Lisa McShane Art

George Inness, Homeward. 1881. 20" x 30". Oil on Canvas. (with close-up below) At the Brooklyn Museum of Art. This painting is here to represent a large group of paintings I saw in 2009, studied, and will continue studying in 2010: 19th century American luminist paintings. I saw a George Inness exhibit at the LA County Museum of Art in the 1980's that stuck with me. I've long wanted to see more and hoped to see several in New York. But the Met was remodeling their American Wing this year. I discovered this when we trekked through the Egyptian wing to see the 19th century American landscapes and it was closed. Instead - to my complete delight - they had all those paintings stuffed in some old-style glass cases. They were jam-packed against the beige metal pegboard behind glass. Row after row. It was like shopping in a supermarket: you walk down the aisle with paintings stacked one above the other to your left and right. Talk about efficient! And even better, we went t...

Pieter Bruegal the Elder. The Harvesters. 1565. Oil on Wood. 46.5 x 63.25. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1996 my husband and I spent several weeks in the Czech Republic and Poland and on the way back to the Frankfurt Airport, detoured through Vienna. We spent several intensely happy hours in the Kunsthistorisches Museum*, including a long stint in a room with Bruegals. We sat and looked at Hunters in the Snow for the longest time. It's a deeply moving painting. It's also one of six. I've seen five. *OK yes, one of those hours was spent in the cafe eating a delicious layered torte mit schlag. And coffee.

Jacob Lawrence, the Migration Series. "The factory owners had to find new workers to replace those who were marching off to war." At the Phillips Collection, Washington D.C. I've always loved the abstraction and color of Jacob Lawrence's art but didn't know about the powerful migration series until I ran into the odd numbered panels at the Phillips Collection. The series consists of 60 panels painted in 1941. The odd numbers are displayed at the Phillips, the even numbers are owned by the MOMA. The images and story are powerful and I was inspired by his process of conception and planning. He planned the paintings as a series in advance to tell the story, his wife prepared the surfaces and Lawrence painted them in a series, working on several at once. He tells the entire story of the great migration: life in the south, lynchings, the difficulty of moving, the circumstances people found in the north. Here's the website for the series at the Phillips: http://w...

Stephen Hannock. 'Kaaterskill Falls for Frank Moore and Dan Hodermarsky (Mass MoCA#11)', 2005. Acrylic, alkyd and oil glazes with collage elements on canvas. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2005 I saw a Stephen Hannock painting at the Met for the first time: "The Oxbow, After Church, After Cole, Flooded, Green Light (Flooded River for the Matriarchs: Elizabeth and Agnes Mongan) ", 96 x 144 inches, polished oil on canvas, 1999. I was thrilled and deeply moved. I began studying the work of the Hudson River painters from the 19th century to understand Church and Cole. I looked forward to seeing the Oxbow again. When we visited the Met in February the Oxbow was sadly not on display but this one was and it's beautiful. Up close the writing is personal and interesting and from a distance the painting is luminous. You can see my husband bent down to read the details at the bottom. The painting pictured here has interesting collage elements and writing, including i...

My daughter and husband at MOMA A few days ago a journalist and professor listed her 5 favorite books of 2009 on Facebook. Fantastic idea. I jotted them down for my reading list and immediately began thinking about my 5 favorite paintings of 2009. This was a good year for art for me. I returned to painting full time, established and kept a fairly disciplined studio habit, and painted a number of paintings. I put together my website, this blog, an email and mail list, had a show and sold paintings. All good. I visited museums and saw great art. One of my painting professors (yes, the one who told me I had to paint 100 paintings) told me once that you have to see great art to make great art. She regularly flew to DC just to go to museums. That's inspiring! In February I went to New York and visited the Met (3 times!), the Cloisters, MOMA, the Guggenheim and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In June I visited my daughter near DC and went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Barnes Founda...

Winter Highway at Alger. Oil on Canvas. 18" x 22". This is a stretch of highway in the Chuckanuts, near my home. To me this area between Blanchard and Lake Samish is one of the loveliest parts of I-5. It always thrills me to drive through there, especially when the fog swirls through the hills by the lake.

December Pears. Oil on Gessobord. 5" x 7". Bosc pears have the more toned down look of winter about them. I struggle with painting these subtle fruits, never certain about how best to paint the foreground/background to make them shine. I do love how pears are rarely upright - they often lean towards each other on the windowsill.

