Two Durango area landscapes in pastel - plein air

I'm leaving for a weekend trip to Taos in a bit, so this post will be super short - just two recent paintings of the landscape near Durango.

Yesterday morning's painting, from Haviland Lake:

Monsoon Skies Over Hermosa Cliffs - 12x12"
pastel on sanded black cardstock
© S.Johnson

This painting was as much about the clouds and skies as the landscape.  By the time I finished painting, the clouds had almost completely filled the sky and thunder could be heard to the northeast.  

Dry Summer - 12x12"
pastel on brown cardstock
© S.Johnson

Painting from July 1 afternoon, at Pastorias SWA.  Looks much better in person, where the two layers of distal mountains are visible.  Much of Florida Mesa has been cultivated and developed to irrigated farmland, but I opted to paint this area of sagebrush and dry grasses to get a break from the green.

Everyone have a great weekend; with luck, I'll come back with a few paintings from Taos!

Blessing of Rain - plein air - donation to American Red Cross

Everyone has heard of the catastrophic Colorado Springs area Waldo fire that has destroyed almost 350 homes and displaced 32,000 others, at least temporarily.   This fire is now officially the most destructive in CO history, and the fire season has just begun!

Blessing Of Rain - 12x12", pastel on dark brown cardstock
plein air
© S.Johnson

This afternoon, pre-monsoon clouds filled the skies, and I decided to drive out to Pastorias SWA on Florida Mesa to paint the clouds.  It was a joyous thing to see rain coming down in the mountains to the north.  

As I painted this, I was thinking of the people that have lost their homes, and how helpless and sad this has made me feel.  I decided that the one thing I could possibly do was donate to the Red Cross.  So, I've decided to donate $100 from the sale of this painting to the Pikes Peak chapter of the American Red Cross.  

Price for the painting is $185 ppd.   I will provide a receipt of the donation to the buyer.

Thank you for looking.

Painting along the Rio Grande, and Treasure Falls in photos

Another long weekend trip in the mountains, this time crossing the Continental Divide.

Destination:  the Rio Grande Reservoir area, located about 25 miles west of Creed, CO.  Friends Sarah and Todd left last Tuesday and secured a primo spot about 30' away from the Rio Grande river, and we met them there on Thursday.

My goal was to do four paintings while there; I ended up completing two and getting maybe half way through a third that I probably won't finish, but may try later as a studio painting.  

The three issues that put a damper on an otherwise great trip were:  1) smoke from the 6-week old Little Sand fire, burning in a canyon near the Piedra river near Pagosa Springs that ranged from minor haze to headache-causing; 2) the massive die-off of spruce and fir due to bark beetles; 3) ants...but not like any ants I've ever dealt with.  These were everywhere, and literally dictated the few places I could paint.  These were large black and red ants, aggressive and territorial.  Stand anywhere near where they were, and within seconds, they were on your shoes, socks, clothing, skin - immediately biting.  Thankfully, no stingers on these, but good grief - it was a major hassle to try and paint!   

On to the paintings.  This first one, done the day we got to the camp, is one I'm quite pleased with.  I loved the view immediately, and that pair of trees - a blue spruce and Douglas fir behind - were the perfect accompaniment to the curving braid of the Rio Grande.

Rio Grande View - 12x12"
pastel on sanded black cardstock
© S.Johnson

The next morning, I decided to do a morning painting to take advantage of the lack of wind to do reflections.  I'm almost out of my 12x18" Artagain, so I've been sticking with the 12x12" or the 8.5x11" (which I managed to forget to bring on this trip), or occasionally, the 8x16" handmade boards with Golden pumice grit.  

Anyway, I can make many things work with a square composition, but this wasn't one of them.   I think you can see the appeal of this:

Side Creek Reflections

I've cropped this to a 16x12" format, and like it much better.  This is an offshoot creek of the Rio Grand that has lots of still water, these fabulous reflections, and surprisingly, many large cutthroat trout.  I enjoyed watching them dash around grabbing whatever insects made landings in the water while I painted.  They have surely tempted many an angler with their size and abundance (I counted 14, most over 8"), but they didn't get that big by biting on flies and lures.

Later in the afternoon, I went back down to the same area I'd painted the first day, this time to capture the view upstream.  This was one of those paintings that fell short of expectations, for various reasons.  The hardest part was trying to paint that whole mid-ground of dead spruce.

