Category Archives: Nature

Solo time at the coast

For the past week I’ve been staying in a little cottage in Waldport all by myself, enjoying silence and creative time and walking on the beach twice a day. It’s been heavenly!

I bought a folding table to set up as my workspace in the dining room and spread out my supplies. It was great to have the whole day–the whole week!–to alternate working on paintings with taking breaks outside. The past few days it was so warm that I took my book about Henry Miller’s watercolors onto the deck and soaked up some sun.

I’m heading home refreshed and restored and with a stack of new work and many, many photos for future inspiration.

 

Snow Days

Nandina berries encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Nandina berries encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Family visitors have left after the holidays and today was going to be my first day of getting back to my routine, but nature had other plans. We had snow yesterday. It was beautiful when it was falling and I love the way it transforms the landscape. It was also quite an adventure driving over to Village Gallery to hang the January show. As often happens in this area, the snow quickly turned to ice and today the entire area was shut down as it was too dangerous to drive. That meant a free day for my family and a postponement of my plans, but I don’t even mind.

Studio Icicles

The ice is bad for driving but possibly even more magical than the snow.

Buds are just starting on the lilac bush but they're currently encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.

Buds are just starting on the lilac bush but they’re currently encased in ice. Photo by Lisa Griffen.