The Griffin House on the Columbia -- MONDAY, JUNE 15

Hello, everyone!

Last Monday we had a terrific turnout of painters at Cathedral Ridge Winery!  Thank you to all of you who braved the heat to capture the scenery at that lovely venue.  There were beautiful watercolor paintings of the wine barrels and hanging flower baskets, as well as oil renderings of the vineyards and hills beyond.  

This coming Monday, we will be enjoying the vistas offered at the manicured grounds, as well as Gorge views, at The Griffin House on the Columbia!  Thanks to Laurel Bushman for making arrangements for our visit.  Let's plan to start between 8:45 and 9:00 a.m.  

Driving directions:  4168 Westcliff Drive, in Hood River, is the address.  It is about 1/2 mile west of the Columbia Gorge Hotel.  Look for a 1959 Cadillac and signs for The Griffin House parking area, and follow the directional signs.  Make sure not to park in the street, because your car will be towed away!

[Note:  I will not be able to attend the next few sessions, but I expect all of you to have fun on my behalf!  Take pictures and post them to the blog if you can!]

**Terri**

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YOU ASKED FOR IT! THE BIG LIST!!

Hello, painters!  The list of upcoming plein air painting locations for the summer in the Gorge is now available.  There might be a few minor changes as the season progresses, but this should give you a "skeleton" from which to plan.

June 15                  Griffin House on the Columbia (directions in next blog)

June 22                  Chamberlain Lake Rest Stop

July 6                     Trout Lake (off of Lake Road)

July 13                   Downtown Hood River

July 20                   Klickitat Trailhead

July 27                   Mosier Plateau (a Friends of the Gorge property)

August 3                Paint on location with "Plein Air Painters"

August 10              Rock Creek Park

August 17              Tucker Park

August 24              Friends of the Gorge property (location TBA)

August 31              Clint and Megan's Farm (Methodist Road, Hood River)

Sept. 7                   [Labor Day]  The Hook

Sept. 14                 Laurel Bushman's House (Methodist Road, Hood River)

Sept. 21                 Griffin House on the Columbia (repeat visit)

Sept. 28                  Deschutes River Recreation Area


As always, if any of you has input regarding pretty much anything, please feel free to post it as a comment on this blog, or email me at tenbrushes@gmail.com.  Thanks!

**Terri**

Monday, June 8 -- Cathedral Ridge Winery

Hello, everyone!

This coming Monday we are meeting at Cathedral Ridge Winery in Hood River.  The address is 4200 Post Canyon Drive.  We painted there last year. If you need driving directions...google it!  Please park in the auxiliary parking area just west of the main entrance.  We plan to start at around 9:00.  Cathedral Ridge Winery has restrooms, picnic areas, and of course...wine!  

Please think about bringing a friend to this painting session or to upcoming painting sessions throughout the summer, to possibly introduce them to the pleasures of painting outdoors -- who knows? -- maybe they will want to become painters themselves!  

We have a schedule of upcoming painting locations that will take us throughout the end of September.  That schedule will be posted next time, if all goes as planned.  That way you can pick and choose which Mondays you want to be a part of the group.  I must warn you:  we have some very cool places to paint this year, that are new to our group this season.  Don't miss out on all the fun!  Stay tuned!!  

**Terri**

Season Starter, June 1, 2015!!

Hello, Friends With Easels group --

It's time again to start painting outdoors and learn what we can from one another!  Come share in our seasonal start-up, on Monday, June 1, 2015.  The big change this year as that we are switching our plein air days to Mondays, instead of Tuesdays like previous years, due to popular request.  Since this blog post is coming to you at the very last minute, I'm not expecting our usual turnout on Monday, but I can always hope!  :-)  

We will try to get going each week between 8:30 and 9:00 a.m.  This coming Monday, we have been invited back to Yvonne Peterson's "big red barn" just off Highway 35 heading south out of Hood River.  There is rain in the forecast however, so we might have to stand inside the barn for shelter as we look out toward Mt. Hood and the valley in the foreground.  Such an adventure plein air painting is!  

Hope to see a few of you there!  The next blog will contain a number of upcoming painting locations so you can plan ahead.  And as always, please feel free to submit suggestions for future painting locations.  

