Rye Hester

My academic studies, impressions, and river maps. I am a painter in the Columbia River Gorge, where I live in White Salmon. This is my collection from my life on the river and around the Gorge.

Impressions
River Maps
Full Work
My Life
Contact

Photo Credit: Thomas Franco

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Impressions

"Anything under the sun is beautiful, if you have the vision." - Charles Hawthorne.
Some influences in my painting style are Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, Robert Bateman, and Albert Bierstadt. These are my most current and best studies.

Dawn Patrol, 24x36, Digital

I have often loved the feeling of driving up to the Little White Salmon early in the morning. One morning, I was struck by the soft pink alpine glow of Mt. Hood. Everything was red, pink, and dark. The mountain seemed big, and Hood River on the shore seemed so very far away.

Spirit Falls Left, 3ftx7ft, Acrylic

Spirit Falls Right, 3ftx7ft, Acrylic

In the winter, I try to visit these falls every day if I can; sometimes multiple times a day. I often think about the snow on the Little White Salmon. With the teal water, the green moss and evergreens, and the dark black basalts; the snow lends its colors quite well to the mix. A few months after I painted this, a friend passed here after a slip. It is a very special place to me.

Mamquam Falls, 8x12, Gouache

One of my early attempts at developing a style for water. Water is difficult to paint, as it is forever changing. Every object under the sun, besides maybe fire, is static- or slow enough to study. Water disagrees. It's dynamic. It doesn't like to stay still when gradient becomes involved.

Views from Nankoweap, 24x30, Gouache

I asked a friend at a takeout what her favorite place was, and she replied the Grand Canyon. My last trip I spent 6 hours staring at this view all alone by the granaries. I'd agree that it is my favorite place too. The wall hits the light at the end of the corridor and illuminates the entire face of the bend at sunset. Looking back, I noticed that when you're going down the Grand, it never crosses your weary mind to even spare a glance towards the sky. Of all of my work, this remains the closest to my heart.

Skookumchuck Narrows, 8x36, Gouache

After a Stikine trip, I ended up at the Skookumchuck Narrows for about a week. I slept on a pad under the hull of a beached boat and it poured rain every day. There were some wet nights, but every day we would hike into the Narrows and watch the tidal inlet form the wave minute by minute. The first view I saw of Skook was at high tide, paddling in, and seeing the foam spray of a massive green wave with the Tour behind it. It left an impression on me!

Emotions on the Stikine, 24x36, Digital

A touchstone trip for me. Words and video do not do that place justice. It is stark beauty mixed with violence. My trip down the Grand Canyon of the Stikine was a spiritual quest, and it remains the greatest river on earth to me. After V-Drive, we got to the newly formed Guard Dog, where we debated running it. We elected to walk, but seeing my crewmates debate and weigh the odds while staring at one of the biggest stoutest features in the river left a deep impression. There is a feeling everyone has while on this river. It is hard to describe- nervousness, excitement, stoke, dread.

Prayer Flags, 24x36, Digital

After the first real rapid of the Little White Salmon river, you reach an eddy at the top of Gettin' Busy. There, nestled amongst some fall logs, are some strung up tibetan prayer flags. It is customary to splash them for luck before each lap. You have 5 miles of class V rapids below you and you must run almost all of them. You take a moment for yourself, breathe in, breathe out. Center yourself, adjust your paddle grip, look down at the first move of Gettin' Busy, and begin the gauntlet.

BZ Falls, 8x12, Gouache

Early studies of water motion in the Columbia River Gorge.

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My Life

I was born in Wesser, North Carolina to two kayak instructors on the Chattooga River. They taught me to kayak on the Nantahala and Chattooga rivers as soon as I could swim and I was raised around the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

I began traditional painting in 2019 after a shoulder injury and quickly fell in love with the practice. I strive to support kayaking events in the northwest for free and put down the multitude of emotions, moments, memories, and feelings I have felt or witnessed from the river.I live in White Salmon, Washington and spend my free time finding new places to explore!

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Contact

If you are interested in purchasing or hiring me, please contact me at [email protected].

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Full Work

Studies, impressions, academic art

Persian Portraiture, Charcoal

A portrait study of a friend. An early study focused around defining proportions and figuring out the shading of the human face.

Spirit Falls and Wy'east, Charcoal

A charcoal study of Spirit Falls and Wy'east.

Monet Practice, 8x12, Gouache

Monet's impressionistic style was one of the first masters that I studied. His rapid use of loose and short marks to depict natural landscapes intrigued me greatly. This is one study.

Columbia River Gorge Impression, 4x8, Gouache

A simple study of the Columbia River Gorge.

Royal Gorge Waterfalls, 8x12, Gouache

My earliest paintings. Heath 1, Heath 2, and Rattlesnake Falls. A Royal Gorge trip in 2021 left a vivid impression on me about the nature of the North Fork of the American. It is powerful, big, and unforgiving. Each waterfall, taken seperately, would be THE major rapid on any other river.

An abandoned idea that I had of painting a 9 panel strip of a whitewater kayaker being tossed around in a ledge hydraulic before paddling away like nothing ever happened. I honestly don't know where this ended up, but it was a fun study of motion.