Bella Bella

22.25” x 29.75”

25” x 32" framed (maple, archival mat board, museum glass)

Oil pastel, colored pencil, and acrylic on paper

Three female figures sunbathe on Bella Bella beach on Fox Island, WA. This is my favorite beach in the area - you can see it across the channel from our little house in Gig Harbor. My daughter dipped her toes in the sea for the first time here.

You know how the light is different in every place?
Here it’s gold.
I noticed it first when the fading sunshine
flitted across your face
and you glowed in that light
each tiny hair electric fuzz on the fleshy peach of your cheek
Rainier towering hugely, silently 
to the East
making us feel small and also
grateful to live in a world with mountains
we felt warm in that light 
despite the blustery breeze
coming off the chopped black surface 
together at Bella Bella 
I collected shells from the beach 
purple and spiraled
to show you later
you curled your hand around them
a flower in the eventide
its petals clamping down one fin at a time
coming together to protect something as precious
as a shell.

This painting is part of COL Gallery’s exhibition at the 2025 San Francisco Art Fair. Please direct purchase inquiries to Callie Jones at callie@colgallery.co.