Voices of Cowiche Canyon

In every season, I love to walk through Cowiche Canyon and then return to my studio to translate the nature voices I hear and see into art. The mixed media pieces below (liquid acrylic, colored pencil, and archival color pen) are taken from my ongoing series “Voices of Cowiche Canyon.” The size of the originals is 8”x 8”. The paper is 100% rag Stonehenge with a deckled edge.

My studio in Tieton, Washington is only a 15-minute drive to beautiful Cowiche Canyon, one of Yakima area properties that the Cowiche Canyon Conservancy owns and manages for public benefit. The canyon offers a pedestrian walking trail along Cowiche Creek, as well as several upland trails. All trails are surrounded by native shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, and sage that spread out from the riparian wetlands adjacent to the creek itself. Year round, the air is filled with the comforting sounds of the rushing creek, birdsong, and the hypnotic hum of crickets. The creek is also home to several beaver colonies that provide “stream and habitat restoration services” that help the collective ecosystem thrive.