Blog

There is so much to be thankful for when spring arrives:  the crocus's slowly creep up out of the earth then display their beautiful buds, the trees blossom adding beauty and sweet fragrance to the air, and all of nature starts to come alive after a long winter's sleep.  All of these occurrences make my heart sing but the one thing that impresses me the most is the spring thaw of the mountain snow packs causing the waters to rush through the rivers and cascade over rock formations creating gorgeous waterfalls.

Twin Falls, Idaho boasts one of the nation's most spectacular waterfalls that is often referred to as the "Niagra of the West".  I am referring to Shoshone Falls that is an impressive 212' tall (taller than Niagra's 167') and is 900' wide.  The falls are formed as the Snake River cascades over basalt rock formations on its way to the Columbia River.  I was so taken with a picture I saw of the falls that I asked my husband to accompany me on a trip to Twin Falls in the spring of 2019 so I could see this wonder of nature for myself.  My first view of the majesty of the falls literally took my breath away.   I took several reference photos so I could put the image to canvas in acrylics.  This 24" x 30" x 2" acrylic painting on panel board is the result.  It is simply titled "Shoshone Falls".  Shoshone Falls is #2 in the top 100 waterfalls in the Pacific Northwest.

Another of our travels took us to the beautiful Snoqualmie Falls in the spring when the waters of the Snoqualmie River flow over the 270' drop in volcanic rock to continue on below as the water travels on to join the Skyhomish River.  This beautiful falls and surrounding park attract over 1.5 million visitors a year.  The falls is approximately 100' wide when the water is flowing at its largest capacity.  My painting, "Snoqualmie Falls", is done in acrylics on 36" x 24" x 1/2" gallery wrapped canvas.  Snoqualmie Falls is #3 in the top 100 falls in the Pacific Northwest.

Spokane, Washington, my home, is blessed to have the Spokane River running through it.  The river has two falls, upper and lower, in the downtown area that are quite spectacular in the spring with the mountain snow run off.  The total drop of the upper and lower falls is said to be 146' but the upper falls drops only about 23'.  The drop may be small but in the spring run off in this part of Spokane Falls is very impressive.  I am very blessed to live in Spokane and to be able to visit this falls often.  It was after one of these visits that I felt impressed to paint the upper falls.  The painting "Upper Falls of the Spokane River" is done in acrylics on 11" x 14" x 1/2" gallery wrapped canvas.

There are so many beautiful waterfalls to see around the world but I am truly blessed to live in an area of the United States that has 4,855 known waterfalls.  So far I have visited about 20 of those total.  I believe I have a long way to go if I want to see even 1/4 of them.  I also have a lot more painting to do to paint the ones I have already visited.

We are living in an unprecidented time with the COVID-19 virus running rampant and keeping us in our homes, but when all of that is over get outside and enjoy the beauty of nature!  Also take a moment to visit a local art gallery.