It has been a delightful week of hugs and homecoming. This is my 20th season of visiting Southeast Alaska on Lindblad Expeditons ships- what fun to say hello to friends along the way as we make our first portcalls of the season. Today we’re in Sitka and I’m spending time with Linda Forbes, dear firend and owner of Artist Cove Gallery. My paintings Icefall and Watching are in the gallery this season so stop by when you’re visiting Sitka! It’s a wonderful gallery and beautiful town.

If you’re visiting beautiful Cannon Beach this season, stop by the PRIMARY ELEMENTS GALLERY on Hemlock Street.. There’s a LOT of interesting eclectic art and fine craft there, and as of May 30th, several of my pieces are on display. Be sure to ask about Bette Lu’s work ….owner Stephanie is a delight.

Garden Buddha Print

Hello friends and neighbors,
It’s just about time for me to join the birds and begin my annual migration north. For the past 20 years, I’ve worked aboard small cruise ships in Southeast Alaska and I’ll be aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird come Wednesday. It’s wonderful to follow the seasonal visitors to our beach and watch the season unfold as we cruise up the Inside Passage.- I saw some of my favorites in breeding plumage yesterday- the black-bellied plovers are sensational right now.

I have several new pieces – Garden Buddha and Afternoon with Buddha and Primrose were really fun to paint as I am working with several new techniques and I also honored spring’s coming with two smaller paintings of primroses.

Have some big news pending, but for now….happy spring!

 Another year is ending and though I’d love to say something profound about it, it’s gone by so quickly that I’m still processing last February! Ah well, February then  …my hero and father, Jack Krause passed suddenly as the result of a fall. We’d almost lost him several times in the past decade, so though we were taken by surprise, his was as long, well-lived and honorable stay on this beautiful planet. I sure do miss him in those odd moments, like wondering how to fix something or other- as he really did seem to know everything, and conveyed  his knowledge in such a kind and compassionate way, it was a pleasure to ask for help.

Just before he passed, I was fortunate in securing his and my mother’s blessing in an undertaking that has filled most of my days beginning in March of this year. Bay Avenue Gallery opened on April 1^st in Ocean Park, WA. It’s housed in a beautiful old building on our tiny main street, just 2 blocks from the Pacific Ocean. We (myself and my business partner, Sue Raymond) represent more than 30 local artists and offer children’s and adult art classes. The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to expanding our artful presence here. www.bayavenuegallery.com

Balancing the art and gallery, I am continuing my work as a shipboard naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions.  I spent a good part of the summer in Southeast Alaska- (my 19^th season) it is an incredibly inspiring place to me and to my art www.bettelukrause.com . I’ll be heading to Baja California again in mid-January for a month of ‘naturalizing’ there- another beloved place of inspirational wilderness grandeur.

In August, Lauren Marziliano and I co-lead a vision quest for women, our first such guiding expedition together though we have much experience in the field separately. It was a heartful journey and we intend to continue to offer this empowering passage for many years to come.

I hope you and your friends and family are well and finding connections in nature and in each other, through these interesting and challenging times.

Howdy friends and neighbors,

Though it sure feels like winter here on the Washington coast, it is spring by the calendar and my daffodils think it is too. I hope they don’t freeze.

The warm desert islands and rich seas of Baja California seem far away, though I spent January and March there as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions.

I wasn’t planning another show this year, but somewhere back in mid-winter a vision of a group of paintings called “The Eyes of God” came along and being a woman who really really tries to follow those rare gifts of vision, I have embarked on creating a group of paintings of animal eyes.

The first painting and the inspiration for the group is ‘WATCHING’, an interpretation of a baby gray whale’s open and curious expression. I have made that magic and extraordinary connection in the calving lagoons of Baja California, and will never forget that awesome experience.

Bette Lu