Coming Up for Air- Yet again!

So I decided to participate in Leslie Saeta's "30 in 30" painting challenge for September, 2017, and found that I had not entered anything on my blog for ages! In this time away, I've been mostly on Facebook, but a lot has gone on. Just finished a solo show at the Sequim Museum and Arts Center, recorded a Christmas album which we still have hopes of releasing this year, released my first ever CD in 2016, and continue to recertify as a composite artist for law enforcement. So let's see if I can remember how to do this.......

Here is the September 1, 2017 image. It's a watercolor from a plein air session this morning. We went to the levee and found lots of vegetation (challenging), moving water (challenging), twigs and trees (challenging.) Usually when plein air painting, the sunlight changes and goes away. This time, the sun moved around the trees and we fried! 

Down by the Levee, watercolor, 6"x9"

Stay tuned! New stuff comin' down the pike! I'm in between projects, having taken an amazing class on painting clouds last fall with Andy Eccleshall in Edmonds, WA, finished up entries for a couple of exhibitions, won an Honorable Mention in the Gamblin Torrit Grey competition, and am now taking some "Me Time" to enjoy some of my favorite books. Will be starting a couple of new commissions this next week as soon as I can gear up. Life is good! Art is good! Do it!

For me, blogging has become a bit like the Christmas letters we receive that begin "Where has the time gone?" I do spend more time communicating on Facebook than here, primarily because those posts are so short and more interactive. But Skywriting becomes a good place to share my thoughts, just in case anyone wants to read my mind.

Fact is, I've been working in the studio a LOT!!! My painting of two Navy A4s refueling entitled "Rendezvous" was accepted and exhibited at the American Society of Aviation Artists annual Forum exhibition, held this year at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. The exhibition ran all through the summer and we were so fortunate to have our work there for many visitors to enjoy.

At the Forum, Canadian artist Cher Pruys gave a wonderful presentation on how she produces her work, including advice on  Dr Martin's liquid watercolors. So of course I had to buy some. Not just some- a whole set! I love working with them, and have been creating work with a combination of M Graham pigments and the Dr Martin's- not by mixing them on the palette, but just by deciding which pigment would work for certain effects. From a series of car/truck/motorcycle watercolors, "Mellow Yellow" won a ribbon at the Clallam County Fair last month.

Since I'm in the "Help! I'm painting with Dr Martin's Watercolors and can't stop" mode, I decided to take on some of the challenges that appear on the Daily Paintworks website (http://www.dailypaintworks.com/artists/priscilla-patterson-3421/artwork) . Two of the three pieces I've entered, "Triple Scoop Balance" and "On the Rocks" have been selected as DWP Auction Picks. Both are available for sale through the www.dailypaintworks.com site.

Through all this, I'm still working on launching the cow, from my last post, and picked up my oil painting brushes to do a demo at the county fair, just to get something on the canvas. It's easier for me to do a demo in public using oil since people come by to chat, and of course, I want to talk with them, too. If you're in the middle of a watercolor wash and stop to talk, the timing can be lost and dreadful things happen that don't happen when painting in oil. Pix to come soon......

So through all this, every time I wonder what's it all for, something really cool happens to keep me going. Life is good.........

Launching the Cow......

The 2014 American Society of Aviation Artists forum is scheduled for April. Since we usually meet in June, this means all deadlines have been bumped up two months, including the Call for Entries for the exhibition. If I want to have anything reasonable to show for my time, it was apparent that I'd better get busy.

But what to take off my full plate? I decided to take a two month leave from singing with my chorus to get some work done. This hiatus, although short, would still be filled with projects, including private music lessons, but without the amount of administrative functions I'd allowed myself to take on. It would be an opportunity to dust off some of the "great painting ideas" that had been shoved aside the past couple of years. The first folder to emerge from the dusty file pile contained sketches of a JN4 (Jenny) in a field of cows. I contacted my long time friend and mentor, Charles Thompson, and announced that it was time to launch the cow- again.

