A month on the central Oregon Coast

June, 2024 

Yachats, OR

I love the central Oregon Coast!

More rugged than the Northern Coast, but still some beaches for kite flying.  Oregon's forests and cliffs come right down to the ocean here and the result is stunning and dramatic!  Yachats is a delightful little town between Florence and Newport with just the right amount of amenities for indulgence and loads of accessible coastline to enjoy.  Temperatures were such a relief from Southern Arizona - in fact, I was a bit chilly and had to augment my wardrobe with a couple trips to Goodwill for long-sleeves - I'll have a better packing list for next summer!

From my rental, it was less than a block to the bluff - the 804 trail took me into town southward, or all the way to Waldport - 7 miles north.  Phoebe and I walked every day - a lot!  She has muscles showing in her legs and hips again.

The bluff was covered in this flowering shrub

All along the coast, towns sport these cool little sculptures.

Aftera storm, the surf came in thick and creamy

Travel Sketching

When I didn't want to take the time to sketch plein aire (it was often cold and windy!), I'd do a quick sketch in my 3x5 daily sketcher, snap a few photos and then do a bigger sketch at home.

I was using a Cheap Joe's Killimanjaro 5.5x10" (14x25 cm) Paintbook for the first time.  I thought I would like the alternating pages of sketching paper with 140# (300gsm) 100% cotton paper.  I loved it!!

Another super feature of the Paintbook is that the first sheet is 300# (600gsm) and is intended to be painted as a cover for the sketchbook - I think this is a really inspired idea, especially for a themed sketchbook like this Travel Journal!

I used the sketching paper for journaling, thumbnails, value sketches, and sketching!  

Practicing waves and rocks - kind of new subject matter.

I loved walking through the tree-lined walk-ways along the bluff - the lighting was always very dramatic!

Sketched onsite using the thin paper - it will take a light wash.

Day trips to Florence and Newport were great for finding images in the marina.  I have tons of reference photos that will be foundational for some paintings this fall.

Done Plein Aire

I loved all the ropes, balls, old crab nets, etc that litter the marina docks and that people have used for landscaping.  They add a lot of local color.

I was lucky to be included in a tide pool tour given by the Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve.  So much information and a view of the rocks and tide pools that I don't normally see.

This beach cave was identified by the neon green moss growing along the cliff outside.

Inside a beach cave - you really needed a flashlight to see the back!!

The sea stars are  making a huge comeback after years of a wasting disease toppled their numbers and endangered the whole coastline eco-system.  The lack of sea stars allowed an over-population of purple sea-urchins which now threatens the whole coastline eco-system. Along with the re-bounding of the sea star population, ecologists hope that re-introducing sea otters to this region will bring the system into balance again.

Too soon it was time to leave the coast for the high desert and forests of Bend Oregon.