Red Fish Lake

If you look back a couple of posts you'll find where I went with my wife and another couple on an absolutely wonderful motorcycle ride up into the Sawtooth Recreational Area in Idaho this summer. As is always the case I'm on the lookout for material that will make a nice painting. Such was the case when we ventured down the road to checkout the Red Fish Lake Lodge. On the way we came across a turnout on the dirt road with this magnificent view. It had been raining off and on in the area for a couple of days but this particular morning everything was as still as could be. The mirror reflection of this portion of the Sawtooth Mountains in the water was so soothing and calming. We could have stayed there all day. Unfortunately our time was limited. We had places to go, people to see and things to do. Fortunately I think I captured the feeling quite nicely in this 16 x 32 oil painting I just finished. The painting is available from my gallery/studio, unframed for $500. If you are interested, contact me. Thanks for stopping by.

Catching up

It's hard to know where to start, it's been so long since I posted anything. I see that I left you good folks in Battlemountain, NV on my way to Petaluma, CA for a screen printing and gilding workshop I attended at Letterhead Sign Supply. In short I will say that it was a great class. Ron and Kristi were great hosts and I came away with some fantastic knowledge that I have yet to use but am saving for when the need arises. I'll put some photos and video together on that little trip and get it posted.

When I came back I had a job for some sandblasted signs to do for Cresto Ranch, an affiliate facility of Dunton Hot Springs here in Colorado. Go to www.duntonhotsprings.com for more information on these two places. here is a shot of three of the six signs I did for them.

These were sandblasted out of cedar. I then stained the background and brushed some 1-shot color on the raised border and lettering. They wanted an old weathered look to them which I believe I achieved. I was down there last week and saw them in place and they fit in just perfect with the tent sites and natural landscape.

I've been busy here in the shop with lots of framing. Art sales have been slow but just today sold two oils. Maybe the drought has been broken.

Over the fourth of July week I managed to get away for 8 days and took the Harley up into the Sawtooth Range in Idaho. What a great trip that was. More to come from that as I get photos and video put together.

I know there isn't much detail in this but I thought I ought to get something posted before too much time passed. I'll cover these topics in more depth as I can. It'll give you something to look forward to and now that I've tipped my hand I feel somewhat committed to get it done. I'll try to be more diligent. Stay tuned.

Arches National Park

This is a plein air watercolor I painted at the campground in Arches N.P. in Utah last fall. I just love the red rock features and the complimentary green. This old snag was casting it's shadow loosely on the red rock behind it one morning and I couldn't resist the painting. After a round of dutch oven cinammon rolls with coofee cup in hand I settled in to capture great little scene. If this is something you might be interested in it is at auction here.

This is another one I did later in the day. It was also painted from the campground if you are familiar with the area. The hoodoos or goblins as they are sometimes called were great shapes and color in contrast to the silvery sage and other ground cover. It is also at auction here.


I have several more paintings at auction. Please browse through them and if you have any questions about them, let me know. Thanks for stopping by.

Hummingbird Feeding Frenzy

This is a video of some hummingbirds that swarmed the feeder my sister-in-law Donna hung up outside their camper trailer while we were camping up in the Big Cimarron area of the Colorado mountains last weekend. These little guys seemed to be REALLY hungry. We sat and watched them that evening for an hour or more. Enjoy.

Torrey, UT

Here we are I'm In Torrey, Ut. It was a beautiful ride here and we managed to stay dry. In fact it was rather warm to hot in places. Things change on short notice however. As you can see, we stand to get our 40% chance of rain. We've been watching this storm from our campsite. A fantastic lightening show going on. We may have to retreat to the bar across the street to wait this one out. Stay tuned.

On My Way

Headed to the Will James Round Up Ranch Rodeo in Hardin, MT. I used to live up there years ago and still have good friends there.

Left the shop in Montrose, CO. about 2pm and got into Rawlins, WY. a little after 8 this evening. Quite warm all the way. 95 in Craig, CO. 85 here in Rawlins. Trying to decide whether to even bother with setting the tent up. I think not.

Even though it was quite warm, it was a great ride. Lots of open country with rolling sage covered hills. Saw several antelope right along the road. They looked good.