Riverside Spruce - 16x8"
pastel on board with Golden pumice ground + black acrylic
© S.Johnson

------

Some of the few photos I ended up keeping from the trip:

Shooting Star - the first time I've seen this flower in 35 years

Wayne fishing along the Rio Grande above the reservoir

 Series of photos of Treasure Falls, located along Hwy 160, about 3 miles west of Wolf Creek Pass:

Back to painting the CO landscape, and some musings on improving one's work

Spring Afternoon on the Piedra - plein air, 12x12 inches
pastel on black cardstock
© 2012, S.Johnson

Sometime shortly after coming back from our Utah trip, I decided that I would aim to do 100 plein air paintings this year.  Last year, I did about 50 - all pastel.  A subset of this goal is to have maybe 1/3 of them be in oil, once I can sort out the logistics of bringing the oil painting operation out of the studio.

Last year on this date, the number of plein air paintings I'd done: zero.  This painting is #14/17, as of today.  So, I guess I'm off to a pretty good start!

Why plein air in particular?  Honestly, because: a) I seriously enjoy it; b) I want to get better at it; c) plein air painting improves my studio pieces.

At the river's edge this past Sunday - a glorious (albeit a bit breezy at times!) day
in southwestern Colorado

The number sounds ambitious, but really comes down to averaging 5 paintings/week for 5 months.  Given that, practically speaking, I can paint about ~8.5 months of the year outdoors, this is pretty doable for me, and makes allotments for the inevitable lulls and other life events that always crop up from time to time.

It is said repeatedly by instructors and other artists that the best way to improve one's painting skills and therefore, becoming a better artist, is by simply painting more.   Lots more.  For the most part, I honestly think it's really that simple, and thus, my defined number goal.  I've given much thought to the process of painting, and what I feel has helped to improve my work and take it to the next level.  Maybe you'll agree with some of these suggestions?

- Augment with occasional workshops if you want to and can afford to (I can't), but don't rely on a workshop or an instructor to make you a successful painter:  consider the French Impressionists; no one was offering workshops in the 1870's when they were around.

- Spend time regularly studying the work of the Old Masters and contemporary artists whose work you admire (free, via the internet and your local library).  I collect books on art history, art technique and coffee table books on art that inspires me, and I regularly re-read them.

- Work on your drawing skills.  I think this may be the weak link for many artists, and I include myself here as well...

- Find a colleague or small group to get critiques and feedback on your work.   If you are a plein air painter, find someone(s) to paint with from time to time.  Painting is a lonely venture for most of us, and  it is unbelievably energizing to paint with other artists.  Anyone who has will surely attest to this!

- Experiment with new techniques and materials, just because you never know when you might find something that works even better for you than what you are using now.

- Push yourself to paint subjects you consider challenging or are a known weakness for you (like groups of trees...see painting above).  Consider setting a mini-goal to do x-number of  paintings of a given subject that you'd like to get better at rendering...like trees, or ellipses, or eyes.

- Definitely keep painting things you love and that you consider your forte'!

- Don't be caught up in producing an amazing, or even a successful, sellable painting every time you sit down to paint, as this will stifle creativity and produce burn-out.  In other words, focus on the process and not the outcome.

- Likewise, don't be discouraged when the inevitable crappy painting comes down the pike...because it will.   Laugh at it, and analyze it to figure out where, why and how it went south, and consider it a learning tool instead of a failure.

- And don't be afraid to toss the funk and earlier efforts out.  I usually keep all but the most horrific paintings around for a while, and then periodically, I go through and toss old work that maybe I sort of liked when I did it, but looking at it later, with more paintings under my belt, and a more experienced eye, and decide I just don't want it around anymore.

- Be mindful of why you are painting what you are painting.  Can you effectively verbalize what it was that drew you to paint a given subject?  Consider it practice for when the potential buyer asks you that question, because he or she will want to know!

Shoreline - pastel, plein air, 12x12 inches

Another of the pieces done on location and finished up in the studio:

Shoreline

12x12 inches - pastel on Strathmore

©2011 Sonya Johnson

This was painted last Friday, I believe, during a fishing/painting trip to Haviland Lake.  Back in mid-May, we'd hiked to the north end of the lake to a small and somewhat secluded peninsula away from the main shore that all the campers and most fishermen use, and it didn't seem that far...so, I decided to bring my french easel along for this trip.  However, after hauling it over 1/2 mile from the parking lot and across a good section of large broken rock, I was less enthusiastic about my decision and my shoulder and hand were nice and fatigued by the time we arrived to the location.

