High Country Color

     My good painting buddy and I were way up in the mountains looking for color.  As we came down this road I wanted to try and capture this scene of the road going down and the mountain side coming up in the distance.  I found the pattern of aspens and pine forests on the far hill beautiful.

sunrise on the bluff

     I caught this early in the morning not too far below Durango Mountain Resort.  The sun was lighting just the top of the cliffs with the tall aspens in the foreground still in the shadow.  This is a very small painting, so small I had to hold it in my hand to paint it.

Morning Reflections

     This is a small piece I did early in the morning.  The early morning light was hitting the mountain behind the trees giving it a golden color while the trees and valley floor were still in shadow.  I was fascinated by the color combination and reflections in the water.  This is one of my favorite spots along the Dolores river.

On a Moonlit Night

     I love it when the full moon is out.  The softness of the light is irresistible to try and paint.  Even more exciting for me is how the moon lights the clouds.

Cedar Moonset

     This is one out back of my studio.  I love coming out during full moon with the rising or setting of the moon and try to catch the beautiful colors.   I have painted this hill many times but I think this one is the best so far.

Terrapin Ridge

     This scene is to the right of the Tree Line scene.  This has always been a pretty area and I always wanted to find a way to paint it and give it justice.   Early morning light through the trees seemed to fit it well.

Tree Line

     While visiting my mom, I like to sneak away early in the morning to paint.  This is an area of the creek bottom that I have always been fond of.  Tree line usually means the elevation where trees won't grow in the mountains, but in this instance it is the division of two fields.

Late Spring Snow

    This is an update on a piece I did much earlier.  I was never quite happy with the entire composition so I went in and "fixed" a few things.

Boy with Driving hat

     This young man had this great turn of the century "news boy" look.

Conversations

    Now for something completely different.  While on vacation I happened to catch this couple sitting on this picnic bench.  I thought it interesting their pose and imagined all sorts of conversations they could be having...or not.

A Winter's Tale

     This was done up at the pass with a pretty good storm coming through.  The layers of trees and mountain side are what drew me to this scene.

Snow Fog

     On rare occasions we get warmer air over snow cover that causes snow fog.   This scene was just down the road from my house.  There was some sun showing through from above but still had a lovely soft image.

Dappled Light

     I love dappled light and trying to capture it is a real challenge for me.

Snow Shadows

     We had about 18 lovely inches of snow that dumped on us in about 24 hours.  Making my way to the barn to feed the horse I noticed the wonderful shadow pattern from the log fence and my earlier tracks leading to the barn and wanted to paint that.

Heading for Cover

     This was a scene near my house during a very heavy snowfall, the big flakes kind.  The neighbors horse decided it was time to head for cover, swishing her tail in agitation.

Promise of Rain

     Though I haven't been posting for a while, I actually have been painting.  I have quite a few to post so I will dole them out over the following days.
     This painting is a view from my parents farm.  I was captivated by the beautiful cloud and its size building up behind the grain silo.