“Blue Morning”

48” x 30” acrylic on canvas, unframed with painted sides (frame not necessary)

- SOLD -

Sometimes I imagine cold foggy mornings when trolley cars ruled the city. Portland has plenty of these days throughout fall and winter. I thought it would be fun and interesting to recreate a similar morning 70 years ago. One thing was obvious in my research - SE Morrison and Grand has always been a busy intersection. I found an old black and white photo of this scene (on a sunny day) and went to work to make it a blue day. Many other things have changed since then. Morrison Avenue was not ramped (to Grand Avenue) before the newer (Morrison) bridge was build in 1959. Prior to that, Portland’s first bridge over the Willamette dropped DOWN to the east side industrial area, closer to the water. The Mt. Tabor trolley captured here, climbed UP to the intersection. The building with the Rainier Beer sign still exists today. And the historic John Deere Plow building in the back drop is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This painting is a continuation of my work with a palette knife and my movement toward a more impressionistic style. There are lots of layers and texture to this piece.