Winter Highways at Snoqualmie. Oil on Canvas. 18 x 22. This is the first of several paintings of the highway in winter. Where I live winter means rain, wet pavement, raking light, fog and sometimes snow. This is of Snoqualmie Pass in the rain.

From Loomis. Oil on Canvas. 18" x 36". This is the view from the town of Loomis in northcentral Washington. The Loomis has been a part of my life for decades. My husband spent part of his time near here at geology field camp just days after our wedding. Yes, days. The snack in the geology van was our wedding cake. Years later we went on a road trip to the area and spent days exploring Palmer Lake, Molson, Chesaw and the fascinating grave site of Ranald MacDonald . Then in 1998 I took a job with Conservation Northwest just as they were gearing up their fundraising efforts to put 25,000 acres of high elevation old growth forest , slated for clearcuts, into public ownership. This area is key lynx habitat. Today they're working to keep the legacy of ranching in place in the area. As a small part of that, the beef my family eats is grass fed from these ranches. That's the long road to the information about this painting: this is the view from Loomis towards the south. Bea...

Today Dan had a geology job site to visit along the Samish River in Sagit County so I went along. After a week of sunshine and bitter cold, it was cloudy and thus less visually interesting. I practiced with my new camera then read Bram Stoker's Dracula on my iPhone. We made a second stop to check out a flood control project in the South Fork of the Nooksack River and the sun was starting to come out. The banks of the river were iced, the bare trees were flooded with sun and lit up against the dark clouds to the west. It was beautiful. As we left we saw 3 wild turkeys and stopped to watch them. They are crazy creatures. Like little dinosauers walking around and around our car. This big one was especially interested in us.

Kristin Mullen & '3 Figs' on her eggplant colored wall. Kristin Mullen hanging 'North Cascades Highway 3' in her dining room. Wednesday was a fun day. First, the weather was cold, clear with perfect light. I headed over to Anacortes to drop off 2 paintings for my friend Kristin Mullen. She has one of my favorite homes ever - a midcentury modern rambler, on the hill above Anacortes. From her wide windows you can see the Straits of Juan de Fuca, Mt. Baker and Blanchard Mountain. Oh, and all of Anacortes and probably the Canadian Coast range too. The paintings are perfect in her home and she bought 2 of my favorites: 'North Cascades Highway 3', which she'll hang at the end of a long hallway and '3 Figs', hanging on an eggplant colored wall. Wow! A perfect combination of color. We spent the afternoon on Whidbey Island, over by Coupeville and Ebey's Prairie, doing what we are so exceptionally good at: driving around, looking at houses & ta...

View of the main gallery space. Artist Lucas Vidana is in the middle. Artist Donna Auer, Nicole Oliver and Isabelle Vanderslice. Three wonderful women! Me with my fruit paintings to the left and landscapes to the right. These are some photos of Babes & Byways posted over at fifthonsixth. Fun event. It was a cold and beautiful night outside and lots of great folks inside. Thanks to all who made it out for this event!

When I turned into my neighborhood at 5 this afternoon the UPS truck was a block away. By the time the brown van pulled up in front of my house I was waiting in front with the dog. "Is that for McShane? Is it from Vasari? Yay!" The UPS man laughed. I love getting new paints. In the box, top right, is Cadmium Yellow Deep. When I was a kid, taking painting lessons in Germany, I painted a fall landscape using Cadmium Yellow Deep for the leaves. I can still picture the paint on the canvas. I can't wait to open this tube.

Monterey Pines. Oil on Canvas. 22" x 30" We were driving along the California Coast in August and the closer we got to Monterey the more Monterey Pines we saw. Finally I realized WHY they were called Monterey Pines. Yes Monterey Pines. In Monterey. Sometimes I'm slow. They are wonderful trees to see in their native habitat.

Me, 'Road Turns' and Anne-Marie Faiola This is a quick shot from Friday night's art event in Bellingham, Babes & Byways. Anne-Marie Faiola on the right is the new owner of my painting 'Road Turns'. It was a fantastic event in a great space. Many wonderful people stopped by the look at art, chat and to buy paintings. Most of the paintings in the show sold! Thank you all - old friends and new friends - who came by to see my paintings. I was especially honored to have local artists like Jody Bergsma , Shirley Erickson Donna Auer , Ron Pattern , James Lourie , Laurie Potter and Ruthie V stop by. Thanks also to Bob Hall of Bellingham for donating such a terrific space for us to display art (check out the gorgeous stone wall behind us) and to Marisa Papetti and Scott Pelton of fifthonsixth for putting on the event.