However, it took me pretty much no time at all to settle on this view - this small extension with its rocks, lots of neat grasses and reeds, and of course the lake reflections.  The distal shore has a slope of pine-fir-spruce to the left that transitions to a flat open area with some scattered pines and the distal Hermosa Cliffs and their aspen-covered slopes.  

I was thankful I'd put the Terry Ludwig dark eggplant (V100) pastel stick in my plein air box, because it's one of the few dark pastels I have to use for deep shadows (and I can see why so many pastelists find it an indispensable part of their palette).  I ended up finishing up the conifers in my studio, and did some touch-ups on the reeds and water reflection.  

I'm not sure the blue on the right side of the lake reads properly, but that's what was going on - small ripples were producing these sky blue bands and the bottom wasn't visible at all.  If this was sanded paper, I could keep tinkering with them until they looked right, but it isn't and thus my ability to make adjustments is a bit limited.  I already adjusted them twice (and reshot the photo just before I started this post), but I don't think it helped.  

---------

I've wanted a hummingbird feeder ever since we've lived in Durango, and in June, I bought a couple of inexpensive feeders.  It's been a few weeks, and now the little birds have been visiting the one off our lower deck regularly.  Of course, one of my ulterior motives was having them for photographic subjects. So, there will no doubt be periodic pictures of little hummers showing up here from time to time.  

They are so entertaining and fascinating to watch, and quite frankly, just plain cute.  I can't identify this species from my Audubon field guide, unfortunately.

Here are a few from the other day:

Having a look inside

This one was literally right outside the door, perhaps 2' away, and hovered long enough for me to get this photo.  What I like about this photo (aside from the unique perspective) is that the directional motion of the wings is visible - they appear to be moving in a figure-8.

Having a drink

How these birds manage to live on nothing but sugar water is amazing to me

Taking a break

The birds seem to use the little perches maybe 1/3 of the time during their visits.  A few will just sit for close to a minute, either feeding or just sitting and looking around

Lemon Reservoir and the Florida River - pastel, plein air

Another great day spent enjoying the perfect weather and painting...

Along the Florida 

12x12 inches

pastel on black Strathmore

Today's trip was to Lemon Reservoir, which is about 15 miles east of Durango, along the same road that leads to Vallecito Reservoir.  The Florida river (pronounced Floor-EE-da) runs down from the mountains and into the reservoir, and there is a day use area with lots of parking right where it enters, which was ideal.

I was lucky to sit in the shade of some cottonwood trees to paint this view looking upstream.  Decided to try a square format for it, partially for grins, and partially because I didn't have any sheets trimmed to the usual 9x12.   I think it worked pretty well, although I see I need to adjust the right shoreline a bit...it is a bit too sloped.  

After I finished, I wandered back up and decided to do a view of the lake itself, using the 1:2 format boards, which I'm totally into now:

Looking Across Lemon

8x16 inches

pastel on 4-ply board with Golden pumice/black acrylic ground

The dam of the reservoir is situated in the left 1/3 of the painting (purposely), right behind the tip of the pine-covered slope.  I liked the group of rocks in the foreground and the solo shoreline tree on the right bank, so I kept those in the painting.  The grassy meadows were so many different shades of greens, with reddish-brown grasses, which required some creativity to render with my plein air palette.  

---

And, now, more reasons to always carry one's camera on these painting trips...

While driving down the dirt road, which follows the eastern shore of the lake, to this location, I encountered a most unusual site:

"Where is mom?"

Sheep!  A herd of a few hundred, at least.  Ewes and lambs were pouring off the side of the hill and onto the road, right before the dam.  They were slowly heading in the same direction I was.  I shot a few photos from my car window while waiting for the stream of ovines to break so I could continue on.  

