“I have lived in Oregon for over five years, and I had always heard that the desert in the middle and eastern parts of the state were really stunning. I'd seen pictures of the landscape there, and so I expected to encounter some magical sights. But what I didn't realize was just how beautiful literally everything was. It wasn't just the National Monuments that I visited that were so phenomenal. Every drive, every bike ride, every hike revealed stunning views. My favorite moments were riding my bike through the area and noticing all the beauty around me. It was so quiet most of the time that I was noticing all the sounds -- from crickets to coyotes howling to owls calling. It made me really want to spend more time of my life outside in nature and noticing all the sounds and smells and sights. I spend a lot of time rushing through life, meeting deadlines, moving from one meeting to another. This trip was completely the opposite. And, yet, I felt completely at home.

Originally I was supposed to travel to Kyoto. But then COVID happened, and that was no longer possible. So when I was asked if I would be willing to pivot to travel somewhere local, I realized this was an opportunity to do something totally different, and I embraced the crossroad with enthusiasm instead of feeling disappointment. This year has been about perseverance, not just for me, but for everyone. My Jaunt to the Painted Hills was part of that perseverance, letting go of expectations for what the year was supposed to bring and embracing the new reality. The image depicts the profile of a human face moving forward, enveloped by flora and birds into the future. I used my own profile to create the negative space that makes up the human profile, but it really could be any one of us making the very best of a very difficult year.”

Saturday, October 10, 2020

My dog Milkshake and I are at my studio today packing art supplies for our jaunt to The Painted Hills. I’m bringing three sketchbooks because you can never have too many options! Milkshake will be joining me for the adventure. She’s a great hiking buddy.

Monday, October 12, 2020

My dog Milkshake and I made the drive to The Painted Hills from Portland, Oregon in about four and a half hours. As we approached the area where we'll be spending the next week, I barely saw another car on the road. This area is very remote! I had a little time to spare before checking into my Airbnb so I decided to stop at the ACTUAL Painted HIlls, which is one of three sites in the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and the main reason I am here in this area. It was an awe inspiring site, and Milkshake and I took a short hike along a path to a lookout point. I'll definitely be going back to hike on some more trails there this week. There are two other sites as well, and tomorrow we'll be visiting Sheep Rock. 

After our short hike we took off to meet our host who showed us into our accommodations for the week: an 1800's one-room schoolhouse! I'll share more photos of that this week. I got settled, ate some dinner and started to draw outside on the lawn while taking in the magnificent view.

It got a bit chilly and so I went inside to make a fire and sit down at the art desk I created for myself. I took inspiration from the gorgeous textures and colors I saw earlier in the day.

I feel so lucky to be here. I haven't left the Portland area since the beginning of 2020 due to cancer treatment and then COVID. I also haven't been by myself without another human around in just as long. So I am soaking up all of the alone time (despite Milkshake's insistence for me to rub her belly) and taking in all of the sights, smells and sounds (there are many wild animals nearby!). I can't wait to share more.

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Today I slept until 8:00, which is very late for me! But this is a good sign, because it means I am relaxing. 

When I got up, I looked at the weather, and I noticed it was going to rain in a couple of hours. So I decided to head out quickly to Sheep Rock, which is part of the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument. I typed “Sheep Rock” into my phone's GPS, hopped in the car with Milkshake, and set off. The route took me on a winding dirt road for miles. And miles. And miles. For the first half, I said to myself, “Oh, this is so beautiful! I should put my gravel wheels on my bike and ride this tomorrow!” And then, as I got further and further from civilization (I saw only one other car on this entire road), I became a bit nervous. At one point, my GPS stopped working entirely and it started to pour rain, and I decided it was best to turn around and go back. I’m not sure what route to Sheep Rock I was on. I was literally in the middle of the wilderness. It’s a good thing I have a Suburu Outback, because I felt like I was literally in the Outback! The road was so bumpy that even Milkshake appeared frightened. At one point, I had to cross a small creek (no bridge). True adventure!