The original idea was to tell the story of a pilot ready to take off from a field only to be hindered by cows. This was eventually sketched out to include one cow, obviously in the way. I sent off the sketches which were promptly returned via email by Charles with his ever useful advice on composition and values.

He also suggested that the cow and the pilot make some sort of eye contact. Hmmm. Not being sure of how a cow could reasonably look up at a pilot in a cockpit, I ventured off to the local pasture the following morning to do some research.

The closest cow population is fed at 0730 when the farmer comes with hay on a flatbed truck. Since I walk daily at 0700, this was not a stretch for timing. I poured a cup of coffee, walked down to the pasture and waited. The cows languished lazily, some lying down, some standing. After awhile one wandered away. No farmer yet, though. Soon another and another wandered away from the fence and sauntered toward the farther fence. Still no farmer. They weren't worried. I wanted another cup of coffee. Patience, I thought.

Eventually they all began strolling lazily toward the far fence. Then I heard the sound of the truck- the farmer cometh. Empty. He went right past the field- and me- and after awhile came back loaded with hay, driving around the corner and down the other road to where the cows were waiting. By the south gate!!! I hoofed it around the corner as his farm hand unlocked the gate to let the truck in. The farmer drove along through the pasture while the hand tossed hay from the back of the truck with cows ambling along behind, unconcerned and yet confident that their breakfast would be served in due time.

Patience. It occurred to me that my normal Tigger mentality was hindering not only my previously way too full schedule, but also the composition of the painting. Instead of doing a painting of a hurried pilot locking eyes with a cow, why not a hurried pilot with a cow that doesn't give a rip?

I went home and sketched out a new composition with the cow in an "I don't give a rip" stance which I sent off to Charles for review. We'll see. I'm feeling better about having a little time to shift focus and complete some tasks in a less hurried manner, perhaps with an even more bovine mentality......

Okay! I'm hooked on plein air painting!

Well how cool was THAT!!!

Arrived at Camaraderie Cellars for the "Quick Draw" event at about 0830 this morning. We had two hours exactly- from 9-11 AM- to do a painting on the grounds of the winery. Finished pieces were to be delivered and checked in at the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center by noon.

I chose to do a watercolor/pen & ink in the journaling style that would incorporate the morning's activity. Featured were some of the artists painting along with the owner's dog, who manages to be an integral part of all dynamics on the premises. If you are local and haven't been to Camaraderie yet, do make it a point to go out and sample the fine wines, enjoy the scenery and just relax! It was a great two hours!

Adding to the wonderful time painting and enjoying time with other artists, my little "quick draw" piece sold!

Since we had to pick up any unsold work at 4 PM, I decided to stay in Port Angeles, have some lunch and visit with the other artists. I met some really incredible and inspiring talent! Learned a lot, too.

1) I don't have to work so hard- keep it simple.
2) No need to do so many paintings- although entering juried exhibitions is a lot like cooking spaghetti where you throw pasta onto the wall and see what sticks. One never knows what a judge will accept, much less give an award to.
3) Jurying is subjective. The judge said so- and I suspected this all along. He said he could come back tomorrow and have a different perspective.
4) Therefore, the main objective is paint what's in your heart and have fun!

Oh- and another shout out to the Joyce General Store- that painting sold, too! Whoop!

Plein Air Painting- Yes, me!!

 So many of my friends are plein air painters. Perhaps it's my many years of living in Alaska, specifically Kodiak where the average number of sunny/partly sunny days comes to about 130, is why it never occurred to me to do much painting outdoors. Frankly, I think there are fewer than 130 sunny days in Kodiak, but I can't argue with statistics. That doesn't take into account the windy days and the cold days. But we're here now, in sunny Sequim, Washington, where we have a LOT of sunny days.

So when the Peninsula Fine Arts Center of Port Angeles came up with Paint the Peninsula, I thought, why not?

