A light hearted discussion of the days painting projects, demonstrations and general art thoughts. From me ... to you!
On the heels of my big plein air show, I will be at the Calyx show on Saturday (only). I will have watercolours, mixed media plus some plein air oil paintings, with something in just about everyone's budget. If you live in or are visiting Calgary, you simply must make an effort to get to the show. It has different artists on Sunday, so it is an entirely new show each day. The show really has a following now, with over 800 visitors each day, it is a 'happening'.
"At Ghost Ranch", plein air watercolour, 5.5 x 15.25"
"Utah Juniper", plein air oil painting, 10x8"
This is another view of the Needles on a wonderful hike that took us right up to the bases of these giants. And boy can the wind howl between them. If you haven't been to Arches or Canyonlands National Parks in southern Utah, you really should put it on your bucket list.
"View From Our Needles Campground", 9 x 12", plein air oil painting
This is my darling on one of hikes into the needles. Too bad that a photo really can't capture the amazing feeling of being there!
One of the last things I did while at Arches National Park was to take a guided hike into a place called the Fiery Furnace. Some places were so tight that you had to really maneuver to get by. I felt like a 12 year old boy!!
Enjoy!
I did this pen and ink and watercolour sketch at Island in the Sky, the northernmost part of Canyonlands National Park. This part of Canyonlands is very similar to the Grand Canyon, but on a much smaller scale. The mountain range in the distance still had a lot of snow on it, creating a wonderful contrast for the layered reds, oranges and tans of the sandstone.
Some more of the fabulous scenery in the area.
Dave took me to see the sunset at Fisher Towers, and while there was a phenomenal sunset, I couldn't take my eyes off the reflected light on the towers. I didn't touch this shot in photoshop, honest, it really was like that!
Ever since I visited Writing On Stone Provincial Park I have been fascinated with early native pictographs and petroglyphs. I was delighted to go exploring along the Colorado River and find so many fine examples of several different tribes and times, some dating back a thousand years. As always, it is devastating to see modern graffiti obliterating some of the drawings. Why is it that mankind has always desired to leave his mark wherever he goes?
"Big Bend Beach -Moab", plein air oil painting, 12 x16"
This is "Landscape Arch" in Arches National Park. It is very thin and as long as a football field. The photo doesn't show how tall the opening is, but it is about 100 feet up. You can't hike right up under this one, in case it falls down!
Hiking in Arches is amazing! This is one arch we came upon totally by surprise. It was about 75C and sunny that day, a welcome relief from the cold and snow of home.
You can see the tiny figure of my hubby under this arch -and he is pretty tall himself! I was really glad that my Panasonic Lumix has great telephone and wide angle capabilities. Both came in very handy on this trip.
This is what the front of my house looked like when we left -that is our campervan in the drive, ready to go with a newly installed furnace (thank goodness!). I took this photo because I thought I would use it to compare when we got back -I had expected daffodils and green grass...
This is what we came home to find! Not a blade of green grass to be seen anywhere. I have never seen snow like this in Calgary in the middle of April. It continued to snow for several more days after we got back, and we began to despair of ever seeing spring. By now the snow is melting, and as long as it doesn't snow again, we should have green lawns by the end of the month. Here's hoping!