A Weeklong Loop on the Harley

Took a little ride on the Harley last week up into Canada. We've made the trip before and it never disappoints. Lots of wonderfully beautiful country between here and there. Lightly traveled back roads, campgrounds with some great people and a couple of interesting places to eat along the way. Lots of paintings to do and stories to write.

Our route took us out through northwestern Colorado, into eastern Utah, eastern Idaho, a short run through part of northwestern Wyoming, up through the middle of Montana and into Canada. From there we crossed part of southwestern Alberta, over Crows Nest Pass and into southeastern BC. We then dropped back into Montana, Idaho, Utah and finally back into Colorado. We intentionally didn't want to go through Jackson Hole, Teton and Yellowstone National Parks largely because of traffic congestion. As beautiful and magical as those places are, it is very slow going and a bit hazardous on motorcycles especially since we were going to be just passing through.

This was our camp the first night, just outside of Montpelier, ID. A very nice KOA and a great spot to rest and have a cold one. From Montpelier on north the country was just spectacular. We rode along Swan Lake in Idaho for a good many pleasant miles. What a beautiful lake. The lake was on our left and the road turned and dipped making for a great ride. On the right side were high power poles with nests on the tops for the Osprey Falcons. We saw several of those special birds.

At Swan Lake Junction, where the road forks, is a really great gas station, convenience store, ice cream shop combo. We stopped here before and again enjoyed some Huckleberry ice cream on the bench out front. It's a popular stopping point and a other bikers joined us to discuss the roads and motorcycles.

We took the right fork in the road which leads to Victor, Driggs, and Ashton, idaho along the western side of the Teton Range. This route offers some spectacularly uncommon views of the Tetons from their "backside". This part of the ride was a definite favorite.

A slight miscalculation (a missed turn) gave us the opportunity to run into a little of the local traffic outside of Ashton, ID.  Once we got onto the correct route we rolled into West Yellowstone and through the northwest corner of Yellowstone, NP. Despite the traffic and congestion, Yellowstone is still a very magical place. Out through Gardiner, MT we spent the second night at a KOA 10 miles from Livingston, MT. Generally we eat breakfast and lunch out of the coolers we take in our little cargo trailers and eat an evening meal in town, but since it was 10 miles into Livingston we opted to cook some brauts over an open fire and wash them down with a couple of cold beers. Wow, were those good. A great end to a great day.

Our third day would take us deeper into Montana, through Great Falls on the way to Glacier NP before we entered into Canada. Time did not allow us to take in the Charlie Russel Museum in Great Falls. Fortunately, we stopped there on a previous trip however. It wasn't until we got back and I was looking through the latest issue of Watercolor Magazine that I saw an ad for a show at the museum featuring 100 of Charlie Russel original watercolors. It runs through September, 15 so I may just have to go back. I'd really like to see it.

This is taken from the bridge over the Saint Mary River form the back of the motorcycle as we arrived that evening. This serene and beautiful evening was just a calm before the storm unfortunately.

The next morning we awoke to a soggy day in Saint Mary, MT at the eastern entrance to Glacier NP. Nothing worse than rolling up a wet tent, but the road was calling and on we went. High winds and more rain were forecast so our ride over "The Going To The Sun Road" in Glacier NP, was abandoned. This was the second time we missed doing that ride. The first time, a couple of years ago, was put off because of snow. The road hadn't been opened yet and it was the middle of June.

This was the weather that morning looking into Glacier from the KOA we camped at the previous night (See photo before this one). What is hard to tell from the photo is the the winds were very brisk with gusts forecast to 60 mph in the passes. We spent an hour in the office with a coffee and a map to see what our options were. Without much choice we decided to press on into Canada, to Waterton NP in Alberta, which is an extension of our Glacier NP. The border was a mere 30 miles or so away.

This was our welcoming committee near the Canadian Border. It's actually a couple of sculptures of Blackfeet Indians, whose home ground we were on. Their native lands know no boundaries and are a part of Canada as well as the US. The skies were clearing here but the wind was stiff as you can see by the flags.

This is Chief Mountain, sacred to the Blackfeet. The US, Canadian Border is not far away. As you can see, threatening clouds began to build and by the time we reached the small border crossing, another 5 miles down the road, it was drizzling.