Participants have to have all of their substrates stamped for the event, meaning every canvas, every board, every watercolor needs to say "Paint the Peninsula" on the back. We have September 4, 5, 6 to paint plein air, and turn in our work for jurying on Saturday, September 7, one of which will be accepted into the show/sale that will be held Saturday night. Sunday is an added opportunity with a Quick Draw (timed two hour painting session) at Camaraderie Cellars. By Sunday I will really be needing a glass of wine. (Actually, I needed one last night, and will most likely follow suit tonight!)

Here's how it's going so far:
Yesterday my husband and I drove 30 miles to a town called Joyce, Washington, since it was on the list of recommended places to paint. We stopped at the Joyce General Store, Est 1911. If you can't find what you're looking for in there you probably don't need it. Two things I forgot to bring- an eraser (I know, I know. But it's a security thing.) which they had a fishbowl full of at 10 cents each, and oil painting medium. No art supplies in the general store, but I bought a small bottle of olive oil. Extra virgin. Five bucks. Works fine.

While I was remembering how to untangle the easel, my husband struck up a conversation with Leonard, the store's owner. Leonard's wife's grandfather built the store as a mercantile for the loggers. Leonard is 81 years old. He knows a lot.

While I painted away, finding not much satisfaction in my work, I might add, there were numerous people who stopped by to chat, ask questions, or just look. The day was overcast, so there was little in the way of contrasting values to add interest to my painting. But I found the most interest to be in the people- people who are fiercely proud of their town, their store and their history. Leonard was sporting a sweatshirt which he designed that read "University of Joyce- Mea Culpa Non." That's Latin for "Not my fault." I had to buy a sweatshirt. With it comes a document -signed by Leonard- that is a "Degree in Insignificance." Too many people, he said, put credence in their degrees. When he was in the working world, outside of Joyce, the only reason they looked at degrees for potential employees was if they made it through college, they probably had the tenacity to get a job done. If their transcripts showed good grades, then chances are they had good enough attendance and paid attention.

I told Leonard I attended the School of Hard Knocks and majored in Situational Awareness. He liked that.

After four hours of painting, I did a small sketch in the journaling style which took about a half hour, and we headed for lunch at the Blackberry Cafe where Roxanne makes the best blackberry pie we'd ever tasted! She has a bunch of first place ribbons from the Clallam County Fair to prove it, too.

As we drove out of town, we crossed bridges sporting signs that read "Itsa Creek" and "Uppa Creek."

The people of Joyce are pretty cool.

Today.....
Forecast for thunderstorms. Swell. Started out seeing lightning over the Olympic Mountains. Counted "one chimpanzee, two chimpanzee, etc." Got to 10 or 12 before the thunderclaps made me jump. But....I paid my entry fee, so let's saddle up and go!

First to a farm out Port Williams Road about 10 minutes from home. Found a way to set up with the easel protected under the hatch of the minivan and painted the field, the mountains, the clouds. Life is good. Canada geese are on the move everywhere this time of year, but since it's plein air, they go by too fast to be in the paintings. (When I do some studio work from photos later on, the geese will be featured.) In between rain showers, things worked pretty well.

Next stop, John Wayne Marina to work on a little sailboat with a picturesque reflection in the still water. The "in between rain showers" was the drive from point A to point B. The actual painting session was plagued with thunder, lightning, pouring rain, and feeling good about being close to home where I know the paramedics.

Third stop, 3 Crabs Road, which dead ends at the water's edge where I could see the Dungeness Lighthouse in the distance, and lightning strikes out over the Straits. This painting turned out to be one quick study, since I was finally getting the hang of working on location, what to bring, how to set up the vehicle for efficiency and get the most out of this new experience.

Seascape with foot, bug, and lightning- the next time it flashes!

More progress tomorrow......Additional images to come later!

Workshop Groupie!

