The Road Home - CR 519

The Road Home-CR 519, 9x12, oil on panel

Last week was spent up in Fraser, CO. A dear friend of mine offered me his home while he and his wife attended a conference. It was rather last minute, but who can resist a place to stay at the peak of wildflower season? With the added bonus of cooler temperatures and the home in question being brand new with a view over the valley below it?

For whatever reason, roads still attract me as subject matter, so here is the straight and narrow, well graded road off which I stayed. I painted this scene last fall after my last stay up at this house, but in that painting played it a bit more abstractly. In case you missed that post, here is the painting as comparison from a slightly different angle.

I wish I could say I painted this plein air, but alas, no. I had ventured out to paint the wildflowers but realized rather quickly that without bug spray this was a losing proposition. I came home with a number of mosquito and horse fly bites and no painting to show for it. In a few weeks I will join PAAC for their annual paint out trip which this year is in Steamboat Springs. I have already made sure bug spray is included. I will also try a homemade chemical free recipe I found on Facebook but will take the chemical weapons as back up. I do not like being eaten alive.