Humidity: 82%

'The Rainy Season' 12x12" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

The rains have come.

I put on my rain gear

and walk anyway.

I like to believe

 

'Journey' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

One can guarantee that

the only constant is change.

We are all the same

yet we are different.

The darkest hour is 

just before the dawn.

'Journey' 18x24" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

things we see

'The Burn' 8x8" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

 It was a bad year for fires

the burned areas were becoming miles of dark, 

beautiful patterns

 as we traveled along and the scenery flew by

'The Burn II' 8x8" oil pastel;  Kathleen Faulkner

Rainworks Art Trail

rough sketch

cutting out the stencil

finished

‘Water is a transparent and nearly colorless chemical substance that is the main constituent of Earth's streams, lakes, and oceans, and the fluids of most living organisms.

Water covers 71% of the Earth's surface.

It is vital for all known forms of life.

Safe drinking water is essential to humans and other lifeforms even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients.

Ditches and storm drains do not connect to a treatment system, so everything that flows down the drain goes directly to the nearest water body, ultimately flowing into the ocean.’ *

Be mindful of what you toss.  It could end up in a stomach somewhere.


Rainworks project includes stencils located throughout Mt Vernon, WA by seven artists in conjunction with the Skagit Conservation District and Mt Vernon, WA.
My stencil can be viewed on a rainy day in front of City Hall.
More information and a map of the locations are available at http://www.skagitcd.org/ 
or pick up a map at TriDee Arts in downtown Mt Vernon, WA.


https://www.goskagit.com/news/art-revealed-by-rain-adorns-area-sidewalks/article_db74ec16-27a0-547e-9126-258220b67cbe.html

*Wikipedia

A Love Story

"Fingerlings" 22x23" oil pastel, Kathleen Faulkner

Salmon and trees just seem to go together.  It's been that way since the beginning.  

We all want and need protection from the elements, enough food to eat, clean air,  a respite from the rigors of life.  Trees provide that for salmon.
The forest environment on the banks of rivers and streams is called Riparian vegetation.  This dies and ends up in the streams. It includes dead wood, underbrush.. generally, 'compost' of the forest and, in the fall, dead salmon. It is a food source and oxygen for salmon and other water citizens.
It is the smallest percentage of forest environment in northwest Washington yet has an effect on 80% of the wildlife population.  All the living, dining, nesting, resting and hiding goes on here.

We must protect and speak for all natural communities as they have  no voice.

Aspen

          **


One day, hiking around in Mazama, Washington,  I found myself in the midst of a "forest" of Aspen.  It was an odd feeling, as if I were intruding upon someone's personal space.  It so struck me that I came home and did these three pieces.

Aspen is considered to be an Indicator of Ancient Woodlands.

*Clonal Colony is a group of genetically identical individuals that have grown in a given location,  all originating from a single ancestor.

*A group of 47,000 Quaking Aspen clones in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah, is sometimes considered the world's largest organism by mass, covering 110 acres.

I think that qualifies this tree to have some magic, at least.


*from Widipedia, the free encyclopedia

** "Aspen", "Aspen II", "Aspen III", oil pastels, each 23x21" Kathleen Faulkner