Since moving to the lower 48, I vowed to take more workshops. They are fun, informative and a way to get away from the studio for a couple of days to do something other than production. A place I really enjoy going is Cole Gallery in Edmonds. It's an hour and a half away, including the ferry trip across the strait, with a nice Best Western within walking distance of  the gallery and everything else downtown, including quirky shops and great food. Besides, Denise Cole manages to get some great instructors to come to her little place, and if you forgot anything in the way of supplies, the Art Spot is close enough to dash over on a break and pick up something.

This time, I attended a portrait painting class taught by Michael Maczuga. His work is vibrant, loosely impressionistic, colorful and exciting. All stuff I can use. We started Friday's session with a (gulp) color wheel. I know about color wheels. I taught art in Alaska for 18 years, right? Well, this was a color wheel like I'd never done before, not to mention that we were using REAL oil paint- not the water soluble oils that I've been enamored with for the past ten or so years. How, I wondered, would we be cleaning these brushes if we didn't use soap and water? You don't wanna know.  

From there we moved to painting real models. We started with a black and white study of values, and I was introduced to a really cool tool in the form of a plaster head which Mike placed alongside the nice young lady who was posing. From the plaster head we could refer to the planes and determine that wherever there is a plane change, there is also a value and temperature change. Well, who'd a thought?

Our next exercise became a psychedelic challenge in that colored lights were place around our model's head to help us think not in terms of flesh tones, but in values. Well known aviation artist R. G. Smith used to say that it doesn't matter what color it is as long as the value is right. So when Mike said it, it was not exactly new. Still, no matter how many times we hear these things, they need to be internalized so that they become automatic. My friend and mentor Charles Thompson always tells me that you don't paint a red airplane with red paint. Particularly a shiny one. There will be reflective colors from what is surrounding, and, well, it doesn't matter what color it is as long as the VALUE is right.

So we continued on this journey toward a final painting on Sunday afternoon. The model was delightful and we enjoyed painting her. Much of the information will take time to settle in, even though a good deal of it was not exactly new. It often takes hearing the same thing in different ways to make it happen. Now I can't wait to put these new-found old tactics into practices. As Mike says, better to have 100 starts and learn something every time than to spend all your time on one thing trying to fix it. Or something like that.

A New Show!

"Observations from Air, Land, Sea and the Local Coffee Shop" is up for viewing at the Sequim Museum & Arts Center. Twenty two framed paintings, plus some unframed originals, prints and a calendar are available for purchase through the end of August. As museum volunteers were hanging the show and we were attaching price and title cards. I looked around and wondered, "Where did all this come from?" I'd been busy for sure, but the realization was dawning that there has been a prodigious amount of work produced during the six years we have lived in the Pacific Northwest. A lot of the effort has been to re-establish myself in a new location, something that we all face when we move. Leaving a place where we have friends, and perhaps family is always difficult. As a business owner, leaving an established clientele creates a different kind of void that is difficult to describe. Will I ever get work again? How will people find me? Will they forget me? Is what I worked for over 23 years in Alaska all for naught? Technology has given us blogs, Facebook, and easy to navigate websites, which help tremendously. Anyone who works from home will tell you that keeping your name out there is a full time job. I see it all the time on Facebook with the posts made by fellow artists who share the new work they are creating, encouraging people, as I do, to visit their pages, websites and blogs.

While watching the Olympics the other night, the commentator quipped, "Confidence is that little voice inside your head that tells you you belong." It went by so fast that I almost missed it. What? Who said that? I googled the quote this morning and found it shared and analyzed on amymoritz.com's blog entitled "Byline to Finish Line." The US Olympic beach volleyball team of Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings had found a way to improve by working with a sports psychologist. Rather than playing from fear, it is important to play as though you belong- and with confidence. Thus, Misty and Kerri play like winners, like they belong.

So where do I go from here? I will keep producing the art that I love, continue to connect and share my work with others, and know that the sense of belonging will allow me to move forward toward a personal best that is mine alone.

New Beginnings!

