Lisk-Landscape

Snake River

2011-10-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

Being in the right place at the right time is a large part of photographic success. Light and natural elements that create the oppurtunities for exceptional images are many times fleeting. On this morning I was lucky. The Snake River flows just 25 yards from my living room window and I was able to photograph a fall fog rise with a fresh cup of coffee in the backyard.

The Simple natural world

2011-10-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

Pure graphic elements enhance the natural world, by introducing a change in foliage and the low light of fall. Simple line and rhythm of nature rise to their peak and quickly head into winter.

Payette Lake

Meadow Creek

Targhee National Forest

"Fish On"- Big Hole River

2011-09-08T14:11:00.000-07:00

There is so much about Montana that is, "The West". Fishing the pure water of the Big Hole River gave me one more reason to think just that. Crystal clear water flows 155 miles from its source high in the Beaver Head Mountains. This range separates Montana from Idaho at the continental divide, and produces some of the best trout fishing in North America.

Brooks Montgomery and Chris Hart, Owners of Hart Montgomery, a company that represents an array of fishing industry companies, were kind enough guide the Outcast photo shoot down their little backyard river. Leading us to many fish and brilliant scenic locations. To view more images of this photo shoot click the Big Hole link.

God said, "shoot with your iPhone"

2011-08-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Driving down interstate 90 in the lush Silver Valley of Northern Idaho a voice spoke to me, saying, "shoot with your iPhone". Having just seen the Blues Brothers, and with the exit for the Cataldo Mission in sight, it could only mean one thing. I was on a Mission from God.

The Mission of the Sacred Heart, was built by Missionaries and members of the Coeur d'Alene tribe between 1850 and 1855. This is the oldest standing building in the state of Idaho, and is listed on the national registry of historic places.

All images © Mark Lisk

Bear Grass

2011-08-03T11:36:00.000-07:00

This cool summer has given way to a beautiful and long lasting wildflower season. The Lupine and Beargrass in the higher and cooler regions of Idaho are in prime shape. Now, in this first week of August, it feels like late june in the high country.

Images form Crystal Lake Wilderness Study Area, St. Joe National Forest.

oCoast on the iPhone

2011-07-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

The weather was not quite right for the "classic landscape" on last weeks visit to the Oregon coast. So I improvised and shot with my iPhone. A new way of looking at landscape. A landscape where the light not being perfect was perfect. Pure composition and mood. click to view more coast images.

Like a stone on a beach, washed in and out by the sea.

Unsettled by a tide with no sense of time.

Direction from an unfamiliar provenance,

Withstanding for a brief period.

The pebble gives way to the tide, or is plucked from its repose

by the collector, and placed in a bucket.

Owyhee Bloom

2011-06-25T19:08:00.000-07:00

Nothing but dirt, rocks, and if your lucky the occasional flower. This year if you ventured into the Owyhee Desert it is hard not to get lucky. This spring has been an exceptional wildflower season. Still in full swing this last week of June, and should stay with us for another week or two.

This grouping of Lupine can be photographed from the McIntyre Ridge Road near 3 Fingers Butte. The roads are in good shape and the camping is good at near by Succor Creek State Park, in the far eastern edge of Oregon.

Three Fingers Butte, known by the locals as Three Fingered Jack rises above the sage brush floor near Succor Creek State Park.

Dam Spring Runoff

2011-06-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

"It reminds me of the north sea." The Dam Manager of the Owyhee Dam told me. Cold and violent, the green water of the spillway crashes into the basalt cliffs that hold the footings of the Owyhee Dam. Creating the sea green waves mimicking that of a volatile sea. (click here to see more dam photos)

The Owyhee Dam built in 1929 stands 417 feet and served as the prototype for the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River near Las Vegas.

Redfish Lake Pedestrians

2011-03-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

Jerri's new "Redfish Lake Pedestrian Series", will be on exhibit at the Lisk Gallery, on this First Thursday Artwalk, March 3rd from 6-9pm..

