Nye Beach, Oregon
(photo by Darren)

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I went on vacation, a camping trip down the Oregon Coast. Because we were driving, and there was no packing for airplanes involved, I brought an oil kit down with me too. I’ve never done plein air oil painting before. The first attempt was not so successful as a painting, but successful as far as being a totally enjoyable process (and there were grey whales spouting not too far off the shore – I don’t get to see that when painting in the studio). I can’t wait to give it another go.
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Beverly Beach, Oregon
study, oil on board, 5″x7″

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Although though we were down for 10 days, I didn’t manage to get as much time to paint as I hoped – time flew by and we moved around to a few different spots – Nehalam, Beverly Beach, Champoeg, & finished up in Portland (where we rounded out the trip with a comfy hotel room, some great food, and tasty cocktails). Now that we know what part of the coast we liked best, and we’re hoping to return again another time for a longer stretch in one location.

The weather was fantastic, and the view of the stars from the campsite in Nehalam was unreal. The campsites were great, clean, quiet (even though they were full), and well maintained. After this, I’m a huge fan of Oregon State Park camping and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the state. It also probably didn’t hurt that we took our vacation after the summer camping season was over, although the weekends were still really busy.

Neahkahnie Beach, Oregon | September, 2012 | watercolour in Hand•Book trav•e•logue journal, 140 lb, 3.5″x11″

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Neahkahnie Beach, Oregon
(photo by Darren)

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For super light and quick watercolour sketches, I like this set-up. It’s small enough to fit in a little bag, and I can fill the brush up from my water bottle. I’m sure there is a much better quality waterbrush out there, and I’d like to find one, but for quick little sketches in a small notebook and without having to fuss with a separate rinse water jar, this works fine.