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.

Fade to Grey

     It was snowing this morning and it calls to me to paint.  I can't explain it, but like a sirens call, I need to try and capture the image in front of me.

Chamisa Morning

     This was a scene right out of my front door.  I love watching this chamisa (Rabbit Brush) in various seasons.  The early morning sun lights this chamisa up,  I found it too appealing to ignore.  This is available through Mary Williams Fine Art in Boulder, CO.  $700.00

Looking Back

     This is a study for a painting I am preparing to do.  I am glad I did it, because I found a lot of errors that had to be corrected.  Drawing people and animals takes a lot of drawing skills and I really should do them more often.

Reverence

     One of the earlier aspen paintings I did, before the fall color.  I caught sight for this crooked little tree among the straighter big aspens.  I wanted to catch the feeling of the light filtering down and the depth of the forrest.  This was done plein air on location.  I am now doing a larger version of this.

Aspen Reverie

    This fall the color came and went very quickly here.   I did this plein air painting high up in the mountains.  It was lovely just to stand in the aspens and enjoy the glow.  All that was gone within two weeks.