There were four of us on three motorcycles. Kathy and I were on our Ultra Classic and her brother Tim, on his Ultra Classic, and his wife Donna on her Heritage Soft Tail Classic. All Harleys, for those who don't know.

Kathy and I were in the lead coming up to the Canadian Border check station. There was a line so we waited in the rain. Apparently one of the border guards thought we looked suspicious. Stay tuned to find out what happened next. To be continued...

Tomorrow, Thursday, July 11, I'm headed to Hardin, MT for the Will James Roundup, a ranch rodeo some friends put on each year. Should make for some great photography for future paintings. I'm going to try something a little different and "blog" my way along, giving daily updates as I go. I'll be riding the Harley, traveling by myself, light and fast, so we'll see how it goes. If as planned, I should be back in the shop/studio on Monday sometime.

Until tomorrow...

September

This is a great time of year. I can already feel fall in the air. Although it brings an end to the fine days of summer, and a fine one it has been, fall has it’s own character and appeal.


We pretty much have ended our motorcycle camping trips for this year. It has been an adventurous summer. I got to see some great country, met some neat people and got a lot of material for new paintings to do this winter. By camping and traveling on the motorcycle we managed to get it all done for a little over $600. Can’t beat it.

September, and most of October for that matter, will still offer up some great opportunities that I’m looking forward to. Our fabulous fall colors will be upon us soon. I see hints of it starting already. For a landscape artist, this is a prime time of year. People pay big bucks to come see and experience what we have right here in our own backyard. We don’t have to go far to see some of the best fall colors the Rocky Mountain West has to offer.

I’ll give you a couple of prospects for you to think about in the coming weeks. For a day trip, it is hard to beat the road over Kebler Pass. Between Paonia and McClure Pass you’ll see the turnoff. You’ll wind up in the colorful little town of Crested Butte which has several outstanding places to get a bite to eat. Highly recommended .

Another favorite is to go up and over Owl Creek Pass. You access that loop either by going south toward Ridgway and turning left or go east on Hwy 50 just past the little community of Cimarron. Turn right and follow the road. Either way, the road will take you through some of the best color available. Both are easy drives. A picnic would be in order.

For an overnighter, I would head east on Hwy 50 to Lake City and go over Slumgullion Pass, through Creede and South Fork, over Wolf Creek Pass and into Pagosa Springs for the night. JJ’S Riverwalk Restaurant is a good place for supper. A soak in the hot springs afterwards might be nice. The return route through Durango and over the passes to Ouray and on home will be hard to beat.

Two different overnight trips to Utah in October when the temps will be cooler are worth considering. This is a perfect time to see Moab and Arches N.P. as well as going a little farther to Capitol Reef N.P. If I don’t forget, I’ll expand a little on these next week. See you when you get back.

Mary's Bar

Several years ago I was doing an art show in Santa Fe, NM. During the week or so I spent painting in the area, I came across the little village of Cerrillos just south of Santa Fe. It’s on the beginning of the Turquoise Trail, so named for all of the turquoise mined in the area.

Cerrillos is a very quaint, little village typical of the Southwest. Heavy Mexican influence in the adobe architecture, iron and or wooden gates in the adobe walls, the requisite Catholic Church, a few artist’s studios, dirt streets and a really cool “old town” district which comprises all of two blocks. Not too many of the places are open anymore except for a couple of antique stores and an old bar. The old buildings and town have been used in several movies however, “Young Guns” and “Vampires” to name a couple of the more recent ones. I did a nice watercolor of what used to have been the old Wortley Hotel.

One of the more interesting “establishments” in town is Mary’s Bar. It is located right on the corner of Main and 1st Street. Mary’s is still open to the public…you might say. Although I’ve been back to Cerrillos several times over the last couple of years, and even did a painting of the building, I’ve never ventured into Mary’s Bar. This time my traveling companions and I decided to check it out.

We pulled our Harley’s up and parked them against the low adobe wall in front. From the outside, Mary’s doesn’t look like much. In fact most people, other than the locals, probably wouldn’t bother going inside. It didn’t even look like it was open. Cautiously we opened the door and peeked inside. There was an old lady sitting at a table right up front. Tim asked her if they were open and she replied, “I’m here aren’t I?” We filed in.