Through a long ago series of rock sketches the Pedestrian Series was born. In earlier paintings the round stretched out pedestrians forms were very sculptural, standing in sweeping landscapes. Not unlike the shapes of trees, that are traditionally present in her work. In this new series the individuals become more illustrative and center around Redfish Lake in her home state of Idaho.

"There is always such a, Seurat, feeling to the beach at Redfish, in this series I was inspired by his sensitivity to people".

"This has been a very enjoyable project. In these winter days, it feels good to think of Spring and Summer again, and there is nothing more enjoyable than the Sawtooth National Forest in the Summer".

To view current work of both Jerri Lisk, and the stunning photograhic landscapes of Mark Lisk, please check our Lisk Gallery website recently updated.

Winter in the Joe

2011-02-25T10:17:00.000-08:00

Traditionally in Idaho, February accumulates its largest snow fall. There is a misconception that this time of year is drear and withdrawn from color, but when examined, the subtle radiance of this season produces extraordinary color.

With help of a local North Idaho outfitter Peak Adventures and twenty three inches of fresh snow, last week was a great time to experience and photograph the winter landscape. The weather broke and we spent two cold nights in the remote Idaho back country.

These are winter images from Mark's recent project with the Coeur d'Alene tribe in the St. Joe National Forest. To view more image follow this hot link to Mark's web page.

The Power of Water

2011-01-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

A week of warm weather has pushed the water levels up in the desert rivers of the west. A big charge of muddy water pushed through the Palouse River canyon in the southeast corner of Washington. Rushing through basalt cliffs and over Palouse Falls, a two hundred foot drop, then making its way its confluence with the Snake River 6 miles below.

The power of water cutting through solid rock is illustrated to perfection in the desert rivers of the west. The Columbia plateau, is just one example of it strength, illustrated with hundreds of small pothole lakes dotting the basalt terrain.

New Studio Inspirations

2011-01-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

Warm light streams through the windows facing the river and fills the walls of the new studio. All of Jerri's new work has been produced in the new space, and several pieces reflect the change and growth of her unique style.

Jerri will be exhibiting fourteen new pieces in her annual show at the Patricia Rovzar Gallery in Downtown Seattle, January 6th through the 31st.

December Shows

2010-11-30T19:39:00.000-08:00

Jerri Lisk is delighted to be represented this December by two of the Northwests finest art gallery's. The Patricia Rovzar Gallery Annual Group Show, in Seattle Washington, and the Art Spirit Gallery 12 th Annual Small Works Invitational, in Coeur d'Allene Idaho.

Jerri is honored to be part of these annual exhibits and to be included in this notable group of artists.

Look for information on Jerri's Annual Solo show in January 2011 at the Patricia Rovzar Gallery in our upcoming newsletter.

Follow us on twitter, facebook, and on our blog by clicking on the icons below, or visit us at the Lisk Gallery by clicking on this link.

Warm Fall Days

2010-09-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sitting under the canopy of giant pines enjoying the last of the warm days of summer. I can see that the sunlight has begun to change. Warm fall light, perched low on the southern horizon is consorting with the landscape. Fall is a wonderful time for photographs.

Click to view more fall images.

Warm light hangs in the air, filtering through trees, and extending across the still pools of Lapwai Creek. Blue shadows are broken with the intense reflection of near by aspen.

Photographs from the image library of Mark Lisk.

Grand Canyon Monsoon

2010-08-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

They said it was going to be hot in the canyon, but I had no idea. July in the Grand Canyon. Water, and late afternoon monsoon rains our only saving grace. The daily temperatures 106 to 114, with lows in the upper 80's and low 90's.

View from ledge camp

Water spilled over the canyon rim falling several hundred feet. Countless small water falls from the afternoon thunder storm cut through the ancient schist that forms the canyon walls, inspiring pointed thought.

Silver Grotto

Travertine Falls

Time

2010-06-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Alone on a ridge, the quiet onlooker. An observer to the passage of time, gathering stories that span many cultures and generations. With no voice for expression, I put my hand on the giants in an attempt to gain some wisdom and influence. Speculating on experience and listening through contact.