I did see many gorgeous things along that super long, winding gravel/dirt road. 

There are so many beautiful colors in this desert. The yellows are stunning. I am still thinking about how I can reflect that intensity in my work.

When I got back from my adventure, I made a "very accurate map” of my morning’s mishap in my sketchbook.

Sometimes being here feels like going back in time. It’s very rural. And staying in an old schoolhouse filled with antiques has got me thinking a lot about what life must have been like here back when it was settled. It felt appropriate to draw on some old cabinet portraits.

It looks like the weather will clear up tomorrow and I do plan to put my gravel tires on my bike and go for a ride in the morning. There are miles of scenic bikeways here in the Painted Hills area. I’m only a tiny bit scared of not having cell reception. You only live once, right?

And then I do also plan in the afternoon to get back in the car and try, using paved roads, to get to Sheep Rock again. Wish me more luck again.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Today I successfully made it to Sheep Rock. And it was phenomenal. Like the Painted Hills, Sheep Rock is part of the John Day National Monument. There are several sites within Sheep Rock to hike and see incredible gigantic rock formations, and Milkshake and I hit all of them. One of them included a fairly long and steep hike up to a lookout point. The park is known for its well-preserved layers of fossil plants and mammals that lived in the region between the late Eocene about 45 million years ago, and the late Miocene, about 5 million years ago. Before the arrival of White Americans in the 19th century, the indigenous Sahaptin people hunted, fished, and gathered roots and berries in the region. Paleontologists have been unearthing and studying the fossils here since 1864. The National Monument was established in 1975.

When you’re in Sheep Rock, there are parts where you almost feel like you are on another planet. The rock formations are so immense, and also so unusual. And there is so much hidden in them. One sign we passed read: ”These rock layers contain saber-toothed nimravids and three-toed horses…”

I have also been super enamored by the plant life here in the desert. I’ve been trying to get more information about everything I’m seeing, but having a hard time finding any information on this specific area online. The colors are mostly greens, ochres, yellows, whites, coral pinks, and browns. Last night I started playing a bit with the palette when I got back to the schoolhouse. When I head out on my bike tomorrow, I plan to stop and take more photos of colors and plants.

My day at Sheep Rock was long, and by the time I returned it was too windy to take a bike ride. Tomorrow (Thursday) as soon as it warms up I plan to head out and get a closer look at my immediate surroundings.

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Today was the most magical day! I woke up to a clear sky and sunshine and 35 degrees (that’s 1.6666 degrees celsius). I decided to wait until it warmed up a bit before hopping on my bike. I had scoped out a route the day before while I was in my car, and I am very lucky this week to be staying right along the Oregon Scenic Bikeway! Cycling is like church for me. And cycling in such an incredibly beautiful area is a dream come true. I was singing to myself the entire time. And I only saw three cars the entire ride. I pretty much had the entire road to myself. 

My ride was only 20 miles. But the first 10 miles I climbed almost 2000 feet. It was uphill the entire way. I am used to elevation gains riding in Portland. You can’t really ride in Oregon without climbing at some point! On the way down the mountain back into the valley where I am staying, I coasted most of the way and stopped to take photos of wildflowers and plant life and collect some specimens, which I put in my back pocket. When I got back, I spread everything on a table. 

After I returned from my ride, Milkshake gave me lots of kisses. I think she was excited that I returned and didn’t leave her in the schoolhouse by herself forever. Although, it’s completely obvious she loves it here, and I think secretly she doesn’t want to leave. She has free roam of the property and has been doing lots of exploring and chasing things.

After lunch my host Dickse came by to look at the pellet stove in the schoolhouse, which is my source of heat. It’s been acting up, so she came over to help troubleshoot. She also brought me lunch! She’s delightful and so accommodating. She even helped me identify all of the plant life I had collected. 