DRIVING DIRECTIONS

Drive south on Highway 35 from Hood River toward the Pine Grove area.  Turn left onto the first named road (Glass Drive) past the Pine Grove Pit Stop gas station.  Yvonne's property and big red barn are on the right side of Glass Drive.  Parking is available in her circular driveway. 

Stoked About Sketching -- Starting Tuesday, October 21

Beginning this Tuesday, a very informal sketching group will get going, just to help us keep our artistic energies alive in a communal setting throughout the cooler, wetter months.  This will kind of be like Friends With Easels going undercover until next summer, when we will start painting outside again.  So, please feel free to join in whenever you have time available on Tuesday mornings, 9-ish, at Stoked Roasters and Coffeehouse, 603 Portway Avenue, Hood River.  Bring your sketching tools and maybe something you want to sketch.  Or, you can look out the window or around the coffee house and find inspiration there.  And while we're enjoying our coffee drinks, let's share insights regarding whatever we've been learning about art and artists.

Hope to see you there on Tuesday!!  Stoked's website address is www.stokedroasters.com.

Last Scheduled Paint-Out of the Season: Tuesday, Oct. 14 -- Road to Glenwood OR Cyndi Strid's Residence

Hello artists!  I apologize for the long headline to this, my final regularly scheduled post of the season for Friends With Easels.  It appears that cooler, more rainy weather is heading our way beginning next week. So we have a "first choice" location, and a backup location, in case of rain (and forecasts say 80% chance for next Tuesday).

If there is no precipitation, we will be setting up at the roadside pull-out on the road to Glenwood, Washington.  (Thank you Jan Muir for the suggestion). There is no specific address that I'm aware of, but casual driving directions are as follows: From Hwy 14 in Washington (along the Columbia River), head north on Hwy 141 to BZ Corner.  Turn right onto the BZ-Glenwood Highway.  Follow along toward Glenwood and the Conboy Lake Wildlife Refuge. In the vicinity of Lakeside Road, there should be a turnoff toward the north along the Glenwood Highway; look for a pullout on the left, and look for other painters.

HOWEVER, if the skies are rainy, our backup location is Cyndi Strid's residence in White Salmon.  She has a covered area that will still allow us to paint outside without getting wet, and she says the views from her place are very paintable!  I will cut and paste the driving directions she provided me with:  545 Waubish, White Salmon, WA 98672

Drive into White Salmon and continue heading West out of down on Jewett which becomes Hwy 141 towards Trout Lake.

Drive 1/2 mile past the Big White House on the outskirts of White Salmon, on the left side of the street

LEFT onto Waubish St. ( it is the first residential street paralleling the bluff ) off Hwy 141.

In 100 yards, take first left again into our driveway ( it is a hard left and you will be heading East)

Go to the end of the driveway - house is grey with a white garage face.

Call if you get lost or confused! 503.789.5825 

I have a feeling we'll be painting at this location instead of toward Glenwood.  Please feel free to call Cyndi's cell number to confirm this with her.  

Last but not least -- Thank you to all of you who have participated in our Tuesday plein air sessions this year, and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to keep the blog going.  Look for periodic updates or notifications on this blog site throughout the fall and winter months.  And don't forget to contact me with suggestions for next year, at tenbrushes@gmail.com.  

**Terri**

Tuesday, October 7 -- Catherine Creek!!

I've been waiting this entire season for our painting trip to Catherine Creek!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather on Tuesday.  Most of us are familiar with the amazing territorial and river views to be found at Catherine Creek, on the Washington side of the Columbia River.  If you're inclined to hike uphill, you'll gain access to sweeping views of the Columbia; if you opt to cross the road to the lower, paved trails in the Catherine Creek area, you'll have many choices of river, creek, and foliage scenes to paint.  

Driving directions:  Head east on Hwy 14 (Washington) toward Lyle.  Turn left onto Old Hwy 8, which is the next left turn after Courtney Road.  Follow the winding road upwards for a mile or two until you see the Catherine Creek parking area (a gravel pull-out on the left side of the road).  We'll try to get started at 9:00.  

Here are a couple photos I took from Catherine Creek last year.  One scene is the Columbia from up on the hillside; the other is of my dog drinking from Catherine Creek!