These images from Mark's recent travels to the St. Joe National Forest. Crystal Lake Wilderness Study Area.

50 Series

2010-06-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

Every year Jerri Lisk creates 50 new 4x5 inch original paintings for her annual 50 Series. These paintings are based on sketches collected during the years wanderings. This years collection is exceptionally diverse touching on her enthusiasm for aspen, and zeal for desert canyon lands.
It is an exciting show and one that Jerri looks forward to year after year. This collection of 4x5 inch original paintings will be on exhibit in our downtown Boise Gallery during the months of July and August.

A series of sketches from an aspen grove in the Dixie National Forest, The Grand Staircase of the Escalante.

Canyonland series of sketches from the Owyhee desert.

The shuttle driver

2010-06-01T09:01:00.000-07:00

The Owyhee desert, has an unlimited amount of unique landscapes, many of which are not easy to get to. The old adage, you cant get there from here applies in many instances. In late winter and spring that adage is even more crucial. Wet roads are impassible and you will be stuck for a while.

May and June weather in the Owyhee Canyonlands is a bit dicey at best. A good rule of thumb in the desert is,(always carry a tarp, extra provisions, and a good shuttle driver). When I say good shuttle driver I mean, someone with exceptional driving skills, but more importantly, entertainment value at camp. You never know when you may be stuck face down in the muck. 24 hours of rain equals 24 more hours under a 12x12 tarp with your close friends waiting for the desert to dry out.

Patients will eventually be rewarded with the spectacular photographic images in Americas newest wilderness area.

Dan Gottsch, "The Owyhee Jackass". For shuttle info email gottsch1@mindspring.com

Note,Dan is quite a good tarp pole dancer.

Cathedral Valley

2010-05-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

The Cathedral Valley is one of my favorite places to photograph. A small state park in southern Nevada. The eroded benonite cliffs create caverns and monoliths that are very conducive to black and white images as well as color.

"An interval.

A peripheral, short lived,

captured in a photograph.

Never to be duplicated."

-Mark William Lisk-

Images from last weeks trip through Nevada in route to a warmer climate in Arizona.

Between Two Canyons

2010-05-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

The desert can inspire and change the heart of the beholder. That is true for the inclination and evolution of Jerri Lisk most recent series of paintings, Between Two Canyons.

Her current show at the Calvin Charles Gallery in Scottsdale Arizona marks her transformation into a desert series of colorfully illustrated works, from the Owyhee Canyonlands in her home state of Idaho, to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River.

Homestead

2010-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

It was a cold week on the South Fork of the Owyhee River. High temperatures in the lower 40's and lows below freezing, formed ice in our water bottles and morning snow on our tents. The freezing temperatures were made tolerable by the jaw dropping landscape and the tales of an incredible woman that accompanied the trip. This was not an ordinary excursion, on this trip was a woman who in the 1920's grew up in an old homestead on the banks of the river. Her father worked hard, in a hard country, building a life for her family in the Owyhee Canyonlands. The stories were amazing.

I did not hear her complain about the cold, or hardships of the past. She was a positive woman, drawing strength from memories, and a lifestyle gone by. View more images of the South Fork Owyhee.

Earth Day

2010-04-23T06:40:00.000-07:00

Reflect on Earth Day, the competence of an unrefined world. Feel the simple unmistakable influence of the earth on your mind and spirit. An authority capable of moving one to introspective thought. As all inspiration and truth is derived from the natural world.

Black and White Desert

2010-03-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Consider a landscape void of color. A world of shape and repetitive pattern, a terrain of natural design, This is the true North American desert. Colorless, and bleached, are much of the 5 North American deserts.

Filled with strong shape, rhythmic texture and a sea of monochromatic tones that are perfect for the black and white image.

Black and white is often overlooked as a photographic option in the desert. Many people are drawn on the strong color of the red rock country. Don't stop short, look past the obvious and concentrate on the pure natural composition that is presented so intense in the desert environment. The rhythm of the desert is remarkable.