This month and last are seeing new beginnings everywhere! First, our Grand Olympics Chorus of Sweet Adelines has a new director! Mike Menefee is making the trip from Silverdale each week to work with us, and we are loving the new challenges. Mike's daughter, Alena, as been joining us as well to coach and encourage. She has an amazing voice and we are happy to have her! She also writes a really cool blog...Check it out at http://alenapm24-7.com/ .

Three Coast Guard Change of Commands have granted me the honor of having artwork present. The first, this month in San Francisco, saw our friends the Langenbachers Who me knew in Kodiak) leaving Air Station San Francisco and moving to new responsibilities in Alameda, just across the bay. Their unit requested an original painting as a departing gift of the H65 helicopter over the Bay Bridge, and we had prints made as well. More on the following Command changes to come.

So where have I been? Well, I took another class from Stuart Parks Forensics, this time on drawing from the surveillance camera. Did some drawings for a program on The Travel Channel. Then the chorus I sing with, Grand Olympics Chorus of Sweet Adelines International, went to Contest in Spokane. Then I had cataract surgery. Then I went to the American Society of Aviation Artists annual Forum, held this year in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Now I'm working on putting my show together which will run through the month of August at the Museum & Art Center in Sequim. In between all this, I finished some artwork for three Coast Guard Change of Commands. Meantime, our chorus has a new director and we are delightedly on a new path  to reinventing ourselves with better vocal production, better showmanship skills and a new look. How cool is that? This sounds like one of those Christmas letters that start out "Where has the time gone?" I don't pretend to wonder anything of the sort, except to say that life is exceedingly busy, and I'm glad for the work! Here is one of the paintings that will be available at the show, along with a diversion of sorts to, um, the fine art of taking a coffee break........More on that later!

Studio sale!

  Spent a good part of yesterday updating the website with sale items. It's time to make room for new inventory. In the meantime, our Sweet Adelines chorus, Grand Olympics, got through our annual fundraiser show, I illustrated a children's book for a friend to give to her family for Christmas, and am working on the pieces I plan to submit to the Coast Guard Art Program. Speaking of military art programs, last month the Air Force asked me to go to Beale Air Force Base north of Sacramento to document some events that were going on with the 9th Reconaissance group. I met some amazing artists and returned with a ton of research material to use for the paintings I will submit to the program next year along with inspiration from the likes of Stephen Gardner, Michael Backus, Scott Gandell, Bob Cooley and a cool fellow named Winston! Meantime, the pieces that are on sale can be found by going to the website www.PriscillaMessnerPatterson.com and clicking on the "Open Gallery" link. When I check it, it comes up fine. Hopefully it will for you, too! 

Demo at the County Fair!

Did a demo at the Clallam County Fair last Friday night. It was fun to have so many people stop by and say hello. This composition came about after a trip to Kiana, Alaska with the Air Force Art Program last spring. We were there to document Operation Arctic Care, a program where our men and women in the reserves spend their duty time providing medical care to people in the villages. The 2010 program, based in Kotzebue (33 miles north of the Arctic Circle) was sponsored by the Air Force and included 12 villages. I was able to visit two- we were flown out via Blackhawk helicopter. While we were in Kiana, the mail/commuter plane came in, and as in all rural Alaska villages, when the plane comes in, everyone turns out for the event. The passengers are going to Kotzebue and beyond- if they are travelling beyond, they have to go through "Kotz," hop on the jet and go to Anchorage via Nome. So this is my interpretation of a busy scene when the mail plane comes to Kiana. I loved getting so much done in one night, but today am working on another piece that has lots of rivets......

Where have I been?????

