February Sun

This afternoon I had the pleasure of painting with a new friend of mine; Phil Wagner. He's an oil painter and a poet. I like Phil, he reminds me to live in the moment. We painted at Big Bend Campground in the warm February light. Our styles are completely different which is really interesting to see how we interpret the landscape in opposite ways. We were also joined by the publisher of Utah Stories; Richard Markosian who photographed us as we painted the rock formations. Check out Utah Stories at: www.utahstories.com

Shadow Land

Shadow Land
Painting No. 4-B-13
8" x 10"
oil on canvas board

Early evening light plays across the talus slopes and cliff face of Mat Martin Point just north of Big Bend Campground on the Colorado River. This shadow land holds the heart and imagination of all travelers who come here seeking an escape from the city and a visual feast for the soul.

Where do you go to escape from the normal?
Where do you find yourself leaving the road and entering the wild?
What inspires you as a traveler or painter?
I'd like to hear from you.

Cloudy Day

Cloudy Day
Painting No.  1-B-13
8" x 10" oil on canvas panel

What do you do on your day off?
I go outside and work on plein air paintings. Today's effort was near Big Bend Campground just north of Moab, Utah. I like this area, lots of variety in a one mile stretch of river. It was cloudy today which puts a huge dampener on telling the story of how spectacular the rock formations are.

This drainage channel near the overflow campground was the nicest composition I could find this morning. I did manage to keep the coolest colors to the background and the warmest and brightest colors to the foreground; together with the variety of round, angular and vertical lines adds a certain amount of movement to a dreary day.

Frozen Colorado: Big Bend Campground

Frozen Colorado
Painting No.  6-A-13
8" x 8" oil on canvas

The weather finally broke today and I was able to sneak out of the gallery for a couple of hours and paint this scene.
Along the Colorado River, just northeast of Moab is Big Bend Campground and on the east side of the highway are these wonderful rock formations that reflect the warm glow of the sun, even if the temperature is close to freezing. I enjoy this stretch of river, the afternoon light is special and I'm thankful to be the only painter on the river.