The Timberline Lodge mailbox

 

I am excited to announce another Timberline goodie available!

I woke up early one of the mornings I was staying at Timberline Lodge and went out to draw. If you look the mail boxes up at Timberline they will often show the exquisite brass boxes located by the current giftshop. Rarely does anyone notice the hand carved mailbox created in 1937 to collect outbound mail with what appears to be the original lock (if not, it's close). The door is fashioned out of recycled pounded steel.  

Timberline used to have their own post office so the stamps would be cancelled with a Timberline stamp. Now all the mail is cancelled Government Camp but you can leave mail in this box while you are at the lodge and it is still collected every day. 

There is an annual tradition where folks come to the lodge and send their holiday cards from there. Each year we see families working together to address and mail their cards from this historic spot. It's a generational tradition.

Click here to purchase on Etsy. You  can print it out and color it or you can put it in a frame as is.  

The newel posts at Timberline Lodge: sticker sheet

I love the newel posts inside Timberline Lodge. There aren’t anything like them anywhere. Each one features a different bird or animal of the Pacific Northwest. I drew them all. Now you can download stickers of my pen and ink drawings featuring each unique newel post and instantly print them on your home printer. They are on Etsy where I am the shop named Scenic Roads.

Click here to go to Etsy.

Whirly magnets

As a kid we called them whirlies or helicopters because as they twirled in the wind like magic falling from the maple trees in the autumn breeze. As an adult I collect them to paint because they are really quite beautiful.  This is a watercolor painting of one of them I had made into a magnet.  The black in the background is just a background.  The magnet is die cut to the shape, measures roughly 2-1/4" x 3", printed on durable magnetized vinyl.  Click here to start or add to your collection.

Last home portrait finished

Watercolor on 140# Arches hot press watercolor paper using a combination of Sennelier and Holbein watercolors because each brand seems to have strengths in different areas. I also have to admit, I had to resort to using a white colored pencil for a dab of highlights that I just could not manage with even my smallest brushes so technically this is a mixed media piece.  

I was watching a demo on watercolor this afternoon and it occurred to me I should probably point out in order to get this kind of detail in any given piece I rely heavily on the dry brush technique.  What that means is I typically remove excess water so I'm applying pigment much like I would with colored pencil - only it's faster and covers the paper more completely.  It took me forever to figure it out because it's not commonly taught anywhere versus the wet applications. 

I'm now caught up on my backlog of home portrait commissions but there's no rest for the weary.  Moving on to my next project. Stay tuned.  

Another home portrait finished.

 

Watercolor on Arches 140# cold press watercolor paper.  

Normally I paint with Sennelier watercolors.  I actually only own eight tubes of Sennelier paints - their introduction starter set.  You can imagine how much mixing goes on to get the color range needed for any given painting.  I have to admit it has been a great experience for working with a limited palette because the by-product is all of my paintings have a similar color thread between them as if it was intentional.  

On this painting I dabbled a little with some Holbein watercolors.  It all started because I'm not sure I like the yellow I have in my Sennelier set.  It's a little to opaque for my liking which is a weird thing to say about transparent watercolor but it is what it is.  Maybe it's a solubility thing.  Either way, it's the first time I played with Holbein and I was very much impressed with it so far.  

The railings at Timberline Lodge

 

This is a colored pencil drawing featuring the end of a railing at Timberline Lodge. Installed years after the lodge opened for safety reasons, they blend in with the original architecture featuring masterful twists ending in pinecones on the ends. These railings are mounted throughout the stairwells and attach to those newels.  The original piece is drawn on black paper using archival quality pencils.  I've made the image available to print on your home printer via Etsy.  Just print it and pop it in a 8" x 10" frame. 

The mountain is calling prototype

 

Working on a design for a sticker or magnet (or both).