Well, where have I been? Everywhere, I guess. May brought the annual American Society of Aviation Artists Forum, held this year in Pensacola, Florida. We celebrated 100 Years of Naval Aviation along with the 25 year anniversary of ASAA. It was a great time to reconnect with aviation artist friends from all over the world. Part of my duties as education chair were to organize a Youth Drawing Session. We had nearly as many helpers, for which I am grateful, as we did students. In June, my husband and I drove down to Vancouver, Washington where we met up with two of my sisters and their families. There we enjoyed a visit to the Pearson Air Museum at Fort Vancouver. Those little known places are certainly treasure troves and I hope they have lots of visitors to spread the word about aviation in the Pacific northwest. In July I attended Barbershop Harmony College in Tacoma with my quartet, Loonie Tunes. One of the other quartets in our Chorus also attended and we had a great time taking classes and learning more about our hobby of barbershop singing with a Sweet Adelines chorus. I continue to take voice lessons with a fantastic coach and participated in a student recital. We have plans for another get together closer to Christmas.

As for painting, I have three pieces in the Clallam County Fair next weekend and am scheduled to do a demo on Friday evening, August 19 from 4-7 PM. The idea for this composition came from a trip to Kiana, Alaska with the Air Force Art Program in April of 2010. While we were there the commuter flight came in. As is normal in Alaska villages, when the mail plane shows up, the town turns out to see who arrived from town and to send off travelers. The canvas is 24x36- Let's see how much I can get done in the three hours I am there. My biggest fear is getting a wet oil painting back to the car without having someone run into me with cotton candy or ice cream. Well, we can't be afraid of those things, can we?

H65 for Port Angeles

H65 for Port Angeles is available as a matted and framed print. Only one in stock! Overall size is 11"x22" and price is $125 + $15 S/H.

New Arctic Care 2010 Print

The new Operation Arctic Care 2010 print is available and ready for purchase. It is a limited edition of 100 signed and numbered prints on good quality photo paper and shows the northwestern portion of Alaska with 12 images to commemorate the 12 villages where the mission took place. Price is $35 (including postage within the continental US) for one print. Some have requested more than one, and I can get up to three in one tube for one $5 mailing charge if they are going to the same address. The size is 16x20, so it can be framed in a standard size. My profound thanks to the US Air Force Art Program for inviting me on this mission and to all of our men and women in the military who dedicate their expertise to help others.

For ordering information, please contact me through this blog or at priscillapatterson@ wavecable.com.

Christmas!

It's Christmas week! Just finished the fourth and final entry for submission to the Coast Guard Art Program. It's a jurying process, and after 17 years I still never know if what I send will be accepted. For the most part, I've been successful, thankfully. My work seems to be evolving and I am getting more and more opportunities to draw and paint people. Hopefully there will be some workshops I can take in 2011, but in the meantime, I've invested in some really good DVDs by Larry Withers. Since I was down with a cold the last couple of weeks, my non-painting/recovery time was spent watching the videos and there is another one on the way on the anatomy of the head. I did a demo at the December meeting of Sequim Arts which is a start on a still life for the members' show for next year as well as good advertising for the drawing and painting classes I will be teaching through Peninsula College beginning in January. Meantime, I am wearing my boots from the Boot Campaign to support the troops. (See their website at www.bootcampaign.com)

So as we slide into Christmas, eagerly anticipating the celebration of His birth, I wish all of you and yours the beauty and wonder of this most amazing season, and all the best in the New Year!

Coming up for air!

Where has the time gone? Sounds like the beginning of a Christmas letter, and the very statement I try to avoid.

Shortly after my last post, I left for the ASAA (American Society of Aviation Artists) conference held this year in San Diego. Prior to the conference beginning, I spent a great weekend at a mini family reunion at my sister's home near Riverside. Where, we asked ourselves, did all those little kids come from? We used to be the little kids and now we are the parents and grandparents!

The conference was great, and one of the days was spent aboard the USS Midway, now a museum i San Diego Harbor. My husband had flown off the carrier in 1972, and for him this was a poignant time of rememberance and reconnection. His son, who lives nearby, joined us on the ship, which made it an important time to be with his dad.

