Cape Disappointment

A short trip with just B, took us to a few lighthouses in the Oregon-Washington coast.  So much beauty to soak in, so little time.  Thank goodness for cameras!

This is my largest watercolor, I got to tackle it at a painting retreat.  It was a beautiful moment, I remember sitting at the end of a long row of painters, tucked in a corner facing a window.  I was intimidated by the large piece of paper in front of me, brush in hand it felt like the rocks sculpted themselves.

B took lots of photos, so my references were inspiring. It was a cold February day, but that is not how I remembered it, so I made it warm.

While I talked myself into painting in the large piece of paper, I did a study that encouraged me to continue.

This piece is hanging at Flying Apron in Redmond, come over to see it in person.

Why the name?  In 1788, while in search of the Columbia River, English Captain John Meares missed the passage over the river bar and named the nearby headland Cape Disappointment for his failure in finding the river.  (www.nps.gov)