I appreciate all the seasons here in the Pacific Northwest but I find myself looking forward every year to the end of winter. One of the signs is when the Rhododendrons begin to bloom. In this case these are not our native Rhodys but the domestic ones "gone wild". There was a beach cabin that sat at this incredible location near Hug Point until about 20 years ago when the state parks service grew tired of the upkeep and being landlords. The local fire department, as a practice drill burned the house down. It didn't take long for the vegetation to spread out and fill in the spaces. Now all that is left of the home site are these beautiful mature Rhododendrons.

Having painted this area several times from different angles and in various light my goal was to capture it as the morning sunlight bathed the land in warmth and the low clouds begin to retreat back out to sea. It proved to be the most challenging in this series of paintings to date. It took a lot of work and all my experience to complete, but I'm especially satisfied with the finished results.     Jeff