Christie Taylor 1/22/25 Christie Taylor 1/22/25

January 16

Up early today to visit the West Coast and the Makah Museum on Neah Bay. On the way over, my daughter Ainslie and I had an amazing drive around Lake Crescent in the Deschutes National Forest within the Olympic National Park. Felt like we were traveling though a rain forest!(Hoh Rain Forest is about an hour drive from the lake) We had hoped to go to Hoh but the road was closed due to flooding. So - our first stop was Second Beach. The sun was beaming and followed us all day.

We then headed to Neah Bay to visit the Makah Museum. This tribe is related to the native peoples of the West Coast of Vancouver Island who live across the Strait of Juan De Fuca in British Columbia. https://www.makahmuseum.com Beautiful museum, particularly taken by the design of wooden boxes and basket weaving. We ate fry bread Indian Tacos at Pat’s Cafe. And, at the end of the day, took the trail to Cape Flattery (below) which is managed by the Makah Tribe. . It’s the furthest northwest tip of the contiguous United States where the Makah, the first people to live at Cape Flattery and used Tatoosh Island, a half a mile from the Cape for seasonal hunting and a whaling camp.. Spanish explorers came through the Strait looking for the Northwest Passage. Captain James Cook made his last voyage to this area and named the island after their chief. A lighthouse was constructed ini 1845 and was used as a defense site during WWII.

And, of course, there was sketching involved. .I love how theses stacks sit like monuments at the water’s edge. I have plenty of visual information on paper and in my memory to keep me busy in the studio.

Christie Taylor 1/22/25 Christie Taylor 1/22/25

January 15

Walking North Beach. Point Wilson Lighthouse in the distance.

Well, it looks like Ireland. Early morning walk in the fog. This beach on the north side has a cliff shadow that keeps it moody. The beach on the east side has more light. The sand wears a necklace of water soaked logs. Both beaches are a good place to explore – sketching and hunting for little wood. I never approach a residency with a planned agenda.. I prefer to learn from the landscape therefor I will spend my first few days sketching and then see what happens.

East side on Port Townsend Bay sketches today (below) The sun shined all day.

Canadian painter, Thom Thompson is on my mind. He was associated with The Group of Seven —Canadian landscape artists —who were influenced by his wilderness paintings and Post-Impressionism. Thompson had a brief business career in Seattle then returned to Toronto becoming a full time painter in 1913. He also worked as a wilderness guide at Algonquin Park. He drowned mysteriously in Canoe Lake in 1917 and became an iconic figure to fellow painters. Quote: The best I can do does not do the place justice in the way of beauty.

I have a book of his paintings at home and refer to it often. I am always struck by the abstraction, color palette —those highlights of yellow—and clarity of his forms. They meet the mark of beauty for me.