Inspired by Lewis & Clark

I am writing this blog for three reasons:

1) It is my turn to blog again today (April 25, 2016) with the High Desert Art League,

2) I am the featured artist for May, 2016 at the Tumalo Art Company in Bend, and

3) I have recently discovered my interest in the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

It all started innocently enough when I decided to paint the statue of Lewis & Clark that I photographed in Seaside, Oregon last winter.

Here is my watercolor of the above statue:

Lewis & Clark

Then as I began to read about these amazing explorers and their wildlysuccessful trip to the Pacific Ocean from St. Louis, I got more and more excited about them. I decided to make their 28-month trip be the inspiration for my watercolor exhibit in May at the Tumalo Art Co. So I read the most popular book about them, followed by other less academic, but really fun and instructional publications.

Undaunted Courage, by Stephen Ambrose, is a great account of the expedition with many quotes taken directly from their journals. The Captain’s Dog, by Roland Smith, is the tale viewed from Lewis’ dog’s perspective (written for middle schoolers), and How We Crossed the West, by Rosalyn Schanzer, is a delightfully illustrated children’s book about the expedition. As I set out to paint, I listened to music by David Walburn, a musician whom my family discovered at Glacier National Park. Walburn composed the music and lyrics of over a dozen songs dedicated to the Lewis & Clark expedition.

I’ll stop here and write more later. I hope to see you at my show opening on May 6, 4-8pm at the Tumalo Art Company in Bend, Oregon’s Old Mill District!