After I finished the first painting, I took a break and walked around with my camera before heading back up to the main parking area, and I noticed this Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia), running back and forth down to the edge of the river.  What a cute little thing he is:

Tons of butterflies, but I only got photos of two:

Common Branded skipper

Unidentified - a Frittilary species? - on one of the many species of fleabane daisies

About the time I was heading up with my gear, I heard the unmistakable sounds of...sheep!  In the 1-2 hrs. that I'd passed them, the herd had caught up.  Some had wandered down the trail and were grazing right by the lake:

At the parking area, which is separated from the dirt road by a grassy field, this is what we see:

Lambs everywhere!  

I had no idea there were this many sheep in CO

And, now, following up behind to keep everything in order and moving - a Border Collie:

Along with a Great Pyreneese following up the rear: 

And finally...one of the three sheepherders, as the flock disappeared up the road:

Partners

Honestly, this is a big part of the reason I enjoy the plein air trips.  The wildlife, butterflies, and the unexpected events like these sheep just add to the experience, and I'd have missed all of it if I decided to stay inside and paint.  

Of course, I love taking these photos, and sharing them with you all.  I hope you enjoy them, and the story that goes with them.  

Molas Lake and Snowdon Peak - pastel, 8x16

Snowdon and Twilight from Molas Lake

8x16 inches

pastel on archival board with Golden pumice ground

...from our trip to Molas Lake on Wed.  

It was a warm day (89 deg.) in Durango, so we headed up Hwy 550 to Molas Lake (~10,000'), for an afternoon of painting and fishing.   Early summer is here, and the snow is rapidly melting off the mountains, although not quite as fast on the north face of these two 13'ers.

I loved the abstract patterns the residual snow formed against the dark volcanic slopes of the mountains above timberline.  The biggest challenge painting this on location was the ever-changing reflections in the lake.  Overhead cumulus clouds and breezes would cast shadows and ripples, completely changing the appearance.  Because of the white mass of snow, I left out the clouds.   It was about 90% completed on location, and I finally got around to finishing it this afternoon.

Here are some other pictures taken from the trip:

Marsh Marigold (Psychrophila leptosepala)

One of the earliest blooming flowers in the alpine snowmelt bogs and marshes, these can be seen in large numbers from the road

The Grenadiers from Molas

View is to the southeast

Snowmelt waterfall near Lime Creek

Aspen, spruce and fir surround this transient drainage into Lime Cr.

Sandstone slope and aspen

To the east along the small trail leading above Lime Creek

Afternoon cloud against the hillside

Another small stream runs down the side of this slope to Lime Creek

Twilight Peak from Hwy 550 and the Lime Creek drainage

Views of Colorado - miniseries quartet

tags:  Colorado landscape painting - impressionist landscape - original pastel painting - barns - southwestern landscape - skies - Telluride, CO - creek painting - forest meadow

---

This next quartet is an assortment of views of southwestern Colorado, based on photos from our summer '09 trip.  I've now seen all these same locations since we moved here, and they are just as appealing as they were when we were visiting.

Hwy 184 Barn

9x3 inches 

pastel on white Colourfix 

Hwy 184 is a scenic two-lane road that connects the small towns of Mancos and Dolores.  This barn is one of my favorite sites along the drive.  

Fenceline

9x3 inches

This old fence, located along the Hermosa Creek valley, separates private rangeland from BLM and national forest land.  Surrounding hills and mountains are covered with spruce, fir and aspen

Hermosa Creek

9x3 inches

This scenic creek is popular with fly fishermen, and a nearby trail is used by hikers and mountain bikers.

Telluride Shadows

9x3 inches

The old mining town of Telluride, located in this small valley, is seen from the highway leading into town from the west.  Monsoon clouds cast shadows over the nearby slopes and mountains.  

[this photo was taken inside and is not as yellow as the image shows...I wasn't able to adjust the temperature any cooler].

Skies over Horse Gulch - pastel

I think I've finally gotten out of my non-painting rut.  This was started and 95% finished last night, not long after I completed the last painting.

Horse Gulch is the name of the amazing area of open space, all public use, that is a block away from where I live.  In an article in the Durango Telegraph - a free weekly magazine - it described the Horse Gulch recreation area as "Durango's Central Park".  It's got 30 miles of trails that run through a small valley filled with sage, wildflowers and scrub, and surrounded to the east by a series of mesas.

A few weeks ago, I went on a trail run up the old road that goes along Horse Gulch itself (a small creek that parallels Raider Ridge to the west) and brought my camera.  Monsoon clouds were in abundance, adding to the picturesque views of the land.