This Friday, 6pm to 10pm, fifthonsixth is producing a 2 person show called Babes & Byways . I'm excited to let you know that we've decided on special pricing for this one night only show! All of my wonderful 5x7" and 6x6" paintings will be offered for $100 for a framed painting . Yes, framed. Each are individually framed to highlight the image. That means this one and this one and even this one . The 6" x 8" paintings - like this gem - will be priced at $120 each. We've had a lot of interest and expect these to go quickly. Here's shot of my living room mantel w/ all the pieces from my Windowsill: Fruits series lined up, ready to go: Figs! Cherries! Pomegranates! Pears! All dressed up and ready for their show. See you there!

Summer Road. Oil on Canvas. 30" x 40". 2009 Lisa McShane. Katherine Tyrrell is an artist and author in England who draws and writes about art and artists for art lovers. Katherine hosts one of the 'go-to' blogs for the art world. In my online research, I found hers to be the most comprehensive source for artists on the web. I was thrilled yesterday when Katherine posted information about my upcoming show on her blog, Making a Mark ! Recently a friend asked me if I have favorites among my paintings or if I love them all equally. I do have favorites. Clouds and Fields , which I posted yesterday, is one and this, Summer Road, is another. I was framing this yesterday, in preparation for the big show, Babes & Byways , and thinking about how much I've enjoyed this painting. I find it to be expansive and peaceful. Meanwhile I'm also busy painting my next set of favorites in my studio! I'm working on several paintings along the lines of North Cascades Highway...

Above: Clouds and Fields. Oil on Canvas. 30" x 40". 2009 Lisa McShane SOLD Below: Untitled. Acrylic on Wood. Lucas Vidana Babes and Byways! This Friday, December 4th, 6pm to 10pm. One night only! Location: 1220 Bay Street, corner of Bay and Holly in downtown Bellingham Stop by for great art, live music, champagne, wine and snacks. This is an exciting two person show put on by fifthonsixth featuring Lisa McShane and Lucas Vidana. The show will feature sweeping landscapes and charming fruit paintings by Lisa McShane and Lucas Vidana's large mixed media images of women. 5% of all proceeds goes directly to Conservation Northwest . Conservation Northwest is a nonprofit that works to preserve old growth forests and other natural areas from the shores of Washington to the Canadian Rockies. These areas are vital to relationships between humans and wildlife. If you're in Bellingham, I'd love to see you there!

North Cascades Highway 3. Oil on Canvas. 18" x 22". SOLD There were a few times when I was growing up that my family took long drives home for the holidays. I remember one epic road trip from San Bernadino, California home to Kennewick, Washington. We stopped at a big store in eastern Oregon to buy gloves and hats because it was snowing. My mom liked to sing and when we got near Kennewick she'd sing "Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we'd go!" I loved it. Even today that's the theme song in my head when I'm getting ready for the long drive to Kennewick. This painting is of the North Cascades Highway. It has it's own story, of the trips I took across the pass to Lake Pearygin, but tomorrow is Thanksgiving and it's time to pack the car.

Two Mangoes. Oil on Linen on Board. 6 x 8". These are from a local store but mangoes always remind me of a road trip my husband, our daughter and I took more than 20 years ago. We had an old diesel Volkswagen Rabbit and decided to drive to Chiapas from California. Yes, Chiapas, the far south of Mexico. Yes, that was crazy. Yes, my mother was worried. We made it as far as Puerto Angel along the Pacific Coast but had to turn east towards Oaxaca and Puebla because our car kept breaking down. Wonderful people rebuilt it at the Volkswagen factory in Puebla. We had many great adventures but back to mangoes - We were driving south along the Pacific just north of Acapulco. We were the only car on the highway but lining the road for approximately 2 miles were people sitting with boxes of mangoes. All for sale. But no buyers. Miles of mangoes. It was a striking image and I think of that everytime I see a box of mangoes at the store. Finally - buyers.

Pomegranate 3. Oil on Gessobord. 5 x 7. Another pomegranate! It's been a little slow in my studio for a week now partly because it's cold and damp out. I've had 7 medium to large paintings, all in various stages of wet and/or sticky, hanging from every hook. Each day I paint my small daily painting (pomegranates rock!) then start another large landscape so that I have a painting to work on. We've had crazy weather here in western Washington with heavy rain and nights of howling 60 mph winds. Yesterday morning the basement had water in the low spots and there was water seeping into the crawl space underneath my studio. So I put the dehumidifier in the studio hallway and today all my large paintings were no longer sticky! It seems a little drying out goes a long way.

