Mt. Aetna from Monarch Pass

COLORADO LANDSCAPE ART • SAWATCH • MOUNTAIN SUNSET

Day is Done, 6" x 12", oil on birch panel

This is another small painting revisiting my '09 trip to the Sawatch mountains. I'm still inspired by working on the miniatures for the Randy Higbee 6x6 show. Beautiful brushwork and capturing mountain hues and values were the emphasis. This was one of those scenes that was so magnificent that the challenge was making the painting believable and not fantasy art.  Keeping the colors more accurate and less impressionistic helped. This was my first piece done on baltic birch sealed with shellac. I'm searching for the perfect (affordable) painting surface. I encountered no problems but it didn't wow me either.  If  you are in central Colorado, I highly recommend a trip to Monarch Pass to experience this view for yourself. 

Day is Done detail

Wind Chill

FLEMING PARK • LAKE JACOMO • MISSOURI PLEIN AIR

Autumn's End, 6 x 8, oils

I recently purchased new outdoor painting gear and was anxious to try it out. Destination: The rocky bluffs along Lake Jacomo. Since temps were in the 40's I didn't bother with gloves or a stocking cap. It took a few minutes to find a good composition and get setup. I soon wished I had taken into account the wind off the lake which was making my fingers and ears painfully numb. This would be a quick painting but I'll be better prepared next time.

Salinas Pueblo Missions

NEW MEXICO • SOUTHWEST • LANDSCAPE ART

Mission Ruins at Quarai, 8 x 8, oils

In late August, I took a road trip with a cousin from Bakersfield, California to Joplin, Missouri. We took a day off to visit another cousin in the mountains of New Mexico. He wanted to show me some scenery that I might be interested in painting. In the morning we visited the Salinas ruins of Quarai and Abo. These were churches built in the 1600's by the Pueblo people under the authority of Spanish missionaries. The architecture was a synthesis of European and Pueblo. For example the church was cruciform but the structure surrounding it included kivas, round rooms that were used for spiritual purposes.


I painted this scene from inside the Quarai site based on photos. It's not a traditional landscape composition but I loved the interesting shapes of the light and shadow. Imagine how simple the scene would be without the breach in the left wall. The photo reference was cloudless blue but with such a low horizon line I had to add drama to the sky. It was a dreary late November day in Missouri when I painted this but with the sunny scene and a Tony Hillerman novel in the CD player, I almost felt like I was in the southwest.

The Randy Higbee 6 x 6 Show

COLORADO LANDSCAPE • MISSOURI LANDSCAPE • MINIATURE • MOUNTAINS • OZARK STREAM

Antero Sunrise, 6 x 6, oils.

 The Randy Higbee Show is an annual affair, held in Costa Mesa, California. All submissions must be exactly 6 inches square. This was my first time entering. All paintings were based on reference from various painting trips. The one above is of Mt Antero in the Sawatch Range from my trip with Ken Chapin in 2009. It was accepted in the show.

Peace Like a River, 6 x 6, oils.

For this piece I revisited Femme Osage Creek, near Augusta, Missouri. I have learned so much since painting there last May. It was also accepted.

Deep in Glacier Gorge, 6 x 6, oils.

Finally we have this scene from my 10 mile hike with Gina to Black Lake this past August. This piece was declined. Still, two out of three ain't bad and it was a good chance to practice rocks and distant mountains.