Oil on canvas. 24″ x 36″ by Lee Munsell. Sea Lion Rocks. Ecola State Park, Oregon.
About the artist:
Lee Munsell is a West Coast resident, and studied art at the Otis Art Institute. His work graces the walls of corporations, churches and private residences throughout the United States. His life is a balance of church, family, art, surfing…in that order.
Munsell is a Luminist, as he explores a range of naturalistic subject matter with a sensitive eye for varying degrees of luminosity. He takes on the more difficult subjects of water, its weight, and its under tow in the tidal current.
The art critic William Havlicek wrote: “Munsell uses nuances of light to create transcendent evocations. At a time when excess is a great temptation for an artist, it is refreshing to find an individual like Munsell who embraces time-honored tradition then attempts the difficult. He may approach a silent mountain terrain where clouds and light are as much the subjects of the work as are the peaks, rivers and strong pines. Munsell explores the profundity of water and light, presenting a shimmering work on rocks, or a glow of luminosity in back lit waves. Taking effects of light is his way of expressing a belief in a supernatural orgin for the natural universe. He seeks to convey the timeless and lasting effects of creation.”
Lee Munsell’s art on display.
“One gets the feeling that Munsell wants to communicate more about his subject than paint alone can suggest. Munsell’s works have a staying power which gains the more the works are experienced.” –Denise Fairweather, gallerist
His art has been selected for the Laguna Festival of the Arts, a sought after juried show. His work is exhibited in selected galleries throughout the United States including a one man how at the World Art Gallery in Orange County. He has traveled throughout the world to gather insights, takes photographs and does pencil sketches that allow him to take the inspiration for new work later in his studio along the Pacific Coast.
Lee Munsell in his studio.
The inspiration for the art:
“I have often had a retrospective vision where everything in my past life seems to fall with significance into logical sequence. Intuition, suspicion, or confidence in new ventures; there is a strange strain within me when advantage is not taken of some situation, the immediacy of recognition of the rightness or wrongness of a mood, a response, a decision – they are so often valid that I am increasingly convinced that we have yet to grasp the reality of existence.” –Ansel Adams
About the location: ECOLA STATE PARK.The first recorded journey by an American to what is now Ecola State Park was made by William Clark, one of the leaders of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. In 1806, Capt. William Clark and twelve members of the Corps of Discovery climbed over the rocky headlands south of Seaside Oregon (today called Tillamook Head) through thick trees to get to the whale in what is now Ecola State Park, Cannon Beach, Oregon.
Clark applied the name “Ekoli” to what is now Ecola Creek. Ehkoli is a Chinook word for “whale”.
Today there is more to the park than rich history. Surfers ride the waves at Indian Beach. Spot migrating gray whales during winter and spring.
For more information please read:
Whale Watching – Oregon State Parks and Recreation http://www.whalespoken.org/
Watching Whales in Oregon and the Whale Watching Spoken Here® program. Whales in Oregon! People come from all over the world to learn about the gray …
Image: It’s a fluke. Michael Wing/PacificLight Images.
Location Seaside Cove.
Proceeds to support NCLC.
For more information about the photographer and to view more images please visit http://www.fairweatherhouseandgallery.com/artists/ Michael Wing and Neal Maine.
The exodus of gray whales heading south along the Oregon Coast is beginning. Each year, from mid-December to mid-January, around 20,000 whales swim from the cold Alaskan seas to the warm lagoons of Baja Mexico. The mass migration creates the potential for one of nature’s most dramatic views.
To read more about the Oregon great whale migration please go to: http://www.dailyastorian.com/
Ecola State Park is a good place to watch…Zach Urness reporter
Top 10 places to spot whales from Oregon Parks and Recreation:
1. Cape Foulweather
2. Cape Ferrelo
3. Cape Lookout
4. Cape Meares
5. Don Davis
6. Ecola State Park
7. Face Rock
8. Neahkahnie Mountain
9. Spanish Head
10. Shore Acres