Since then, I finished the Air Force paintings, put a solo show together and entered the County Fair, where two of my three entries won ribbons. Other than that, the summer reading program never happened and the Kindle that I had to have goes unloaded.

But back to Alaska, and the second day of my two days at Operation Arctic Care!

We spent the morning hovering around the Armory learning about eye exams, seeing how glasses are ground and documenting the events that were happening there. Then we received word that the group that had been waiting to go to Point Hope would be loaded into an Army Sherpa, which freed up a helicopter for us. So we saddled up and headed for Kiana, about a half hour ride away. The heavy skies of the previous day had left us and we had brilliant sunshine, blue skies and glittering landscapes below. We visited with veterinarians performing exams on dogs, spent some time with the dental technicians and learned from our intrepid escort how to prepare an MRE (Meal Ready to Eat.). We were fascinated by how much food came out of that little bag! It was pretty good, too, although loaded with calories. We told ourselves that we could expend a great deal of energy keeping warm in the cold climate, and were grateful for the time to share the meals. We had a chance to talk with Rick & Mick, twins who have a music ministry that they take to young people wherever they can. The helicopter returned for us and we headed back to Kotzebue, arriving in time for supper at the Armory and afterward getting packed up to leave on the early flight south.

Here are my submissions to the Air Force Art Program along with a couple of shots of Kiana. I intend not to wait so long before posting again!

Day 2 in Kotzebue!

Weeks have gone by and a couple of people emailed to ask "What happened next?" I've been busy working on a commission, going back and forth to the chiropractor to deal with the aftermath of the rear ender that happened on May 1. But back to Kotzebue........

My roommate and I awoke to no hot water in the hotel. It was 18 degrees outside. I was bound and determined to proceed as normal, just in case we got to go to a village, just in case we were to get stuck, just in case I didn't know where the next shower would be-or if there would be one. So in remembrance of my one summer of commercial fishing at a set net site in Kodiak, I took a deep breath and took the plunge. Whew! Then I dressed in all the layers I could find to get warm again.

Our intrepid Captain Crabtree picked us up in the school bus and we headed for the Armory for breakfast. The cooks were serving grits- a favorite of mine- and so life was good. We spent some time photographing the eye exams and went to the section where eyeglasses were being made. They had brought in totes and totes of lenses and frames along with portable lens grinding equipment so that glasses could be made on the spot. Nearsightedness and farsightedness are big problems, and it was fascinating to see the machines go to work so that people could get their glasses made without having to wait weeks for prescriptions to be filled.

We got the news that we were to fly out to the village of Kiana, so we hustled back to the hotel to pick up our overnight gear and off we went to the airport to meet the helicopter. The people who had been trying to get out to Point Hope finally had a good weather day, and the National Guard brought in a Sherpa C23 to transport them and their gear. We caught a glimpse of the boxy aircraft as we drove by. A workhorse to be sure!

Our trip to Kiana, about a half hour away, was smooth and the weather was sunny. Instead of a study in values as was the day before, the landscape was bright with glistening snow and shadows. The Kobuk River Valley was picturesque. Traveling with us were Rick & Mick Vignuelle, a Christian ministry team from Alabama. Check out their website- www.rickandmick.com. They are fun loving guys who have a musical ministry designed to reach young people. While in Kiana, we learned about MREs- Meals Ready to Eat. MSgt Kiel was our personal chef, helping us to first get the packages open, add water, and wait for them to heat up. I had a vegetable cheese omelet which had an interesting texture, but was actually quite good. We had a short time to visit with the dental and veterinary teams before the helicopter arrived to pick us up. The commuter flight- a Bering Air Cessna Caravan-was sitting on the runway when we arrived at the Kiana airstrip, and snow machines began arriving from the village to deliver people for their flights to Kotzebue and beyond as well as pick up arriving passengers. We arrived in Kotzebue in time for dinner at the Armory. From there we went to the hotel to get packed up for our early flights home.

