My favorite love poem - West Wind 2 by Mary Oliver

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 worked.