Seattle is called the Emerald City for a reason.
Everything right now outdoors is green. Lush green. Several nature palettes of lush green. Chlorophyll filled green.
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Yoshino Cherry Trees, Quadrangle, University of Washington. April 2021.
Cherry Trees along the Quadrangle
The season of the cherry blossoms is brief. Only about four weeks. But they are magical days. Whatever is the secret or magical power of these trees to lull so many people to frolic in their presence, I don't know. But there is something magnetic about the trees, and probably the Quad too.
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Lily pad pond, Volunteer Park, Seattle. Oil on Canvas, 24x24.” 2017. This is one of two lily pad ponds, original structures of the park design, that grace the park.
Sublime. Landscape Impressions of Capitol Hill.
Capitol Hill has been the backdrop of my life where I have lived since 1984. Often in parts of this old neighborhood of Seattle, I can easily slip into a daydream where I might be seeing the neighborhood through the eyes of its early citizens because of the history and timelessness of the landscape. Other times, I am taken back to solitary, exploratory walks of my youth. In this exercise of daydreaming, I am reminded of Marcel Proust's novel, "À la recherché du temps perdu" ("In Remembrance of Things Past") where the concept of time dissolves, and where the reconstruction of the past is relative to the present "now."
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Upper Snoqualmie Falls
The Snoqualmie People are made up of two parts of the same family: The Upper Snoqualmie, who lived on the plains above the falls, and the Lower Snoqualmie who lived along the Snoqualmie River below the falls. Ancient stewards of the land, the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe continuously strives to preserve sacred ground for all people, including Snoqualmie Falls.
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Farmland. Oil on Canvas, 4x4." 2016. M. Lamery
En Route to Fir Island
Snow Geese feed almost exclusively on plant material on the flood plains. In winter, waste grain from flood plains like the one above are a primary food source, using cover crops such as winter wheat, rye grass, and potatoes.
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Wetlands in Conservation. Oil on Canvas, 4x4", 2016. M. Lamery.
Wetlands in Conservation
A mist covers the ground from the rain laden skies. A stream flows through the marsh grasses, sloping hills in the distance. For a moment, I feel like I could be in Ireland, with the lush emerald green around me.
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Wetlands
One of the things that is very clear when you are in this area is the regional focus on conservation--for the land, for the wetlands, for the wildlife. The Nature Conservancy is working in partnership with Skagit County to restore 60 acres of freshwater tidal marsh, aiding salmon recovery, supporting agriculture, improving flood protection for the local community and creating new jobs.
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Snow geese, early morning, Skagit Valley. February 2016
Washington Americana: Snow Geese, Skagit Valley Winter Migration →
On February 28, I set out for a road trip to Skagit Valley.
Destination: Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival, Stanwood, WA. I wanted to see the amazing snow goose migration, where an estimated 60,000-100,000 Snow Geese migrate south for the winter.
Before I describe this trip, I want to go back in time a few years.
The last time I saw the snow geese was about this time of year in 2009. I drove up to Fox Island Nature Center with a friend. We planned our trip to arrive early morning sunrise. That is when the birds are waking up and flying in from their water nests in the surrounding inland marshes.
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Naches Heights in the distance seen from Selah ridge. Below the Heights flows the Yakima River.
Landscape of Naches Heights - Scouting Locations →
The land.
I traveled to Eastern Washington February 13 and 14 to scout locations for a new series of landscape paintings (details below). My subject is the Naches Heights, about ten miles outside of Yakima. This project is especially meaningful to me because it is the home of my family on my mom's side.
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In the open air.
En Plein Air
In the 19th century, an artistic movement actively took painting outdoors--from within the walls of the academic studios outside into the elements. "En plein air" , in the open air, is the French term that is used to describe this manner of painting. This method of painting was used primarily by a group of 19th century Paris-based painters that fostered the style of artwork known as "Impressionism."
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