The Story of the Painting The Pataha, by Steve Henderson at Start Your Week with Steve:

We have friends, transplants from the Northwest, who live in the Southwest. And while the desert is beautiful, they say — filled with color and form and light striking dramatically against the landscape — it also does not compare to the Pacific Northwest.

The Pacific Northwest landscape encompasses everything from canyons to meadows, from mountains to rivers. The Pataha, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed print at Framed Canvas Art.

“Ultimately, there are no leaves,” our friends observe, “or greenery. The desert is beautiful, but plants tend to be filled with sharp, thorny things, and you don’t brush your hands against the foliage when you take a hike.”

The Pacific Northwest, even on the dryer side of the Cascade Mountains, is a riot of trees and bushes and flowers and grasses and leaves and flowers. It is every bit as beautiful as the Southwest, but in a far lusher way.

Yes, the Pacific Northwest is beautiful, and it is time that it be recognized as being so, especially in the world of art and appreciating beauty.

In The Pataha, the viewer is given a glimpse of a hidden Pacific Northwest canyon, tucked away in an eastern Washington enclave — not necessarily in full sight, but well within reach of the person who stops, gets out of the car, and takes a two-minute walk off to the side.

A wending, winding road hugs close to the hillside and lazily makes its way back into the countryside, eventually bringing the traveler to the small town of Starbuck — which enjoyed the name long before the coffee company appropriated it — where 150 people raise cattle, grow gardens, and support a close knit community of people who care about one another, and yet give each other space. The rural school of 30 children, one fifth the population of the town, is largely made up of students who bus in from distant, larger towns, because they want that small-school experience.

So is life in the rural Pacific Northwest — one of physical beauty of trees and greenery, amidst which live people who seek to live as independently as they can, because that’s the tradition of this area.

Read the rest, and subscribe to our free newsletter, at Start Your Week with Steve.

The Pataha is an original oil painting, 30 x 40, on canvas, with the frame included in its purchase.

The Pataha is also available as a licensed, open edition print at Framed Canvas Art. It is also available as a three-piece, vertical print set at Framed Canvas Art.

As always, feel free to contact Steve Henderson Fine Artdirectly by e-mailing Carolyn@SteveHendersonFineArt.com with your questions and comments about Steve’s original oil and watercolor paintings or licensed open edition prints.