwood that had washed down from the mountains during floods. Everything was just overwhelmingly BIG. It's another world out there.

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Shoreline, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

The Olympic Peninsula has everything to offer: seashores, mountains and rain forests. Take a jacket, though, because one minute you are in a cold mist and the next the sun is shining brightly and everything changes from gray to color. In the distance in my painting you can see Vancouver Island in Canada--until the mists roll in.

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Eye of the Eagle, 6x6 Acrylic Abstract

I think this is a patriotic painting, with a slightly frazzled eagle. Maybe he is sick of the do-nothing Congress, or maybe he just suffers from allergies. I read that the United States is the most allergic country on earth. Is it the genetically altered foods? How about those hormones in meat and milk? Global warming and the highest pollen levels ever? Maybe my eagle is like that Indian in the old commercial--remember him, the noble man with the tear? Actually, that looks like a red tear running down Mr. Eagle's cheek. Is he sad, or is it just his allergies?

I know, you're thinking I've gone off the deep end...don't worry, it's nothing new, and I'm still treading water.

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Poppy Shadow, 6x6 Oil Painting on Canvas

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I wanted the sidewalk hot and the shadow cool in this poppy painting. It occurs to me that I have not painted a still life in a long time, but I'll get my chance next February at the Qiang Huang Workshop here in Melbourne. Maybe I should brush up a bit; however, I have been to so many beautiful places that I've been inspired to paint outdoor scenes lately. Qiang is a fantastic teacher--his method is well thought-out, and he is kind and patient.

Anyone interested in the workshop may contact me at hbeecher@earthink.net. The dates are Feb 22-24, 2014.

Cascade Mountains, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Board

This scenery in Washington State just takes my breath away. We were above the clouds, in clear, crisp air, and we saw lupine and beargrass flowers blooming. The views were spectacular. At the very top of this little-traveled road we met two girls who were volunteers in a watch tower. They were as enthusiastic about the place as if they had not spent the cold night in a flimsy structure on top of a mountain. That's exactly who we want watching our forests!

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Healing Ceilings

The Pieces of Eight painting group is painting ceiling tiles to donate to Healing Ceilings, to be installed in cancer treatment centers in North Carolina. Below are some of our creative contributions, which we feel are far better to look at during treatment than plain acoustic tiles. 

Carmen Beecher

Denette Schweikert

Kathy Garvey

Cindy Michaud

Yellow Buoy, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Board

I'll be painting the Northwests' mountains and rocky shores in a few days, but I liked this little boat so much that I just felt like painting it yesterday. It was in a calm bay with no mist (we saw a lot of mist) and bright sunlight.

PURCHASE

Below are some pages from my journal depicting some of the things we saw during our trip. I added a running theme of coffee and ice cream, which provided sustenance quite frequently.

Rainier and Flowers, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

Big news: Contemporary Fine Arts International just posted an interview with me on their site, at http://www.cfai.co/colors-on-my-palette/carmen-beecher/. Also, I was awarded third place in their Tropical Days art challenge.

My husband and I just visited the Pacific Northwest, along with my Pieces of 8 buddy Denette and her husband. What a wonderful time we had! I visited my family there and we went to Crystal Mountain, where the above picture was taken. A gondola took us up the mountain, where we saw five volcanoes from our vantage point. It was amazing. I have never seen anything so spectacular.

Those are not wildflowers; they were cultivated, but there were plenty of wildflowers, too, including masses of lupine.

The Happy Group