Is this a pine or redwood? I forgot to figure it out before I left the area.
This is just one of many quick watercolor sketches done plein air in NE California in the Sonora area.
Local scenes
$100 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Willamette River 21, 12×12 watercolor
$100 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Clouds2, 12×12 watercolor
Watercolor practice
$100 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Park Trees 2, 12×12 watercolor
$100 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Park Trees 3, 12×12 watercolor
Estuary 4 from Newport, Oregon
$50 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Estuary 4, Oil on 8×8-inch archival Claybord panel, unframed.
The foxgloves and Queen Anne’s Lace were blooming in the estuary at Newport last week.
Old Mill Challenge
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Old Mill Challenge, 8×8 oil on claybord
The Daily Paintworks Weekly Challenge from a few weeks ago is to paint this old mill on a river.
Heidrich Girls Surfing
NFS © Pam Van Londen 2010, Heidrich Girls Surfing, 8×8 oil on claybord
To complete a set of beach pictures for the Heidrich Family.
Willamette River watercolors
$100 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Willamette River 19, 12×12 watercolor
$75 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Willamette River 17, 9×12 watercolor
Here are a couple of watercolors I created last night. I have two more but these are the best. I was too pooped to paint at the river so I painted from memory.
Etsy Treasuries for July
Thank you to all the artisans at Etsy who feature my work! I’ve linked to their treasuries and shops below: 
- Mommy and Co., Handcrafted eclectic jewelry, accessories, and more.
- Little Silver Sparks, Jewelry
- Hikuri, Dream Stones
- Raven’s Whimsey, steampunk
- Laurie Faith Graves, fun fleece, cool crochet and groovy goodies
- Romy and Clare Designs, Pottery, Jewelry, Textiles
- Kimberly Glesenkamp, Christian Art
- Brixiana, Exciting vintage for a new era!
- Blue Sky Beads, beadwork and paintings
Plein air paintings from Newport, Oregon
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Estuary 1, 8×8 oil on claybord
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Estuary 2, 8×8 oil on claybord
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Estuary 3, 8×8 oil on claybord
I’m traveling at the coast this weekend and am having trouble uploading with my Verizen Palm Pixi hotspot. So I’ll add prices and info when I return next week.
Newport’s beaches and estuary are so beautiful…lots of grassy dunes, birds, swamps, etc. All the grasses and wild flowers seem to be blooming which brightens up the hike.
Willamette River 16 from the Farmer’s Market
$75 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Willametter River 16, 11×8.5 watercolor
It was a glorious day in the park this morning. The farmer’s market has grown and so have the crowds.
I tried some Tayberries, which are like long, large raspberries. Their taste was like another flavor I’ve experienced but could not remember what. I’ll have to try them again next weekend.
Valley Fog 2
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Valley Fog 2, 8×8 oil on claybord
This tree is amazing but very hard to paint. After 2 days of messing with it, I finally have a style that works.
Canyon Dreams 25
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Dreams 25, 8×8 oil on claybord
One of my favorite scenes while driving includes blooming sage, pinyon trees, dried grasses, dark canyons, distant mountains, and high clouds in the sky.
To keep myself awake on long road trips, I’ll pretend I’m painting the scenes. It’s like practicing without any materials.
Virtual Paintout is New Zealand
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Opito Bay Road, Kerikeri, New Zealand, 8×8 oil on claybord
June’s Virtual Paintout Challenge is New Zealand. I found a lonely road in Kerikeri that had my favorite elements: grass, highway, trees, and water.
This one is using a bit of sgraffito to add interest.
Peach in a bowl
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Stacked Bowls with Peach, 8×8 oil on claybord
For last week’s Daily Paintworks Balance Challenge, I picked three of my colorful bowls and added a peach, to match the bottom plate.
Then I added the customary purple background, to match the rest of the Food on the Table series of still life paintings I’ve been adding to for 5 years.
Canyon Lake Series
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Lake 3, 8×8 acrylic on canvas board
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Lake 4, 8×8 acrylic on canvas board
I’m in a blue mood and wishing I were traveling to a far off desert canyon.
I’m also in an abstract painting mood…just love experimenting with empasto and iridescent colors.
Canyon Lake Series
$72 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Lake 1, 12×12 acrylic on canvas
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Lake 2, 8×8 acrylic on canvas board
Datsun Driving Canby Fun
I got to hang out with lots of fun Datsun lovers this weekend at the Datsun Driving Canby Fun event. I was there selling paintings of cars and landscapes.
Send me your car portrait with other loved ones and I’ll paint you a piece for your office wall.
I made these quick watercolor sketches on location.