The room was dimly lit, even for a bar and the house keeping was…well let’s just say a bit lacking. A black and white cat walked down the length of the bar to greet us. I asked the lady, “Are you Mary?” “Last time I checked!” she replied. We ordered a couple of beers, petted the cats and chatted with Mary. She’s 95 years old, born in Cerrillos and quite the character. We had a fabulous time listening to her recant her life experiences. Several times she mentioned that she was mad at God because he wouldn’t take her yet.

If you make it down there, don’t expect too much. As Mary repeatedly said, “If you don’t like it, the door swings both ways and you are welcome to leave.”

Here's Sister-in-Law Donna chatting it up with Mary. She was a real hoot.

Kathy and I toasting a cold one to my sister Mary.

Hmmm...he seems to like that.

Yea, OK. I'll be your buddy. You're welcome.

We'll probably be checking back in at Mary's Bar whenever we're down that way. That stop made our trip. Good times. If you do a search for "Mary's Bar, Cerrillos, NM" on google you'll find several YouTube videos and other sites with comments by those who have stopped in. Check it out.

Hoist a Cold One

“Hoist a Cold One”, written by Melody Groves with great photos by Myke Groves, is a gem of a book my wife discovered. It covers historic bars of the Southwest. This couple traveled around Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and of course Colorado looking for old historic bars from days of old. What a great idea. I wish I had thought of it. By “bars”, I mean the pieces of furniture that make up the “front” bar, over which the drinks and beers are served to sitting or standing patrons, the “back” bar which was usually adorned by a mirror or two, shelving for the various bottles of liquor and racks for the glasses. Often there was also a liquor cabinet at one end which housed extra bottles of booze.

Most of these pieces of furniture were hand crafted in the mid to late 1800’s. While some were imported from Europe, many were made here in the US. All of them were handcrafted by wood working artisans in cherry, walnut or mahogany, with a lot of hand carved detail. Wonderful pieces of “art”. It is difficult to imagine these fine pieces of furniture and accompanying mirrors, traveling over hundreds and even thousands of miles by whatever means of conveyance that was available at the time. It’s a wonder that any of them arrived safely.

As a result of Prohibition, during which establishments in the business of selling and serving alcohol were closed down, these beautiful bars were removed and hidden from the Ladies of Temperance, saving them from destruction. Many were “stored” in Old Mexico. When Prohibition was lifted, they began to resurface and once again found homes in saloons, bars and taverns.

Interestingly, in my travels searching out material for paintings and looking for old classic signage and gold letters on window glass, I have found myself in the same room as some of these historic pieces of furniture…strictly for purposes of research you understand. In our neck of the woods, the book lists The Diamond Belle in the Strater Hotel, Durango; Grumpy’s Saloon in the Grand Imperial, Silverton; The Brown Bear Café in Silverton, and the Silver Eagle Saloon in Ouray.

Recently I was in the Lone Cone Saloon in Norwood, which was overlooked by the author. They have one of these classic old bars that was made in the late 1800’s and shipped from the Midwest. A beautiful piece of furniture. The carvings and woodwork are outstanding. You ought to check it out. The green chile burger, with a cold draught is recommended.

I believe I might have to look for other similar pieces of “art” the author may have missed and hoist a cold one in salute to the craftsmen.

Two Extras

Here are two extra paintings I did while in Crested Butte for the show this past weekend.

The one just above is of a pond at the campground I stayed in. This pond was lined with these beautiful Cottonwood trees. The light and the reflections were too much to pass up. When I left the campground to go to the show Friday morning, I had to stop and do the painting. I'm glad I did as it turned out to be a good one. Unfortunately I had already turned in the paintings for the show and they were already hung.

The first painting pictured above, is of a scene between Crested Butte and Almont, that I did on the way home Sunday. Even though the show was over, the artist in me wouldn't let me pass up the opportunity to do this painting. It is the road to "Jake's Cabin" which climbs throught the pass and down to the Taylor River on the otherside. Again it was the light on this scene that prompted me to stop and do the painting.