After Dickse left I got to work on a piece that I envisioned while I was riding. One of the reasons I love going on long bike rides is that I am totally in my body, and at the same time, I have so much time to think. 

Before I began painting, I set up my phone to record a timelapse video of myself making the piece. It’s a little crooked in spots, but you get the idea.

Here’s a photo of the final piece, which is gouache and oil pastel on canvas. It’s fairly large. And it is inspired by the colors, rocks, and plant life in the area. Of course, I’m using the most saturated versions of the colors I see (I can’t help myself). I swear, there is neon pink everywhere if you just look for it. 

I will leave you with a photo of Milkshake exploring at golden hour (and the mountain in the distance was really that color!). This place is really magical. I feel so lucky to be having this experience. 

Friday, October 16, 2020

Today I ventured back out to the Painted Hills with Milkshake. We embarked on every possible hike in the park together, one of which took us way up to a high lookout point! The painted hills are really interesting and formed by layers of clay from prehistoric times. The red and yellow clay layers mark different paleo environments. Red soils are an indication of a warm wet period. Yellow clays mean there was a cooler, drier time. Minerals in the eroded clays yield warm reds, yellows, and oranges, as the blend of iron and magnesium oxides break down or rust. The lavender colors are from lava flow. The tapestry is always changing due to erosion from wind and water and sun. Everyone one of these hills is so gorgeous, and they change colors with the light.  

After we returned from all of our hiking, I spent a lot of time today just sitting in the sunshine out in front of the schoolhouse and roaming the yard with Milkshake. We went foraging for desert artifacts together behind where we are staying. It was perfectly golden outside. 

I am getting sad to leave already. Tomorrow will be my last day of my Jaunt! Here is some art I made today in my sketchbook. 

Tomorrow I am off for a longer, more challenging bike ride and a visit to my final National Monument. 

Saturday, October 17, 2020

Today was my final day in rural Central Oregon! And it was another awe inspiring day of scenery. 

I woke up to a fairly warm morning (relative to all the other mornings this week) and decided to head out on a longer, more challenging bike ride through the area. I scoped out a route that was about 42 miles, and which connected directly to where I am staying. The first 1/3 or so was a winding, hilly gravel road. I had a chance to try out my new gravel wheels, and they performed flawlessly. The route went back past The Painted Hills and I got to see some of them up close along the road. 

Then, I turned left on Highway 26 and from there and onto Highway 207, I was climbing without relief for the next hour and a half! At one point I was cursing as the sun was beating down on me. There are very few trees here in this part of the desert, so shade is not something you find unless you are under a huge mountain or rock formation at the right time of day. Finally, I made it to the top of the climb and the rest of the way was downhill.

Right after I finished the climb:

All in all the ride was 3465 feet of climbing, which was tough but felt great after I was finished. I gobbled down some lunch, sat in the sun on the porch with Milkshake and made a plan to head out by car to the final destination for the week, the John Day National Monument at Clarno, which is a huge prehistoric fossil site. 

Milkshake is a champion hiker, and led me all the way up another steep trail where we saw this gigantic fossil of a tree trunk.

These rock formations are called The Palisades and they were formed when a succession of volcanic ash laden mudflow swept through a forested landscape about 45 million years ago. The layers, once deeply buried, have since eroded and now form this cliff. A ton of fossils are embedded in these rock layers, which show evidence that at one time, a lush, near tropical forest existed here. Over 300 plant species have been identified in the fossils, including 175 species of fruits and nuts alone! 

After our visit to Clarno, we drove the hour back to the schoolhouse and settled into our final glorious evening here. 

Thank you to Jeroen of The Jaunt for inviting me to be part of this program! It was incredible. While Japan was my original destination, I know I will go there at some point in the future,. And it was really awesome to visit such a spectacular place so close to my home. Plus, I never had to deal with jet lag! I can’t wait to go home and create a piece of art based on my experience here this week.