Wooden plates with rice paper
$50 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Round Valley 1, 12×12 acrylic mixd media
$50 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Round Valley 2, 12×12 acrylic mixd media
I was in the mood for something new when I found some rice paper with swirls and these lightweight wooden plates. I painted on them with iridescent colors and finished with two layers of satin varnish.
Stop by the Mod Pod on Second Street to see these in person.
Virtual Paintout Cote d’Azur
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Cote d’Azur 1, 8×8
Join the monthly virtual paintout…May’s is almost over….I was able to get this in just in time.
Driving Canby Fun
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Midnight Z, 8×8
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Spoiler Z, 8×8
I’ve painted a couple of car portraits to show at the Driving Canby Fun event on June 11. We’ll be camping and shaking hands with car fans from all over Oregon and Washington.
Canyon Dreams 22, 23, 24
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Dreams 24, 8×8
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Dreams 23, 8×8
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Canyon Dreams 22, 8×8
Last year I began working on a series of paintings done mostly from memory of driving through the Southwest and Eastern Oregon. The desert and high-desert grasses, dirt colors, and rock formations are fascinating and compel me to paint them.
In my usual loose style using transparent oil paint on an alizerin crimson underpainting make up this triptych.
In addition, these each use a bit of sgraffito to add texture and small details.
Coastal Conoes, for the Monthly Challenge
$50 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Coastal Conoes, Oil on 8×8-inch archival Claybord panel; unframed. Purchase frame separately.
A few years ago we were exploring the Taft area near Lincoln City, Oregon and happened upon these conoers leaving the Schooner’s Creek for the Pacific ocean. It was a quiet sunny morning with just a small breeze, making it perfect for river to ocean fun.
The colors of the water changed abruptly due to the reflections and depth.
More trees in swirls
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Park Trees, 8×8 oil on claybord
I like swirls; you like swirls; so I painted more swirls.
I live in Orange country so had to use a saturated an orange hue as I could, along with my favorite color blue-green.
If you’re an artist I highly recommend participating in the weekly challenge at Daily Paintworks.
Avery Park Trees in a split-compliment scheme
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Avery Park Trees 4, 8×8 oil on claybord
The Daily Paintworks Challenges are fun to work on, so here’s another one for the Color Challenge. I’m using a split compliment scheme (traditional color wheel).
This composition is easy and allows me to focus just on the color arrangement.
I’ve also used sgraffito here to provide a bit of whimsical detail.
Hot Cocoa with Shiny Gift Bag
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Hot Cocoa with Shiny Giftbag, 8×8 oil on claybord
I’ve painted this one to meet the Daily Paintworks challenge. I’ve used my usual loose style in oil on Claybord.
It’s hard to get the really saturated colors present on the shiny purple giftbag…it reflects a lot of permanent rose but purple diazinon does not dry shiny…it dries flat, so perhaps later I’ll add a shiny varnish.
Yes, I drank the cocoa. Mmmmm.
German Landscapes
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, German Highway 1, 8×8 oil on claybord
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, German Highway 2, 8×8 oil on claybord
I’m joining the Daily Paintworks weekly painting challenges. I’ve got two done and I’m not sure how long it’ll take me to catch up to all the week’s I’ve missed.
These German roadways remind me of Oregon…lush hills and farmland with peaceful highways circling them.
These two pieces use my transparent oil technique on Claybord.
Cherry Tree branches
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2010, Cherry Tree Branches 1, 12×12 acrylic on gallery-edged canvas
It is such a beautiful day and what am I doing? I’m indoors painting.
There is a lovely cherry tree outside with daffodils at the base…so sweet and cheerful. If we could divert the heavy traffic just 10 feet away, it would be a peaceful place to sit and contemplate the state of things.
Watercolors from last summer
$125 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Valley Morning 8, 17×13 watercolor
$64 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Valley Morning 9, 8×8 watercolor
Last summer, I gathered with friends and students to paint plein air and these two sketches were started then. I finished them last month with a bit of acrylic and iridescent watercolor.
Valley Storm 4
SOLD © Pam Van Londen 2011, Valley Storm 4, 8×8 oil on clayboard
I added this painting to the Japan Relief Painting Challenge sponsored by Daily Paintworks. At this moment, $23,000+ funds have been raised by the auction. Various relief agencies will send the funds to Japan. More than 300 artists have donated work for this project!
Silver Creek Falls
$50 © Pam Van Londen 2010, Silver Creek Falls Middle North Falls, 5.5×8.5 watercolor
We spent a few days hiking the 10 waterfalls at Silver Creek Falls State Park. Even though it rained most of the time, we were able to hike them all.
Holding an umbrella for miles is like using a cane; a little extra work but worth it.
Because it wasn’t hot and crowded, we were able to hike pretty quickly.