Late June we had the opportunity to tag along on a Colorado River rafting trip with a couple other families in the McInnis Canyon area. We started out of Fruita, CO and traveled all the way across the boarder into Utah. It was a fun time in some beautiful country. The weather was very warm, but nothing that water can't fix! We stayed at two different campsites two different nights and went on a few hikes along the way.
This is my latest painting of an autumn landscape with a big bull elk bugling. It represents what I view as a classic Colorado fall scene. The elk reference I used in this picture was taken from a photograph I took years ago in Rocky Mountain National Park. The autumn landscape was taken near the Silverthorne/Vail area on a fall colors photography trip, while the sagebrush in the foreground was taken from yet another photograph. Putting all these images together in a rough composite allowed me to tweak the composition exactly the way I wanted it. I then adjusted the lighting so they fit together. Artist license... it's allowed!
Elk reference photo
Inpiration background photo
Photoshopped reference photo
Recently, I have been working on my technique with the goal to paint faster without sacrificing quality. I try to use a larger brush for much of the piece to fill in sections faster giving the illusion of texture and detail, especially in the background. Another thing that I'm learning is that using a solid reference photograph goes a long way toward creating that realistic, engaging image. It's fun to compare images from the past to see how you've grown as an artist. Below is a similar painting I completed when I was in college 15 years ago. Side by side with this current one, you can see a lot of technical improvements:
15 years ago
Today
Last, here's a complete time-lapse video of the entire painting process:
Cami and I had our annual backpacking adventure last week. We chose to hike in to the American Lakes area to the northwest of RMNP in the evening and then wake early to hike up Lulu Mountain (12,228 ft.) for sunrise. This was the first time for both of us visiting the Neversummer mountains. It was a nice easy backpack to the Michigan Lakes and the hike up Lulu is gentle on tundra. I'd highly recommend this as a day trip or backpack as the views up there were stunning. Also, the Michigan Lakes had a TON of fish in them.
On our hike in we were startled by two bull moose on the trail. We stopped walking as soon as we saw them. They stood on the trail just staring at us. Molly started to approach the animals despite our yelling at her. As she got closer, the largest bull started moving toward her (and us) like it was about to charge at her. Molly immediately stopped pursuing and tucked her tail and ran back to Cami and I. Whew! Smart dog! These animals did not seem even slightly afraid of us. We waited on the trail here for maybe 20 minutes until the moose lost interest and wandered into the forest.
The rest of the hike was uneventful and we reached our campsite at treeline about sunset. It was a beautiful, peaceful place and we could tell that we had the whole area all to ourselves.
Lulu Mountain (right)
We woke the next morning and as soon as we got out of our tent, we saw a pair of eyes reflected in our headlights looking at us from in the forest. Another animal encounter! This time it was just a deer. As we hiked toward Thunder Pass we also scared off a pair of cow elk. We reached a high shoulder below the summit as sunrise began.
Here's a link to a gopro time-lapse video of the sunrise:
We stayed here for a while and had a snack, then continued up the last little section of the peak. You could only barely make out all the rest of the National Park to the south and west due to the smoke from all the wildfires.
It was 90 degrees when I left my house on Friday afternoon. Two hours later, I was driving through a blizzard at the Eisenhower Tunnel. That's a Colorado Fall for you.
Many people may not realize, but there is a ton of research, planning, preparation and patience involved in these multi-day photography trips. This year's trip was centered around the peaks of the stunning, but not very popular Eagle's Nest Wilderness a.k.a. the Gore Range. I took almost 1500 pictures over the course of 4 days. If I could describe the experience in one word, it would be "cold"... and "beautiful"...and "lonely". I don't have time to write the story behind each image, so I'll just post some of the best ones from the trip:
One night I stayed out late to get some milky way shots as the sky was so clear at Piney Lake. After shooting, Molly and I were heading back to the truck in the dark. All of the sudden, Molly stops in the middle of the trail. She must notice something. Right in front of us we hear this loud grunting sound. We both freeze. A couple seconds later the same grunting sound. All I can think is, "Man I hope that's not a bear". Then I see another headlight in front of us. No... it's not another headlamp. It's the reflection of my own headlight in the eye of a large animal. It grunts at us again. This time Molly barks at it very loudly. The creature starts moving toward us, then turns to its right and starts walking down the hill. As it passes, I can see two HUGE antlers of a bull moose. It walks past us toward Piney Lake. I later found out that this moose is well known at the Piney Ranch. Apparently, they call him Monty. All I have to say is I'm thankful for my canine hiking partner!
