Arches National Park: Balanced Rock

Balanced Rock

Painting No. 2-D-13

12"x 12" oil on canvas panel

 

Last Saturday morning I was in Arches National Park visiting Sarah Hamingson, the current Community Artist in the Parks pastel artist. I had intended to paint en plein air at the Balanced Rock parking lot but I forgot my mineral spirits and resorted to sketching several versions of Balanced Rock before deciding that I liked this angle the best. It's a tough subject to paint, the subject is awkward and impossibly balanced.

 

This is the usual view of the rock, which is kinda ugly to work with from an artistic perspective. The angle of my painting is at the far right side of the photo, and from the base looking up. Essentially my painting is a study of warm shadow contrasts in a typically cool environment.

 

Winter Light

Winter Light
Painting No. 2-K-12
12"x12" oil on canvas

I spent Thanksgiving in Moab, Utah.
It's an interesting town with a population of about 5,000 people. Small and remote but full of life; it's surrounded by 2 National Parks, 1 State Park and a massive County Park. Combine that with nearly one million visitors per year and you have a very interesting mix of culture and activity.

For those of you who haven't heard, I'm moving to Moab in mid-January. I've made arrangements to work and paint with the artist Tim Morse at the Overlook Gallery on Center Street in the downtown district. This will be a great opportunity to paint full-time, share the responsibilities for the galleries success and be in a new and fresh environment. I would also like to thank the award winning pastel artist Sarah Hamingson for pointing out some really great places to paint that the tourists aren't aware of.
2013 is going to be a great year of growing, learning and experiencing new and fresh ideas.