In the winter of 2020 I set out one morning to drive along the Samish Flats hoping to spot a snowy owl that had been reported there. Along the way, roadside fields were scattered white with snow patches, confusing my view of what may or may not be a perched snowy owl.

Persistence, however, paid off when suddenly I could see a single bird glowing white in the middle of an expanse of plowed ground. It was a clear view and an encounter from my car, and when it later took to flight, all the elements of time, place and subject combined to inspire my oil painting I call Rise Above 2020. 

This work currently hangs near my artist studio at the La Conner Skagit Cellars.

“I find my inspiration in the interlacing farmland throughout Skagit Valley, the surrounding seascapes of the Pacific Northwest and a plethora of surrounding mountain ranges.“

— Contributed by Eve McCauley-Chomiak

For Artist’s Corner, Salish Current welcomes readers to share images that capture the spirit of our natural and built environments, including the creatures and people who live here. Submittals must be works in your possession and not promotional. Please contact Salish Current Managing Editor Mike Sato (msato@rockisland.com) to let us know what you’d like to share and why.