"Lakeside Fishing Shelters"

I painted this piece at Ward Lake, which is likely our most popular trail and recreation area. There are people who fly fish at the little shelters in this painting every day. There are steelhead and trout in the lake, and the shelters are located right where Ward Creek flows into the lake. In the fall, the lake and creek are packed with spawning pink and coho salmon.

As usual, I sat on my little stool to paint this with my hiking gouache paint kit, surrounded by my three border collies, and this morning, the air was calm, the bald eagles were calling and three trumpeter swans were paddling at the edges, feeding on the plants on the lake's bottom.