Looking for Snow

At this time of year the landscape can be pretty spare in Colorado. Finding color in the neutral shades challenges me - and not in a way that I like- so as long as there is snow to be found I will be out in it.
Sue McCullough and I drove up to Rock Creek not too long ago, looking for deep snow and spent a PERFECT morning painting. Perfect means: temps over 10, no wind and a bright day with no cloud cover. Being out in the mountains on a day like that - I don't even care if the painting turns out to be a bomb; but as a rule  Rock Creek does not disappoint.  Just a short drive into the high country and you find every kind of view - short and long, with pine and aspen forests, majestic snow covered peaks, rocky canyons, and no sign of civilization. It is hard to go wrong.

Rock Creek Revisited

Last week Sue and I went back up to Rock Creek for a morning of painting. I have been looking at streams and little waterfall configurations lately; to practice something I haven't done a lot of.
My first interpretation of this view is a few posts back, but I like this one much better and also like the 1 x 2 format better as well.
This piece is 6"x 12".
You can see my set-up and sketch in the photo at the bottom. About the time I got really into painting a herd of cows came up the road at my back. In an effort to avoid me and still cross the stream, there was a lot of mooing and thrashing around.

Looking for Winter

We have had an unseasonable shortage of snow here in Southern Colorado; chalk it up to LaNina or whatever,
but on Friday
Sue McCullough,
Dave Montgomery and myself went looking for some winter. We found snow and sunshine, the perfect combination,
up at Rock Creek
not and hour from the house. With temps at 31 degrees and NO wind, it was like a day in the park. This photo of Sue expresses out feelings, exactly.

Sue, Dave and myself paint out together often and amid other things, are working toward a show that will include work from all three of us done on trips together. That show will open with a party on Friday, June 3rd in the Upstairs Gallery at the Creede Repertory Theatre, in Creede.

June is aways off though, in the meantime, we will enjoy a little bit of snow. This was my piece from our beautiful morning in the mountains. I have been experimenting with a more extreme format of 1 by 2. This painting is 20"x 10".