"Looking East" Oil on Canvas by Sola Raynor

"Looking East" Oil on Canvas by Sola Raynor, 24" Square
 
Raynor's technical prowess is on full display with this piece. A large canvas with an almost photographic quality: the reflection on the water, with its mirrored hues, the pale mountainscape in the background, and the near crystal depiction of the flora as a subject. Her impressive addherance to capturing the landscape as it appears, without embelishment or abstraction, makes this a very important piece of Eastern Washington representational art. 
 
Sola Raynor was born in Spokane and attended Eastern Washington University,
receiving an MSW in 2007. She currently lives in Spokane Valley. When she is
not painting she enjoys reading, drawing, and gardening.
 
The Inland Northwest’s natural beauty inspires Sola’s work. She paints with a
limited palette, mixing most of her colors by hand so as to capture the nuances of
light and shadow. She paints plein air, or in-studio using photographs.
Among her artistic inspirations are English landscape paintings, the works of
Dutch Masters, and the Hudson River School. She finds joy in capturing the glint
of an autumn leaf, the sparkle of sunshine on a stream, the reflection of pine
trees on a quiet pond.
 
Sola believes that for people with busy lives, peaceful living spaces are essential.
Collectors in the Pacific Northwest have found tranquility and calm in Sola
Raynor’s oil paintings and watercolors. Her art has been exhibited in Portland,
Oregon; Port Townsend, Washington; and in Spokane at the Chase Gallery, the
annual Terrain event, and Avenue West Gallery. Her work is also featured in the
SCLD Spokane Creators Website and has been included in online shows.