Lisa McShane Art

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.

Palouse Road. ©2012 Lisa McShane. Oil on Linen. 36" x 50". I always have a painting of a road in progress in my studio. Now that this one is done, I'll be starting another one soon. This is the Palouse, an area of rolling hills in southeastern Washington. My cousin's wheat farm in Connell is on the very edge of the Palouse; the rolling hills are at their most distinct just north of Walla Walla. The soils are very productive for wheat and wine grapes and the patterns those crops create on the landscape add to the feeling that the entire world is rolling.

Winter Field. Oil on Canvas. 12 x 18. This is from my series Plateau in Winter. This is the Waterville Plateau, a high elevation plain in north central Washington that puts you eye to eye with the peaks of the North Cascades. This high elevation means that it's often frozen or foggy in winter. We went back this Spring as I'm working on painting this area in several seasons. Driving up to the plateau from the Columbia River canyon we were listening to David Sedaris read his book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim . So now I picture the flat road leading up to the plateau and at the same time, I hear David talking about his dad and their rental apartments. It's really hilarious.

Field of Wheat - 14 x 28 - Oil on Canvas This is a painting I finished about a month ago, in the Road to Asotin series. The Palouse at wheat harvest has an amazing light quality. I'm happy with how this one turned out.