Drift wood sticks from Second beach, Washington

Second beach

It’s been years since my last travel. I was happy that my family could take a vacation trip to Seattle, Washington on July 4th weekend. During this visit, we took a day off the city and drove all the way to coast of Pacific ocean. We saw the snow mountains in Olympic National Park. It was such an appealing view and so different from Midwest. We drove to this place called Second beach close to La Push.

There was a 0.8 mile trail that led down to the beach through a rain forest. Once we were on the beach, the first thing caught my eyes was these giant dead trees. Lots of drift woods. You can compare those tree’s size to the camper behind it or the surfboard. Tons of smaller woods and branches located near the trail end. I was so excited. 😀 I realized that I got a chance to get myself a piece of drift wood! So, I helped myself when kids were playing sand and wave with their dad. I could only pick smaller one due to my backpack size. Eventually, I was able to find four drift wood sticks that I like.

DIY drift wood crafts

After we got back home I started to think about making these drift wood sticks into unique souvenirs. The first one I made is the fourth stick missing from photo above. I was so concentrate on etching it and forgot to take a photo beforehand. Maybe I should write La Push rather than Olympic National Park but the park sounds better. I painted it with oil based marker like before.

The next one I made is my “magic wand”. Etching only this time, no color.

Size comparison with my hand

I keep the rest two drift wood sticks for some macramé project, maybe. I need to resume my paintings next week.

A little extra

It is amazing that Northwest of Washington has enriched Native American culture. There is Native American art everywhere, on ferry, on road sign and on house exterior wall. What more interesting is that these tribe artworks are so similar as traditional, or should I say ancient Mexican tribe art. It gives me the feeling that the Native American tribe in Northwest coast is related to Maya/Aztec culture.

Simply amazing~ ❤

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My paintings are an outlet to express the imagination I have inside my head that I can not put into words. After trying many mediums, I always find myself coming back to paint and brushes. In my current artistic practice, I use oil paint and mainly create portraits of mythical creatures and animals transfixed in the shifting colours of seascapes and landscapes. There is a natural spirit and magic to these creatures and their energy draws me in. Choosing to paint these creatures as real living wildlife rather than abstractions, I use bold and vivid colours to express the imaginary intertwined with reality, finding magic between the seams. Using a saturated colour palette, I create bold and striking imagery, contrasted between foreground and background, subject and landscape, and light and darkness. Weaving their bodies and the surface of the landscape into each other through organic forms and flowing brush strokes, I find beauty, strength and innocence in these creatures that reflect my inner world.