Owyhee River

2010-03-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

Standing in an unseen footprint of a man I will never know. The visibility up and down the canyon is awe-inspiring. The unheard has undoubtedly felt the warmth of the sun, as it crests the lava cliff on the opposite shore of the river. Nameless heartbeats in the form of the sun spreads across the desert floor casting subtle pattern in the fragile chalk cliffs of the basin. The Owyhee River Canyon, one of America's newest wilderness areas.

There is not much that compares. The Owyhee rivals the Grand Canyon in distance. Stretching from the Northern edge of Nevada at it highest point, the river flows north west through the the south western corner of Idaho, then into Oregon and on to it confluence with the Snake River. This is one of America's most rugged, and least known Wilderness Areas.

William Fox, from the book, "Owyhee Canyonlands" writes.

"The region where Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho conjoin--not abut, but conjoin, as in combining into one another to form a unique region--is off the map. That is, it commonly takes three road maps to capture some sense of where you are. "Some sense," as in not all, as the three states represented are of widely differing sizes and shapes, yet have to be crammed onto sheets of standard-sized map paper. There's nothing you can do with scissors and tape to fix it,either: the maps are all of different scales, so the edges never match up. All this just to put together a schematic of the Owyhee Canyonlands, the deeply riven sage brush-steppe that is one of the largest roadless areas in the lower Forty-eight. That means you can fly over it, walk into it, and in some cases float through parts of it--but you can't drive into much of it. This is a good thing."

Portrait of the West

2010-02-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

Big sky, endless horizon, steep canyons, arid landscape, these are just a few of the expressions that typify the unique nature of western America. In the west, the landscape Seems to shape its inhabitants. They become part of its iconic vista.

Mark Lisk will be exhibiting, 75 Black and White photographs from a recent collection, “Portrait of the West”, at the Lisk Gallery. This exhibit mixes the impassioned landscape you have come to know in Marks work with the unique complexion of the America Cowboy.

Join us on March 4th, 2010 for a glimpse at the true west. First Thursday Art Walk in Downtown Boise, at the Lisk Gallery, 850 main street.

Ground Hog Day

2010-02-02T09:45:00.001-08:00

There are no shadows at the Roswell Marsh on this Ground hog day. Looks like six more weeks of the somber contrast that accompanies winter light.

Long tall grasses blow in the cold winter wind at the Roswell marsh near the Idaho-Oregon border. Much of this wild landscape is overlooked. Too wet and alkaline for farming, it is able to stand on its own as a natural wetland and habitat for a wide variety of birds and waterfowl. Don't be to eagar to photograph the coming of spring, take advantage of this fleeting, and unique opportunity before the winter is gone.

Winters Isolation

2010-01-21T08:17:00.000-08:00

There seems to be no direction to the light that blankets the bare branches of these trees. It is this lack of directional light that helps in promoting a feeling of isolation and loneliness. Black trunks contrast the stark flat background, and also contributes to the intense emotional feeling. Light or the lack of light is often overlooked as a necessary element in a solid composition. In fact it may be the most important part.

Images from the Great Basin Desert: Owyhee Canyonlands, One of Americas newest wilderness areas.

Winters subtle light

2010-01-14T07:13:00.000-08:00

For a few minutes the sun seeps through the cold blanket of fresh snow contrasting the cold blue landscape and transforms bitter to welcoming. Winter is surprising and full of subtle detail not present in other seasons. Its low and diffuse light is full of delicate aspects that enable the photographer to capture and create extraordinary perspective.

Images from the Great Basin Desert. The most northern of the 5 great North American Deserts, Known as the "Cold Desert".

Annual Solo Exhibit-Patrica Rovzar Gallery (Seattle)

2010-01-04T07:59:00.000-08:00

January is an exciting time for Jerri. It is her annual solo show at the Patricia Rovzar Gallery 1225 Second Avenue, downtown Seattle. This is Jerris 7th show with the gallery January 7th - February 1st. To view images on line go to: http://www.rovzargallery.com/current.html or visit the home page at http://www.liskgallery.com/