Lisa McShane Art

Moonset over Bellingham Bay. ©2014Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen Panel. 16"x20" My office window faces west and this past summer and into the fall we had stunning and colorful sunsets. This day, the moon set at twilight. We've also seen an increase in air traffic at our nearby airport, creating contrail patterns in the sky.

'End of the Day, Gorge' . 2014, Oil on Linen. 44" x 44". The Columbia River Gorge has been a focus in my studio for the past month or so, ever since my husband and I took a trip there in September. It was a road trip that started in Spokane, Washington and took us down the edge of the state on the Palouse Scenic Highway, into Oregon and the Wallowa Valley.  We visited the John Day area, a sprawling National Park complex that we both found to be interesting and stunning, but with no accommodation or food. We ended up reaching the gorge near Celilo Falls at dusk.  I've scheduled a show, Lucia Douglas Gallery, this February. Right now that feels just around the corner and I'm spending long hours painting.

Road from Jump Off Joe. ©2014, Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen. 18" x 36" I'm delivering a commissioned painting today. It's of a road through wheat fields on a ridge in Eastern Washington. It's funny to me to be painting this road - this is where a large group of us went sledding in high school. I think we were supposed to be in class but there was snow. This is also where my husband used to run with his friends in high school, high above Kennewick with great views in every direction. He's got a great blog on geology here . Artists - you don't even want to know how many readers he has (yes, people love geology!) Click here for information on hiking in the area. The post I like to describes the ridge as "one of only 18 peaks total in Washington state to be isolated from a taller mountain by a radius of 25 miles of more." It's not that it's tall, it's just on its own out there.

Fields of Lucania. ©2014, Oil on Linen. 20" x 30". I am drawn to views of golden fields and skies. Simple farmland. I paint these over and over and sometimes I hesitate to show people. These paintings don't usually sell and it's clear to me now that these are images I paint just for myself. Practicing skies? Maybe. Thinking through light and atmosphere? Sure. Playing with shapes and composition? A little. But to me there's just something about these sweeping views of simple things. This one is in Basilicata, southern Italy, where we saw beautiful fields of wheat grown on a smaller scale than we're used to in Washington State.

Fall on Red Mountain. ©2014, Oil on Canvas. 22" x 44" Red and Rattlesnake Mountains are in the Yakima River valley of eastern Washington and they interest me in all seasons. The valley seems to capture and hold light and over the years, painting in the area, I've found some great vantage points.

An inventory system for art should focus on tracking your art. It should do that easily, intuitively and it should quickly allow you to put together a list with images and prices for your gallery. It should also be a system that survives when your computer - for whatever reason - does not. I need an inventory that will last for 20 years; I hope my computer lasts 5 years. I've tried most of the art inventory software systems out there. I bought 2 or 3 and downloaded trial versions of the others. There was always something that didn't work and often it was that they were clunky or looked ugly. I'm an artist. I don't ever want to see strange cartoon icons. Some just had too many 'extras' that slowed down my process. I'm never going to use an art inventory system to write letters. I just need to keep track of my work. So I kept trying out new programs and then wrote about my research in this blog post here .  And in 2011 when Artwork Archive contac...

Edge of the Sea. ©2014 Lisa McShane. 16" x 20". Oil on Linen Panel. I went fishing in May. It was a beautiful sunny day and I loved tracing the edge of the cliffs against the sky while people pulled in nets of fish, squid and octopus.

Winter Pond. Oil on Linen Panel. 14" x 11". This winter I was asked to submit a painting to the auction to the Museum of Northwest Art auction . I was happy to do so and sent them Winter Pond , above. I was glad to see that it sold before my husband and I arrived at the auction on Saturday. There's a better image of the painting, here . I think the lovely frame helped, made by Deborah Paris' husband. Gorgeous. I miss the frame already. Winter Pond took over a year to paint. It began with a series of stops at a pond near Lake Whatcom, on the way to a valley I with views of Mt. Baker. It's not the kind of place you'd normally stop to admire the view. It's next to a road with easy access to people fishing. Muddy banks, lots of trash. You've seen places like this. But sometimes in the early morning, the light through the trees to the lake beyond hits just right. The painting itself was tortured, with a lot of sanding and layers but in the end it ...

Palouse Highway. Oil on Linen Panel. 16" x 20" One of my favorite subjects: a ribbon of highway, wheat fields, contrails. This painting will be in a show that opens on Saturday: SKY: a group invitational June 7 - 29, 2014 Smith & Vallee Gallery 5742 Gilkey Ave Edison, WA Opening Reception is Saturday, June 7th, 5:00 - 8:00 pm If you live in the area, I'd love to see you there!

Desert Dusk. ©2014 Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen. 6"x12" This is one of a small series of desert nocturnes. These are images that I have seen countless times on long drives and road trips in the west: a silhouette of hills, vibrant sky, the lights of something that slips quickly by. I've always been interested in those glimpses of other lives, especially the quick images you see at dusk. Dusk is a time people transition from work to home, turn on lights and settle in. To me these quick glimpses seem like a view into another universe.

Horse Heaven Hills Evening. ©2014 Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen. 20" x 30" We visited McBee Road atop the Horse Heaven Hills twice in one day last Fall, when the light was long and saturated. This is the view looking towards the Columbia River.

Horse Heaven Hills Morning . ©2014 Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen Panel. 20"x30" This is one of my favorite vantage spots in the state of Washington. It's so stunning that I am always surprised that it's not crowded with people. Instead, it's just my husband, me and sometimes people target shooting in the distance. Last week I flew to DC on a clear day. It was clear nearly the width of North America. We flew very near Mt. Rainier as if Google Directions said "turn left at the mountain" and then east across the Yakama Reservation and above the Horse Heaven Hills. It was a thrill to see the areas I paint from the air: Union Gap, Rattlesnake Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills. Wow.

Paintings of storms, Lucia Douglas Gallery, 2014. This is a snapshot of a few of my paintings in the gallery. After this was taken we tacked my sketches next to the painting which made the overall exhibit interesting. The painting on the left, Summer Storm, is sold.

'Badger Moon.' ©2013 Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen Panel. 15"x15" There are many, many nocturnes in my upcoming show at the Lucia Douglas Gallery. This is a profile of a hill visible from Bookwalter Winery in eastern Washington. For the past year I've been focused on nailing the color - and lack of color - that we take for granted in the evening sky.

'Morning Rain.' ©2014 Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen. 18"x36" This will be in my upcoming show that opens this Thursday. I dropped off 27 paintings - a year's worth of work - earlier today. I am beyond excited to show these to people. Opening reception January 30th, 5 - 7 pm Lucia Douglas Gallery 1415 13th Street in Bellingham Exhibition dates are January 30th - February 22nd. I hope you can stop by!