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Sketchbook
I finished a sketch book yesterday. They are nice for all those drawings and paintings that are studies or just playing around.
Port Orchard Shore Bird At the Y there is a sign indicating special days, like Dad Joke Day. Wednesday it was Draw a Bird Day. I thought of my photo file of birds. This is the original image.
We were visiting family in my home town on the Puget Sound. There is a lot more wildlife there now since when I left home in the 1970s. It is a credit to the environmental movement that the herons are back, along with eagles.
In the old days the ships at the Naval Shipyard used to dump waste overboard. I remember warnings not to eat the fish caught in the bay, especially bottom feeders.
If we forget these things and fall back to our old ways, our feathered friends will not stay.
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Cumulus
Words 
Goose Island 
Presley Lane 
Nevada Sky 
Westmont 
Westmont 2 
Port Orchard 
Wyoming Grasslands 
Mississippi I’ve been cloud watching for some time. I recommend it. It is a good show, seen from anywhere and free of charge.
Here is a fun website – https://cloudappreciationsociety.org/
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Nevada Sky 2
Nevada Sky
Approaching
at freeway speed
the horizon
of mountains
rising from the golden
flatland
overseen by two lines of
clouds
white and tall behind
dark clusters in front
shadows darken
the angled hills
and my phone captures
in a box
the angle of our approach.
D. Carlson
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Nevada sky
I’m working on more vacation pictures. This photo was from the passenger seat in Nevada on the Interstate. Clouds!
Nevada Sky So this has clouds, shadows on the hills and pavement.
Making gray Here is the work in progress
Before pavement I’m hoping the cement divider and darker pavement will bring the clouds into balance.
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Artists all by the Trail
AATT Call to Artists through March.
Application https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ctDTtqMnWwzd5J6Ofajpy6mKFFTdPe4IjViI2dqzJCQ/edit?usp=drivesdk
Letter
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_rk6lveBXX2TyrlUgMPfdRfVd54-WPFNGX_njHJXwmk/edit?usp=drivesdk
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Hometown
Port Orchard was once named Slaughter, after a soldier. Not great for the tourist trade.
I found this scene while visiting this last September.
Port Orchard 
The ferry goes between Port Orchard and Bremerton.
Result,
Morning in PO -
The Face
Five eyes wide
And seven tall
Pupils at the midline
Mouth one third to chin
Ears from brow to nose
It’s standard
Yet we see each other
Facial recognition scans a crowd
To find a felon in flight
Parents find their child
Lovers their love
It’s easy to draw a face
But not so easy
for that face.
TV faces 
TV faces 
Coffee shop 
At Panera 
TV faces
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Rainier
This is the third installment of Fun with Bob. The reference photo is Mt. Rainier over Lake Washington.
Process The snow on the mountain is part of the overall wash of blue, it only looks white by contrast.
The mist was worth the workshop. I have tried and failed before.
I’m happy with the result.
Rainier in the Mist -
Fun with Bob
I’m joining Bob Witte on Tuesdays at Studio Gallery 1311 for collective painting.
Bob Paint often, listen to others and try things. There is nothing gained by timidity. You only lose paper at the worst.
With reflection 
In process 
Bob’s -
Grasslands
Leaving Edgemont,
passing Mule Junction
And nearing Signature Rock
We stopped for a golden moment
In the Grasslands.
The sun rising over the trees
And warming the awakening
Slope of dried grasses.
An image,
A moment that remains
On my mind.
It takes several tries to recreate
What the Maker shaped
Over geological time.
For what end?
For me to see along with
How many others?
Or perhaps for the
Joy of the Maker
In making
Dave Carlson 11/20/25
Grasslands
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Two Book Reflections 