Steelhead Creek Plein Air Painting | Marblemount, Washington
2×3 foot Acrylic and Spray Paint on Canvas
As with any new location, there is always a mix of excitement and uncertainty. You never quite know what to expect, where you’ll paint, or what you’ll discover. The Bacon Creek DNR access road, located just a few miles east of Marblemount off the North Cascades Highway, follows Bacon Creek through a series of tributaries that feed into it. One of those tributaries is Steelhead Creek, where this painting was completed.
What was once simply a point of curiosity has quickly become one of my favorite locations. The area consists of a modest gravel pullout with enough privacy if you park carefully, and because it’s a little farther down the road, traffic remains fairly light. For this trip, I intentionally chose a painting location that remained within view of my vehicle. In the future, I’d be happy to venture farther into the landscape, but for this painting I wanted a predictable and practical setup while exploring the area for the first time.
Steelhead Creek is an incredible tapestry of moss, rock, towering trees, ferns, and cascading waterways, creating an atmosphere that feels almost untouched by time. This was exactly the type of location I had hoped to find. The reference photos I had taken beforehand showed a composition with a nearly uninterrupted view from the canopy above to the creek below. Trees, rock formations, and the small waterfall along the left side naturally guided the eye through the scene, while dense layers of vegetation and broad-leafed plants provided both texture and structure throughout the foreground and background.
Unfortunately, the painting location presented a number of challenges. My easel had to be positioned among uneven boulders at the top of a small waterfall, leaving almost no room to step backward while I worked. At times I was painting from nearly a foot away from the canvas, and a single misplaced step could have resulted in a fall of roughly seven feet onto the rocks below.
To accurately judge the painting, I frequently had to climb down from the falls and circle around to view the canvas from a proper distance. While this interrupted the rhythm of the process, it was more of a personal inconvenience than a major obstacle. Even so, the unique setting and close proximity to the water made the experience well worth the extra effort.
Easily one of my favorite new locations, I’m excited to return and continue painting both Steelhead Creek and Bacon Creek. Beyond the artwork itself, this trip also revealed several improvements I still need to make to the minivan to create a more comfortable and efficient camping setup. Chief among them is adding rooftop storage, which will free up interior space for additional supplies, tools, and painting equipment. An electric fridge is another upgrade I’m looking forward to, replacing the ice chest I currently rely on. Especially on these shorter weekend trips, having greater storage and electrical capacity will make the entire experience smoother and allow me to spend more time focused on painting instead of logistics.