Seckel Pears. Oil on Gessobord. 5 x 5". SOLD Friday night I went out at 11 (way past bedtime!) to pick our son up from a friend's house. We stopped at Haggen's grocery store so I could buy more fruits for painting. They had the most beautiful selection of pears, apples and pomegranites, including these cute little pears. Seckel pears sound like something out of 19th century Europe. Small, charming, chartreuse flushed with rose. The clerk commented on how pink and cute they were. I'm currently working on six medium to large landscapes but with fall moving into winter here, nothing dries in my studio. That's why I have six wet paintings: unable to finish any of them, I just start more. In the meanwhile, I'll paint more small paintings.

Dan's November Tomato Harvest We live in the Pacific Northwest, on the coast just south of the Canadian border. Not a hot spot in the tomato growing world. To compensate for our general lack of heat units and sunshine, gardeners come up with creative ways to grow what we treasure most: tomatoes. My husband has nailed it. Last year I was working in Seattle and so in late September he pulled the tomato plants out of the ground and hung them upside down in my studio. It was a mess! But it worked. This year he hung them under the deep eaves outside my big glass doors. For nearly two months I've had a shriveling green curtain with ripening tomatoes as my view. When my son told me about a remarkable sunset on Friday I told him I saw bits of it through the tomatoes! But it's paid off: these were picked yesterday. Amazing!

Red Bartlett 1. Oil on Linen on Board. 6 x 8. Red Bartlett 2. Oil on Linen on Board. 6 x 8. This is a rugged, large pear, painted from two different angles. My husband, the brilliant art consultant/geologist, suggested I paint my fruit paintings in groups. Since I'm always inclined to paint two of everything (I have no idea why I do that) it made sense. So I started with this wonderful pear.

101 Turn. Oil on Canvas. 16 x 20. This is another painting from Highway 101 along the California Coast. I spent all day in my studio today organizing, then painting. I went through and divided everything up into 3 piles: the finished paintings that I like and are ready for framing, the ones that I'll tear off the stretcher bars to reuse and then three small ones that went straight into the garbage can with my rags. Yes, it's a sad thing but not all paintings are successful. I painted 4 paintings, which I'll start posting tomorrow. It was too late by the time I was done to photograph them. The thing about Saturdays in the studio is the great NPR lineup. I love to paint and listen to Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me and This American Life. What could be better?

Persimmons 1. Oil on linen on board. 5 x 7. Each fall I buy persimmons and they ripen for a month or more in the kitchen. No-one else will touch them but I think they're fantastic. One of my favorite fruits.

Pomegranates 2. Oil on Linen on Board. 5 x 7. I painted the pomegranates again. They're starting to wrinkle a bit so I'm off in search of more. Such a beautiful, odd fruit.

Pomegranates 1. Oil on Linen on Board. 5 x 7. This is my first painting of pomegranates and there will be several. I've decided to use a photo of one of my paintings for Christmas cards this year and I've always loved seeing pomegranates this time of year. Beautiful, round and red.

Loup Loup Highway. Oil on Canvas. 16 x 20. This is part of the Similkameen series, again the road heading west. It's odd, but I'm painting these in reverse order. I read catalogs that way too. From the back to the front. As if it's unraveling. I love this stretch of road and can remember clearly each trip across this and through the pass. Partly because I love the name: Loup Loup. What can be better than Loup Loup?

Another Study for After Pissarro. Oil on Canvas. 8 x 10. I took another shot at this painting yesterday and I'm happy now with the result. It needed a thick application of paint to work.

3 Cherries. Oil on Gessobord. 5 x 7. SOLD This Friday there are two shows hanging at the Blue Horse Gallery in Bellingham and I have a painting in both. First up is 3 Cherries, above. This is a donation to a silent auction, Friends of the Blue Horse Gallery. I checked out the other donated pieces when I dropped off my painting and there were amazing things by Tom Wood, John Cole's estate, Ron Patten, Lanny Little, Laurie Potter and others. Beautiful paintings. These are sold in a silent auction where you put in a sealed bid and the highest one on Saturday wins the painting. The Bellingham Art Walk on Friday should be fun!