Stopping to do the painting of "The Road to Jake's Cabin" reminded me of a time that son Ted and I were going to go to Canada several years ago to paint and fish. We had two weeks. The idea was to paint and fish our way to Calgary, Alberta where I had a friend who had invited us up there to fish the Bow River. Ted would do the fishing and I would do the painting...and maybe do a little fishing too. At the end of ten days, we hadn't even gotten out of the state of Colorado, so we had to call the trip off. Ted said that next time I couldn't do any painting until we got to Canada, which was the case the following year. That time it worked out better.

So is the risk if I stop to paint everything I see no matter when or where I am going I might get anywhere. I would love to have the time to do that, just wandering around stopping to paint the picture and then move on to the next one, maybe stopping to fish a bit too. It's a good thing I got home Sunday, even though a bit later than I had told Kathy I be there. It is a wonder that I get anywhere, when I'm supposed to, when I have a painting kit with me.

Although these paintings weren't in the show I have framed them and they are available at my sudio/gallery. They are both 9x12 watercolors and are framed with linen mats, fillets and Museum glass and for sale for $600 each. I can send you a photo of them framed if you are interested.

Crested Butte Plein Air Invitaional

I have to say that the reception and show in general for the Crested Butte Plein Air Invitational, hosted by the Oh Be Joyful gallery in Crested Butte this past weekend was very well done. The quality of work was very good. As with all shows, there were some paintings that weren't up to par but overall it was very impressive. The hard work of Shaun and his staff in setting up the tent and the lighting and the hanging of the paintings definitely showed. It is a difficult task to show art properly in an outdoor setting but they did it.

The idea here is that 45 artists (all professionals), including myself, were invited to come to Crested Butte and paint the subjects of our choice as long as it represented Crested Butte and the surrounding area, and then display and sell the results. I was fascinated by the choice of subjects that each artist made and how he or she represented the chosen subject matter in their paintings. It is well known that if you take five artists and line them up to paint the same thing, the results will vary. That's art. Each of us sees the same thing in a different manner and will portray what we see differently than the artist standing next to us. Click here to see what each of us painted and what sold.

While the big show is over, select pieces of art have been kept by the gallery for the remainder of the show which runs through Sunday. If there is anything of mine that you see that interests you please let me know as I have all of them back here in my gallery with the exception of "CB Alley" which the gallery chose to keep until the end of the show. I was fortunate to have sold my "quick draw" painting (a quick draw is a set time limit we all had to do a painting) on Saturday. It is not pictured however. Thanks to Brenda from Tulsa who bought it.

Skeeters, Prairie Dogs and Texans

OK. You’re probably wondering what these have in common. Truth is…nothing, but follow along gentle readers and I shall tell you a tale that will shed a little light on the matter.


I was up in CB again last weekend painting for a show coming up in July. For those of you who don’t know, CB is the moniker that the locals in Crested Butte use when referring to their little burg. I’ve been up there so much lately that I feel I have the right to use it.

The first night I camped on a gravel bar close to the trees along the swollen Slate River. The setting sun cast wonderful shadows across the land. It was beautiful. As night fell on me up there at about 9500 feet, the mosquitoes decided to join the party. I quickly built a fire, lit a cigar and let the smoke of both bath me in an attempt to ward off the pesky little critters. The next day I moved over to Washington Gulch and discovered a field of brilliant yellow dandelions. In the far background was the silhouette of Mt. Crested Butte. A painting for sure.

The breeze was blowing rather stiffly where I was parked so I climbed a nearby hillside and got into the trees a bit. This actually afforded a better view anyway, but I soon discovered that the skeeters liked it up there out of the wind too. The little rascals were ferocious. Lots of deet and another cigar seemed to have little impact. Being the professional I am however, I endured the pests and did the painting. With arms and paint flailing wildly about and doing a little jig back and forth at the easel trying to avoid the little beasts I must’ve looked like an idiot up there having a fit. Hope nobody was watching.

Back at the truck, while I sat on the tailgate enjoying a cold one and taking in the spectacular view I had just painted I thought about the mosquito. I think the worst place for mosquitoes I’ve ever been was up in Jackson Hole when I was younger and being a cowboy. I remember trying to eat a sandwich in the barn one day and it was difficult to take a bite without getting a mouthful to add a little flavoring. Alaska claims the mosquito as their state bird. I don’t know about that since the only time I was in Alaska it was 35 below in February. Weren’t too many bugs of any kind out at that time of the year.

