Marcia Cook

Artist's Statement:
A love of the great outdoors inspires me to paint. Living in this fast paced world, my goal is to offer my viewer a place to rest their eyes and quiet their soul. I invite you to be a presence in my paintings, to take part in that moment with me. The landscape, in all its varying moods, is my invitation to take pencil, sketch book and camera in hand, to venture out and explore the spirit of place.

As an impressionist painter, my goal is to impart the essence of the world I live in by the use of color and varying brushstroke. I invite you, the viewer, to visualize a summer thunder storm, and to feel the wind as it moves through a field of ripening grain or the heat of the sun as it touches your head. You will find splashes of color on the distant hill as the clouds send shadows flitting across the landscape. You may catch glints of light as a stream tumbles over the rocks in its bed. Experience with me the rich dark recesses of a forest and the soft light of a summer morning. The peacefulness of the landscape as I experience it is my gift to you in each piece that is created.

"Catherine Creek"
12x16, framed in 1" gold leaf wood frame with 2" wrap around linen liner and 1/4" gold fillet. Catherine Creek flows in the Wallowa Mountains and is a favorite camping and picnic spot. This painting was done on location with the hint of fall already visible on the surrounding foliage. I loved the play of light on the rocks against the dark shadows and the blue of the creek.

"Summer Shadows"
24x36, framed in 3" driftwood frame with 1" linen liner and 1/4" gold fillet. Hurricane Creek runs through a ranch in Enterprise, OR that I was visiting in July. The trees along the creek seemed to be sentinels watching over the pastures below. It was such a lovely spot that I had to recreate the setting on canvas. I love the rural landscape and this was one more scene in a seemingly endless supply from which to choose

"Aspen Walk"
18x24; framed in 2" wood grain with 1" linen liner and wood grain fillet The beauty of an aspen grove has always been a favorite place in which to paint and walk. The setting makes me feel as if sitting in a golden cathedral with the music of rustling leaves all around me.

"Breakers"
16x20; framed in 1"gold leaf with 2 1/2" gold wrap around linen liner and 1/4" gold fillet. Having been raised in the Pacific Northwest, I've always been drawn to the ocean. Many times our family has camped along Puget Sound and enjoyed various beaches along the Pacific Coast. This particular site caught my eye and we stopped long enough to take pictures and sketch. The crashing waves and light of the setting sun accentuated the greens and blues of the surf.