Klipchuk, Highway 20. Oil on Canvas. 16 x 20. I've started painting the Similkameen series and what better way to start than with a painting of the road between my home and the Loomis? Actually, this is the road home, heading west on Highway 20, just past Klipchuk. The fall colors were starting and a storm was coming in. It was soft and beautiful. This is my first post in more than a week. I've been delayed by politics. My husband is running for the Whatcom County Council (he was on for 8 years and loves it) and I've been helping out with mail pieces and TV and voter lists. Another kind of creative work but now that's drawing to a close.

Three Red Pears. Oil on Linen on Board. 6" x 8". Two star crimson pears and one red bartlett on the windowsill of my studio.

The Window in the Red Building. Oil on Canvas. 16" x 20". This is the painting I started in August during Bellingham's Plein Air Paint Out . I finished it up in my studio this week. Years ago I'd worked in the building across the alley selling kitchen cabinets. When times were slow I'd gaze out the window and look at the window. Whoever lived there had plants - really an entire garden - on the windowsill and fire escape and I loved the look of it. The green plants against the red brick with the white curtain. I never saw anyone there but it was well tended. I would sketch the building and think what a great painting it would make. I worked on it for hours yesterday and then this morning Sharon Kingston , an exceptional local artist, came over and helped me out with a critique. I tightened things up in a couple of areas and it's done and ready for the show! The show? November 6th, Blue Horse Gallery, downtown Bellingham, 6 p.m. See you there!

I'm back from my painting trip to Loomis. It was fantastic but oh so cold! I arrived Sunday afternoon, settled in to the lovely home I was staying in, then walked up the road above the house. This is the view as the sun was setting. Yes, gorgeous. Before bed I walked outside again and the stars literally took my breath away. Monday I woke up early, discovered the amazing latte machine in the kitchen, had about 4 lattes, then headed north. It was about 20 degrees out - much too cold to paint outdoors. I drove all day, stopping every few minutes to take photos. I drove to Oroville, to Molson, to Chesaw, then back to Oroville again. The most beautiful stretch was the Similkameen River along the Loomis to Oroville Road. That stretch will be the focus of my next series - along the Similkameen.

Similkameen. Oil on Canvas. 40" x 36." I'm leaving today on a painting trip to the Similkameen River valley in northcentral Washington. There's a brief window of opportunity where the weather and my schedule are both clear so I leave this morning to drive across the North Cascades Highway, through Mazama, Okanogan and up towards Palmer Lake and the Similkameen River. The painting above I finished a month or two ago. It's an aerial view of a remote and spectacular area in Washington State where Conservation Northwest and the State of Washington are working together to keep the existing ranches on the land. The alternative is second home development which harms the otherwise fantastic wildlife habitat. I'm taking Sam, my dog, thinking that if she smells a bear or a cougar she'll alert me by hiding behind my legs. No web, no cell phone. It should be a quiet and wonderful 3 days away!

Red Pears 4. Oil on Gessobord. 6 x 6. I tracked down more red pears. They have such a great color.

The Peppers. Oil on Gessobord. 5" x 7". I confess, I had doubts. When my husband first planted the pepper plant I scoffed. Actually I pulled it out because he put it in my front windowbox. He then planted it in the garden by the beans. And the plant grew! And the peppers grew! And in our record-breaking hot, hot summer it ripened. Now I'm a believer. So this painting is for Dan.

3 Figs 3. Oil on Linen on Board. 6" x 8". And another fig painting!

3 Figs 2. Oil on Linen on Board. 5" x 7". Time is short, and fig season is almost over, so I'll post a couple of fig images here. I painted them yesterday. I also opened a new big tube of titanium white paint, Sennelier. I love the thicker texture.

Photos top to bottom: Marisa Papetti, Kelly Hart and her son Matt with my pumpkins standing in nicely for me. Tiny snail on Caroline Kinsman's grape. She almost ate it! Aronia Berry ice cream from Mallard's out at Cloud Mountain Farm. No painting today. Instead I went on a tour of artists' studios in Whatcom County. Marisa Papetti was kind enough to invite me along and at around 11 this morning Kelly Hart and her son Matt picked me up. Marisa is the owner of fifth on sixth , a roving art gallery in Bellingham. Kelly is the Executive Director of Allied Arts . Matt is working hard at reaching the next level in a fun electronic lego game. Our first stop was at Brian Kerkvliet's glass studio . Beautiful glass. My favorite were the goblets. Next we went to Tommy Gibson's photography studio . He has some great black and white photos taken near the Palouse, one of my favorite areas. I especially loved what we saw at Brian O'Neill's clay studio . Marisa bought a ...