Rim Meadow, Fall

Rim Meadow, Golden Gate State Park, CO - 20x30" - oil on linen

Here is the "finished" painting from my last post. I say "finished" lightly as I just because I am "done" for now does not mean I won't work on it again at a later date. I made the changes that I talked about in that post. Bringing some of the rhythms from the original block in back. Someone at my office said, "You can smell the forest." I take that as a high compliment. It has been awhile since I have painted a true Colorado landscape and I enjoyed it very much.

Progression of Aspen Meadow in Fall-Work in Progress

Week 1 Block in

The initial block in went well. The patterns and eye flow I was wanting were pretty much there. All in all I was happy with the start of this painting. The reference photo I am using for this is from Golden Gate State Park, the meadow between two trails, mid-September of last year.

Week 2 correcting drawing from block in

Week two I realized how slender the pine tree was on the left so doubled it in width and with that had to move the two aspens on the right over as well. I added a tilt to the right as I had made it too straight up and down. Also corrected the angle of the aspen coming from behind the pine tree. Then I started on getting the values corrected. It is noonish on a bright sunny day so the grasses and other flora had to be lightened up as they are getting the most direct sun. I used some leftover light blue from my palette to redo the sky holes but know it was not going to need to be lighter at some point.

Week 3 refining

It is good to see the progress made over three weeks. I see some things in week 3 that I like but I also see somethings that I have lost since the original block in that I want to bring back.One of those is the lovely arrow movement of the meadow behind all the aspens. Stay tuned for the next step. Week 4 is critique.

Snowing in Denver but it is still Spring in my heart

Crocus

I took these two garden photos this past weekend in the garden of my good friend and walking partner, Bonnie. Who would believe that a day later a blizzard would be the order of the day? This is not my usual topic for this blog but I just felt called to share a little sunshine amid the frigid temperatures we are now experiencing. I did cover my hellebores before the storm hit. Not sure that it was necessary as they are one of the early bloomers like crocus, but I did not want to take a chance. We often see crocus still poking their heads out through snow but I could not remember if hellebores could take snow and frigid tems or not. The forsythia on the other hand are looking frozen. Darn it, as mine was just in the middle of its beauty cycle.

Hellebore, also called Lenten Rose

Mule deer taken a siesta outside my office building on Lowry last week

The mule deer, and we have noted there are two distinct herds, are now hanging out around our campus. This is the smaller of the two herds and mostly young deer. We can only surmise what has brought them to Lowry as none of us at work are experts on mule deer, but I am guessing it may have something to do with the drought. Not that there is much to eat here either, but it must be enough if we have two herds showing up on a regular basis. Seeing the deer outside our window sure does lift the spirits of us all no matter what the reason is for their camping out on our lawn. This is right outside the break room, too.

Phaleanopsis, flowered at work

Last but not least, I have to show off the orchid that bloomed in my cubicle. The plant was given to me by a friend who was going to throw it away - she had inherited a bunch of houseplants from a relative that was moving out of town and she wanted nothing to do with them. Either I take them or in the trash they would go. And lo and behold, about 6 months later it throws out a stem and 8 blossoms later here it is.