Oh! Prarie Dogs and Texans? I’ll have to say those for another time. Thanks for stopping by though and stay tuned.

Luck of the Norwegian

Last weekend I spent a couple of days in Crested Butte doing some paintings for an up coming show in July. Saturday I closed the shop up a little early and jumped on the Harley, loaded with camping gear and my painting kit. The weather wasn’t too bad Saturday afternoon and I got some work done that evening. Sunday, the day started out OK even though it was mostly overcast with the sun poking out just long enough to create some nice shadows and beautiful light on the Sherpa Café which was my chosen subject matter for the morning.


Later I stopped by the Oh Be Joyful Gallery which is hosting the show in July and met up with a fellow artist, Meredith Nemirov and Shaun Horne, owner of the gallery. We discussed various locales to paint and then went our separate ways. Meredith was headed for the high country but I elected to stay in town on the pavement, primarily because I was on the Harley and hadn’t brought my tire chains.

I found a colorful flower box down an alley on the side of a building with a red door and red trimmed windows. There was even the requisite bicycle. I was again briefly blessed by just enough sun to give me some cast shadows to create a nice effect of light. By the time I was finished the wind was picking up some more and the crowds on the streets had thinned significantly.

After a burger and a beer at a sidewalk pizzeria, I strolled around for awhile looking for another place to paint and made a few sketches but by then the sun had disappeared leaving everything disappointingly flat in color. I decided to ride out toward Mt. Crested Butte, the ski area, to see how things looked. As I got out of the confines of the buildings and into some open space I was amazed to look up toward the range of mountains to the north and saw what a couple of months ago I would have called a snow squall sweeping in. I sat there and watched it long enough to decide that it was time to bail.

Although I had planned to spend the night and paint on Monday, I headed back to Almont, broke camp, loaded up and headed home. A good thing too as I got wet with a couple of showers on the way home and later that evening in the comfort of my warm house I saw that there was a winter storm advisory in CB for that night. In June? Who would’ve thought? My Norwegian luck worked again. A great time was had never-the-less.

Gone Painting

Headed to Crested Bute to paint for the weekend. Sleeping bag, check; tent, check; painting kit, check; cooler, ckeck...you know...I could be one independent SOB if I wasn't so responsible. Can't think of a better way to spend a couple of days. It'd be real easy to say..."see you in the fall if I see you at all". I'd probably miss my bride and my cat though so I'll be back on Monday to report in.

Streetscapes

Went up to Crested Butte the other day and I must say it was an absolutely beautiful day for a ride…just perfect. The Oh Be Joyful Gallery is hosting a plein air paint out and show in mid July and I am one of 45 artists nationwide that has been invited to participate. Typically we artists will fan out into the surrounding countryside and paint these scenic Rocky Mountains. I’ve done this with the Telluride Plein Aire Festival for several years.


This time I’m going to approach it all a little differently. The town of Crested Butte is a particularly colorful little berg. The multicolored old Victorian style buildings are really very interesting. Walking around the streets, checking things out, I decided that I would paint in town. The architecture and color is simply too interesting to pass up…not to mention the characters, and as you all know, I love to paint characters.

While Telluride has to be known for the number of dogs in their town, Crested Butte holds the record for the number of bicycles. Good grief. They were everywhere. It’s hard to believe that there are enough members of that community to pedal all those bikes around. Very brightly painted old school bikes in the style of the 50’s with baskets on them parked next to dirty well used mountain bikes. Great subject matter.

My wife Kathy and I spent a couple of hours walking up and down historic Elk Ave which is the main drag. We wandered onto the side streets and ventured into the adjoining alleys where the real treasures were to be found as we discovered. There are little, and I mean LITTLE eateries adorned with lively colored flower boxes tucked away in the most obscure places …more good stuff to paint.

I’ve painted in the Crested Butte area before. CB is well known for their wildflowers. They even have a wildflower festival. The landscape in the area is as good as it gets but I think that this time I’m going to go for the streetscapes. There is just too much good stuff to pass up in that little town.

Painting on the streets, however, is a completely different challenge than being out in the countryside. Lots of distractions. Folks tend to gather around thereby creating a lot of pressure on you not to screw the painting up. Every stroke has to count. Especially since I will be doing watercolors in which there is little tolerance for mistakes.

