Clouds Above the Mesa

 After a lovely rain in this parched land the clouds were breaking up, casting light and shadow upon the mesa.

Available at:

 https://onlinegalleryshows.com/collections/11th-annual-6-squared-exhibition-and-sale/products/399270

Red Rock Sentinel

 I did this one a while back in Arches National Park, Utah.  There are many beautiful red rock formations and worth a trip to see.  I don't think that this one has a name but it is located along a place called the "Great Wall".  It is always a challenge painting red rocks and shadows.

Small Aspen Grove

This was painted within a small grove of aspens.  I liked the shadows and the beautiful golden color of the leaves.

Sunlit Aspen

 I was out looking for aspen color when I saw this sweet scene in a narrow gulch between the mountains.  Everything was in shadow except this lovely tree.  I finished this in the early morning, decided I liked it so well, I wanted to go back later in the afternoon to try it again in a larger form.  When I got back there, all the leaves were gone!  There was enough wind in this little valley it just stripped the tree.  It was a lesson in "striking while the iron is hot".

After the Fall

I had been out painting lots of golden aspen.  I looked down into the stream next to me and saw these leaves floating.  My friends dog had come through the water and had splashed some water onto the leaves floating there.  I was happy to do a change of scene.

Arroyo Light

 Sedona Plein Air Festival 2020 - "Year of the Woman".  I traveled over to southeast Utah where the red rocks and incredible rock formations reside.  I followed a small dirt road and found this lovely arroyo filled with chamisa (rabbit brush) and lovely warm shadows.

Giants Among Us

Another for the Sedona Plein Air Festival 2020, "Year of the Woman".  This was during the early winter storm that brought snow to the mountains here.  I have painted this area several times and never get tired of it.  It was 12ºF out that day, the paint became stiff and I pushed it with a palette knife.  I think I like the effect! 

Lakeside Cabin

Another painting for the Sedona Plein Air Festival 2020 "Year of the Woman".   The day after I painted the lovely golden color of the cottonwood in "Beneath the Cottonwoods", a strong cold front moved in.  I drove up to 10,000 foot elevation to catch the snowfall.  The lake was only slightly freezing so there was some reflection in the water that was fun to catch.

Beneath the Cottonwoods

This is the first painting for the Sedona Plein Air Festival 2020, "Year of the Woman".  A friend of mine has a lovely property in a canyon with huge cottonwood trees.  They were in all their fall glory when I went to paint there, it was a delight just to be there.  It is available at this link: https://sedonaartscenter.org/product/beneath-the-cottonwoods-spaf2020/

Aspen Fall

 

Aspen Fall

12 x 12

Oil on linen

930.00

https://sedonaartscenter.org/product/beneath-the-cottonwoods-spaf2020/

This painting was done late in the fall season for the aspen trees.  The lovely carpet of leaves covering the ground and more leaves falling from the trees were what entranced me in this scene.

These next six paintings are with the Sedona Plein Air Festival "Year of the Woman" 2020.  This first one "Aspen Fall" won an award of merit.  They are all available through the link.

Rise and Shine

This is one I have been working on for a while.  It was an early morning trip up into the foothills looking for something totally different but when I saw this, I had to try.

Tough Life

This is down in a canyon near me.  This little tree has made a life for itself in this crevice between a rock and a hard place.

High Country Springtime

     I went up to the pass to paint.  At over 10,000 feet in height, spring is just starting to show up.  The red in the field is a small scrubby willow that hasn't leafed out yet.  Many flowers are pushing up to take advantage of the short season.

Ute Mountain Moonset

     Chasing the full moon is something I enjoy doing.  The colors are soft and lovely.

Passage

     Fresh off the easel.  This is around winter solstice in by yard.  I wanted to try painting the setting sun coming through the trees and the light across the snow.

Cascade of Spring

     I was out plein air painting with one of my good painting buddies.  I was supposed to meet her at this stream but she didn't explain to follow the yellow ribbons.  Our social distancing was excellent since we didn't find each other until later.  This is a seasonal stream that was too fun to pass up.

Getting Loose

     I went to visit one of my favorite artist friends.  She has many wonderful animals, including Don Key.  We tied him out so we could practice plein air painting him.  Boy does he move a lot!  Good practice though.  He grabbed his rope and proceeded to untie himself.  He was an expert in my estimation!

Moonlight Snowfall

     As always, at the pass.  I took a photo of this scene and was so struck by the abstract qualities, I wanted to paint it.  This was really hard to get the softness that was there, but I gave it my best!

Cedar Sunrise

     This is a painting from where I grew up.  At a certain time of year the sun comes up behind these cedars growing along the edge of a lake.  I have been working on it off and on for a while trying to get the light and shadow right.  Once I got to this point, I felt pretty good about it but may try another larger one later.  The big problem now is photographing it, I can't quite get it exactly as it looks in person, but it is close.

Just Before Sunset

     I am still playing around with watercolor and gouache.  This is a just before sunset in my yard.  I really just wanted to play with the paints and the composition.

Clouds Above the Mesa

     This is a scene within Mesa Verde National Park.  I was struck by the cloud pattern and light play on the hillside.  I was also experimenting with watercolor, sometimes mixed with white gouache to give it a little more punch.

Snowfall and Trees

     I truly love painting snow, falling and blurring the landscape.  When I am painting these en plein air, the snow is really coming down, or sideways.  The snow will cover the palette and water gets mixed with oils and I try to complete the painting.

The Road Home II

     This is a favorite place of my childhood.  I used to ride my horse down to the creek, which was a couple miles away.  When I turned to go back home, this was my view.

Watching

     This is of an elk that comes through my field.  The herd has been very watchful lately, and it may be because of predators and calving.  I enjoyed sketching her pensive look.

Cold Smoke

     This is again, up at the pass.  This is known as Sheep Mountain.  There was wind and clouds moving through and they would catch on the top of the mountain and billow on the lee side.  I borrowed the name from a favorite coffee shop in Bozeman, Montana.

Incoming Storm II

     This was one of those days up at the pass, where I just couldn't paint fast enough.  I got 4 paintings done in 3 hours, it was all happening so fast!

Snow and Trees 1

     Though there was not many snow days during January and February, March has afforded me nice snow days.  I did several in one day and haven't come up with proper names yet, but I had a good time!

Storm Over the Mountains

     Here in southwest Colorado, we don't see big fluffy clouds very much.  So when we do it is a time to celebrate, for the visual as well as the rain. 

Snow fade

     This was again up at the pass.  A huge squall came through and this scene was fading in and out.

Soft Rain Day

     This was a rainy day that gave a lovely softness to the scene.  I just had to try it.

Layers

     This is another study from up at Lizard Head Pass.  I took this with my iPhone and it looks rougher here than it does in person.

Sheep and Shadows

     This is from last fall on an outing with some of my art friends.  We stayed at this wonderful place call Canyon of the Ancients Guest Lodge.  This is a fabulous place that offers several places to rent and a working farm, complete with very friendly livestock.  A magical place and a wonderful treat!

Winter's Muse

     One of my favorite spots to paint snowfall is up at Lizard Head pass.  I can catch snow there for a longer time during the season.

Winter Colors

  This year the snow has come and gone many times, leaving patches across the fields.  During a recent snow fall I wanted to capture the fade as well as the patches of snow that describe the lay of the land.

Warm Spring

  This is from inside Yellowstone National Park.  The water will stay open (not frozen) all winter indicating a warm supply of water welling up from below.  On really cold days there will be steam and frost surrounding these.  I must try and catch one of those sometime.