Another photograph of McGrew painting


Afternoon Light on Merced Lake, by James McGrew, oil, 6 x 8 in.

Paintings by James McGrew are included in the current exhibition at the Knowlton Gallery in Lodi: California Gems, August 28-September 29, 2012. McGrew teaches and inspires groups on weeklong backpack trips, evening programs, and hikes. He backpacks several hundred miles a year, always with a pochade, tripod, and cameras. He then spends most of the winter months in his Oregon studio, developing larger studio paintings from those summer studies. "I prefer to get out and paint directly from life in the fresh air, with rugged hikes, and rapidly changing light and weather that makes plein air painting so challenging and rewarding," he says. "In the winter my studio is just a short walk from the slope of an old shield volcano with walking paths leading to view of Mounts Hood, Adams, Rainier, St. Helens, and the Coast Range."

Approaching Tuolumne Pass, by James McGrew, oil, 6 x 8 in.


Across May Lake, by James McGrew, oil, 8 x 6 in.

Other artists who are part of the California Gems exhibition are Charles Muench, Kathleen Dunphy, and Charles Waldman. For more information, visit www.jamesmcgrewfineart.com or www.knowltongallery.com.