I’m going to go on my Harley, take a watercolor kit and paint right from the bike. It’ll be easy to get around and park where I need to. That ought to be a sight. In fact I'm headed up there this weekend for several days of painting. Camping, painting and riding my Harley. Can't think of a better way to spend Father's Day. I’ll keep you posted.

Chasing Tumble Weeds

Last weekend, I took a little trip to Arizona on the Harley with my wife Kathy and another couple. The idea was to go to Canyon de Chelly at Chinle, AZ and down the road a bit to the historic Hubble Trading Post at Ganado and do some watercolors of these scenic and famous places. Both are on the Navajo Reservation. Originally we were going to camp at Chinle but let me just say that it didn’t work out. I’ll leave it at that. Instead, we decided to camp in Cortez, CO and make a day trip down into the Rez on Sunday. Unfortunately that’s the only part that worked as planned.


We arrived in Cortez midday and set up camp. That afternoon the wind began to blow. Our wisdom told us that it would die down when it got dark. I mean, typically that’s the way it goes. You know that. Well, I’m here to say that the wind howled all night long. None of us got any sleep, what with the sides of our flimsy nylon tents whipping violently and the fear that the tents stakes would rip out of the ground and we’d find ourselves tumbling through the night toward Kansas tangled in sleeping bags along with sundry camping gear.

At daylight, Sunday morning, with the wind still whipping us around, we collectively decided to go anyway. We’ve ridden in wind before. How bad can it be? I stuck a wetted finger in the air and announced that the good news was, on the return trip the wind would be at our backs.

By the time we got to Mexican Water, we realized that this was a serious wind and maybe we were being a little foolish. The kind older Navajo gentleman behind the counter at the little (and only) store where we stopped to seek refuge seemed to think so too. He didn’t say anything, he just stood there with a big grin and quietly chuckled when we came in. I’m sure he was thinking, “stupid white people”. He might have been right. Undeterred we forged on.

The wind was so strong at Hubble we didn’t stay long, and the sand storms at Chinle prevented us from seeing anything so we just kept riding. I was correct however that on the return trip we found a bit of relief when, at times, the wind was at our backs. However, when you have trouble keeping up with the tumble weeds “tumbling” down the road at 65 mph, you know the wind is blowing hard. We rode back to Cortez in one huge sandstorm. Needless to say that I didn’t get any painting done. I’m not really into “sand” paintings.

Desert Sunset

This is a painting fresh off of the easel of a view from the Cameron Trading Post on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona overlooking the Little Colorado River not far from the east entrance to the Grand Canyon. There is a wonderful dining room at the trading post that has a beutiful collection of Navajo rugs on the walls. The early evening light just at sundown was spectacular giving everything a warm glow. The orange light was contrast beautifully with the cooler long shadows cast across the desert landscape.

The painting was done on a linen panel that was first toned with a warm burnt sienna wash. The rest of the colors were painted over this wash with the warm tone of the burnt sienna coming through the thin transparent shadow washes. Heavier paint was used on the bright highlights. I just love the effect of the cool transparent darks.

The painting is for sale in my studio.

Adobe Gate

This is a watercolor I painted on location in Santa Fe, NM a couple of years ago while there for an art show. Santa Fe. What can I say. It is such an artist paradise what with all of the old adobe structures and the rich history not to mention the fabulous art galleries.

Painting "en plein aire" is such a joy and what a wonderful place to do it. The shadows cast across this adobe wall and the entrance gate was too much to pass up.

This watercolor is double matted in acid free white mat with an acid free backing. The image size is 9x12 and with the matting will fit into a 14x18 ready made frame. The painting is for sale at my studio.

Navajo Nation

I was headed to Tucson, AZ one winter for a show and was on the highway between Shiprock, NM and Gallup, NM when I came across this scene on the Navajo Reservation. The colors of the red butte and white and blue shadows of the snow caught my eye so I pulled over and did the painting on the spot. Because it was winter and cold outside I did the painting from inside my pickup, through the windshield, which I have done many times when the weather wasn't conducive for b eing outside. It is for sale at auction. You can go there by clicking here.