I've been putting together a montage of images for a painting of as many scenes as I can remember which I hope to have available in print later this summer. As soon as I finish the commission, I can get back to work on my Air Force pieces. The memories of the trip as well as the interaction with all the people we met are ones I hope to retain. Time seems to fade these memories away, and I'm so glad to be able to remain in contact with several of the people on Facebook.

The Village of Noorvik

After several days of having the computer in the shop, one would think I would have taken the time to organize my thoughts so as to be ready to write again. Well, stuff happens and this is the first I have been able to return.

My companion artist, Shiho Nakaza, and I made a quick trip to the hotel to grab our overnight gear, complete with sleeping bag "just in case" we might "get stuck." As a long time Alaskan, getting stuck out- or in- is a relative term. One could get stuck out at a fish or hunting camp, get stuck in Anchorage, or get stuck in town unable to get OUT. Weather is usually the issue. I have been stuck out due to fog, wind, snow, and even an erupting volcano. So the prospect, while intriguing, was not out of the realm of possibility. Given the experiences of the people who had been waiting to to to Point Hope, it's best to be ready.

But the weather, and the mechanical capabilities of the helicopter, cooperated and we were taken to the airport in Kotz, loaded up and lifted off over a snow covered land that appeared, to an artist, to be a study of values- lights and darks. Frozen ribbons of rivers wound their way through the plains that made up the landscape. After about a half hour ride, we were there. We were dropped off, a group from Noorvik was to be taken to Selawik further up the river, and we would be picked up in a couple of hours.

The Inupiat village of Noorvik is situated on the Kobuk River with a population of a little over 600. There is a nicely appointed clinic and high school/elementary school. The school district website describes Noorvik as a place where students hunt "caribou and moose, fish the rivers and lakes, ski, play basketball and surf the net...Travel is by snow machine, plane or boat." They study literature, art and math as part of daily life and "where an ancient culture is moving toward a promising future." It is indeed promising for youngsters in these remote parts of Alaska to have the connection with the outside world as well as with their heritage.

We visited the clinic where we met with Major Emily Cerreta as she was just finishing an examination with a toddler. Her interaction with the little boy as well as his young mother was endearing and we were able to see the child have enough confidence to be curious about the stethoscope and hold it in place over his own heart as Major Cerreta listened.

All too soon we were on our way to the airport where the helicopter arrived in the usual cloud of snow and wind. Back to Kotzebue and ready for more interesting events.

The drawing shown is of Ssgt Croxon photographing people loading the helicopter in Noorvik. This will be transferred to canvas today so that the painting can begin.

Day one....

We were up and ready early on our first day. After packing overnight bags, including sleeping bags in case we got stuck somewhere, we met in the lobby of the hotel 7:30 to meet the bus to the Armory. Our intrepid driver and XO of the mission, Captain Crabtee, was to become, like MSgt Kiel, one upon whom we would depend for transportation to and from whatever place we might be directed.

We had breakfast in the Armory- the best scrambled eggs I ever had! My image of military meals was of Igor, the camp cook from M.A.S.H. in the episode where he made the French toast in a vat big enough to hold a cow. Instead there were efficient tables with steam trays of eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon and ham.

We spent some time visiting with people giving and receiving eye exams before getting the word that we would be going to the airport to watch a group of doctors, nurses and techs be on their way to the village of Point Hope. They had been trying to get there for four days, but each time the weather was, as is normal in Alaska, uncooperative. There is a lot of hurry up and wait when it comes to travel.

The hangar was filled with gear and people in various stages of readiness and resignation with the delay. Three BlackHawk helicopters hopped over from the other side of the field in clouds of blowing snow, and loaded up. It wasn't long before they returned to the hangar, after one had a mechanical.

Next, we got word that since the helicopters weren't going to Point Hope, one would be available to take us and a medical crew to the village of Noorvik. We would be dropped off there while the BlackHawk went on to Selawik to deliver and pick up personnel and then return for us. Get ready!!!