I like my yard

'Yard Work' 23x37" graphite on paper;  Kathleen Faulkner

 

We have been hoping for change.

We hoped the COVID would alter our way of seeing/being.

I don't know if if is permanent, but,

I find a new sense of appreciation for small things.

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest

It is Christmas.  The year is winding down and I've been thinking about all that has happened in twelve short months.  One thing this last year was not and that was milque toast.   It has been a challenge, a real roller coaster ride but I've managed to come through it and I'm grateful.  

I am especially grateful to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  

I feel safe here.  I was born here.  My daughter is here. My parents were laid to rest here.  I spend my adult life painting here and I will probably die here.  There are worse fates. 

     

The view from the top of Mt. Erie, Anacortes, WA; Kathleen Faulkner

The view from my studio, Anacortes, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Forest Lands, Anacortes, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Eagle Convention, Edison, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Geese, Skagit Flats;  Kathleen Faulkner

Skagit Flats;  Kathleen Faulkner

Cormorants, Guemes Channel, Anacortes, WA;
Kathleen Faulkner

Guemes Ferry Dock, Anacortes, WA;  Kathleen Faulkner

Heading back to Anacortes from Sinclair
Island;  Kathleen Faulkner

http://kathleenfaulkner.blogspot.com/2010/02/magic-skagit.html

Greetings from Birdsville

'The Return' oil pastel; Kathleen Faulkner

The geese have returned:  a highlight of late winter. 

February was a cold, snowy month, the way I used to remember it as a child.  Indians named February's full moon the Snow Moon because of all the snow that would arrive.   It's hard to know if this is unusual now or not.

The eagles are down in the valley waiting for food.  I have seen more birds than ever lately.  Ducks, hawks, eagles, swans, geese, and on and on.

It is a wonderful thing!

Adult and immature eagles near Edison;

Another angle..

Everything is wet, cold and beautiful   It is good to live here.

looking northeast toward Mt Baker..

The Magic Skagit

"Skagit Fields"  9x11" oil pastel  Kathleen Faulkner

I live in the Magic Skagit.  It is called this for many reasons but the richness and fertility of the dirt is part of it.  The earth here is special.  It feeds people, literally and figuratively.  

It collects artistic talent.

I moved here to be able to disappear into a forest within a matter of minutes rather than hours.  Although my world revolves around art, I wasn't thinking about the artistic history here when I settled.  I was thinking about the trees and I was struck by the vast areas of farmland in between.. and the colors:  grey sky and green earth.

I was also thinking about the sense of community one gets when not living in a city.

Life just seemed easier and it still does.  I'm grateful everyday.

This area has been considered home to such artists as Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, Richard Gilkey and Clayton James*, who, by the way, is still alive at the tender age of 91 and still painting.  This is where Tom Robbins lives, the place where Fishtown became famous and our old friend, Robert Sund, wrote a lot of his poetry.  Now,  new generations of artists are sprouting, growing and thriving.

Food, art and poetry in a magic spot on the Salish Sea.   Who could ask for more?

*Clayton James

  Richard Gilkey

  Morris Graves
  Guy Anderson
  Tom Robbins
  Robert Sund