Day 250 Cliff-like Trees

I'm headed back to the mountains this weekend to catch the last of the aspen turning. I hope I see some spots with fresh snow and maybe some leaves still on the trees.
I did this painting in a class with Cliff Austin earlier this week at Park Hill Art Club. You can certainly see his influence with my use of a palette knife. Not the first time he has inspired me, I remember painting some peaches last year after looking at his work and I've tagged along on more than one plein air outings. Cliff was one of the first artists I met in the world of plein air painting a few years ago.

This road was east of Rabbit Ears Pass as we drove around a few weeks ago taking pictures like crazy. The light was really great and I wished I could have set up in the middle of the road and ignored the ATV's and hunters occasionally passing by. I noticed a nice bright orange vest yesterday at Eddie Bauer - think I'll go back and buy it, it's getting a little chilly for just my orange t-shirt to protect me.

Check out Cliff's great work at http://www.cliffaustin.com

Cliff-like Trees
8x10 oil
sold

Day 249 Experimental Tree

This aspen tree is just a little more graphic and I'm just playing around with pastels on black paper. I recently listened to an Artists Helping Artists segment with Leslie Saeta about oil painting on copper. I actually bought a sheet of copper from a roofing company and am dying to oil paint on it. It sounded fascinating. I can't find the BlogTalkRadio segment now ... but I remember something about a blowtorch and the cool colors you can achieve. What am I thinking? Can someone please stop me from experimenting? I don't have a blowtorch anyway ...

Experimental Tree
9x12 pastel

Day 248 Fire!

This pastel was done up in Rocky Mountain National Park last week during my painting frenzy. It was the first one I did during the week and is a shining example of needing to "warm up".
It looks like I painted a forest fire, when really those are beautiful aspen in the background. Ick. Why did I paint those awful dead trees on the left? Because they were there. I have found that when I go on a big painting frenzy I need to get a couple bad ones out of my system first. Most artists don't post the bad ones (and wisely so) but I want to finish this year out showing what can happen when you paint every day and work really, really hard to keep the goal for 365 (Leap year 366!) days.

Let's just say this one is not for sale and when I look at it I hear a voice yelling FIRE! Now that's making me kind of laugh because I kinda want to take a match to this one.

Update - a friend bought this painting even after I pointed out every single thing wrong with it. An individual with a wonderful art education and art background. Fascinating ... how art speaks to us all individually. Thank you friend!

Fire!
9x12 pastel
sold

Day 247 Up Close

This morning was spent photographing as much scenery as I can for future studio paintings, because this "gold" will end and it will all be white soon. We headed up to Rand, then towards the Chimney Rock area north of Kremmling. It's beautiful, lots of yellow and orange but still many green aspen waiting their turn. I think next weekend this area will be peak for those of you out leaf peeping.

I was slightly stunned to see one of the mountain peaks was named "Granny's Nipple". Seriously. On the map. I then spent way too much time thinking about what circumstance could have enabled someone to name this mountain. Onward ...

I did squeeze in one small painting (I'm itching to paint something big right now) and faced a hard choice, paint the aspen in the distance or up close.

Up Close
9x12 pastel

I do have an orange bandana on!

Day 246 GL Lodge View

I didn't paint today because I hiked all day, 15.5 miles to be exact. Colorado River trailhead to the Grand Ditch, Lake of the Clouds, up to Lulu City and painfully back. You can reference the map below to see the progress of our hike:

#1 - #3 8am start, 28 degrees out - everybody happy looking forward to a nice hike!

#6 Already 6 miles into the hike and I send Ed off to Lake of the Clouds because this is how the guidebook described this section "... lubricated by permanent ice beneath, traverse a large boulder field of large, shaky, angular rocks, among which live a healthy population of black spiders". So I took a nap on a comfy rock and a caterpillar crawled across my face. Ed gets bonus points for adding this on and logs over 17 miles total.

#9 We feel good "Let's tack on and go back through Lulu City, it should only add a couple extra easy miles, right?"

#14 I start to bitch about how much my feet hurt and Ed says "No, no, no - we are still way too far from the car to complain now, finish strong". I give him the silent treatment. He doesn't notice.

#16 We pass a crowd of tourists gazing at an elk right off the trail and I stomp loudly by because I don't care about seeing a stupid elk. I need to get to the car, I've gone 14 miles and the last 1.5 may do me in. It's 4 pm for pete's sake. I'm sure they are all horrified at my rudeness.

Parking Lot - At the car and immediately over being mad because I can sit down. My feet hurt, lots of things hurt and there is only one ice pack, just sayin'.

Ummm, back to the art. I painted this from the parking lot at Grand Lake Lodge a couple of days ago. Since I'm probably unable to walk tomorrow, I'll be painting something from photos I took today.

GL Lodge View
8x10 oil

Ed's Garmin recorded the hike for us

Wearing my Alzheimer's Association shirt in support of the walk today

and the hunters and deer can see me

multi tasker!

Day 245 Peak on the Hill

Once a year the aspen are in their glory and peak in mid september. I usually get up to the mountains to see them for a day or two. There have been several years when I completely missed it - life just gets busy darn it. This year, I've got 10 full days of driving around, painting, taking reference photos and being in aspen heaven. I set this time aside a year ago - and I am already blocking off the days for 2017. I'm missing all kinds of things in town; fall art classes have started and I'm missing the Walk to End Alzheimer's. But, oh these trees.

Peak on the Hill
8x10 pastel

Day 244 The Lights and Music are On

I painted this in a favorite spot in RMNP on the Colorado River trailhead. It's about a 30 minute walk from the parking lot and then you have to scramble over a rock field to work your way up toward the trees. It's a little more difficult with a 20 lb. pack of art supplies - yes, I need to lighten that load.

When out painting plein air, a painting buddy will occasionally yell out "turn the lights on!" as the sun keeps playing hide and seek behind the clouds. Which makes me laugh. This time, as the wind was blowing and the aspen leaves quaked loudly, Anita says "listen, the music is on too".

Thanks Anita for the title.