There's no doubt that Horse Gulch will be visited regularly as far as subject matter - it instantly became a favored location, and its proximity to our place makes it an easy access if I wanted to bring a small plein air set along.

After finding success in improving the surface of the Canson paper, I decided to try it on the Artagain.  The result was that it dramatically improved the paper's ability to both layer and blend, and here is the result.  Since I really like working on a dark/black surface, I'll be doing this for all paintings I do on Artagain.  The paper still has its limitations, and I'll probably not use it for paintings I think are going to be "keepers", but that could change as my painting skills continue to improve.

"Skies over Horse Gulch"

9x12" on Strathmore Artagain

Alpine Meadow - pastel

Here is today's painting, based on one of the many photos I took on our hike last week along the Colorado Trail, up by Molas Pass and near Molas Lake.  It starts around 10,000', so no pines, or even aspen - just spruce.  The trail heads east and drops down about 1700' to the Animas River, crossing the DSNGRR (Durango-Silverton narrow-gauge railroad).

"Alpine Meadow"

9x12" on Canson M-T

When in Telluride this past Friday, pastelist Bruce Gomez working on his easel right on the sidewalk in front of the gallery his work is sold in.  Of course, I couldn't help but stop and watch for a bit, as his work was stunning!   I asked him what surface he was painting on, as it had a sueded look, highlighting the luminescence of pastel.  He said:  "Watercolor paper sanded with #80-grit sandpaper".  No underpainting or anything.  He was using a 2" paintbrush from the hardware store to both blend the pastels and dust them off.  Have a look at his website to see his beautiful pastels.  

Anyway, that was inspirational, and I decided to try sanding some Canson paper to see if that helped.  The above painting is the result, and I have to say that it did definitely improve the surface and ability to apply more layers.  Earlier today, I went and purchased two sheets of 22x30" cold-press Arches watercolor paper to try as a surface; I'm always up for trying something new, and this is a fast (and cheaper) way to try a larger piece.  

Sky Friday - A Colorado Sunset

Whew - today is the first day I've had access to my computer since our move (our stuff arrived yesterday, and we spent yesterday and today unloading it...glad that is over), and I was finally able to download the 1300+ photos I took since we left.  And, happily, can resume posting here.

Our drive across the east and midwest was an epic journey; I am hoping to do a post of it that will be quite long, with photos, in the next few days.  Most were shot through the passenger window of the Civic as we traversed the country along I-80, and many of them were - you guessed it - clouds!   So many amazing clouds during the drive, and it just got better after we got to CO.   For our arrival into Durango, we were greeted with one of the glorious monsoon storms that both Wayne and I have missed so much.

Since being here almost a week, we've gone out on drives and/or hikes almost every day, which has afforded me a rich assortment of photos of more monsoon skies, both in the mountains and along the plateau country south and west of Durango.  

Since it's been a while for any sunset photos, this Sky Friday resumes with some photos we took on a drive out on Monday, July 26.  The skies looked promising for a great sunset, so we headed south and east of town to get a more open view.

We drove down a dirt road that was surrounded by farmland, with mountains of the Rockies in the distance, and pulled off for some photos.  The mosquitos were a bit out of hand, due to the nearby irrigation ditch, so we didn't stay too long.

Here is the first of many Sky Friday posts of the beautiful skies of southwestern CO.  Enjoy, and thank you for your patience with the long delay in posts.

To the east

The face of the mountains captures the glow of the setting sun, while the cumulonimbus

To the north

Beautiful shades of purple- and blue-grays begin to infuse these stratocumulus clouds 

To the west

The sun silhouettes the stratocumulus clouds, while the San Juan Mtns. taper away to plateau country to the right

Back to the east

Cattle graze on the lush pastureland while the cumulonimbus continues to change in both shape and color

Farm with sunset

A building silhouette is dwarfed by the adjacent trees and colorful clouds in this view to the northwest.  The San Juans are visible in the left

To the south

A look down the dirt road leads to classic Colorado Plateau country, and the pink-purple clouds are remnants of earlier monsoon storms that are now fading away along with the light.

Sky Friday - Colorado skies

It is now only four days before we depart from the east coast begin our 2248 mile trip to our final destination of Durango, CO.   To say that I am excited is a bit of an understatement; we have been planning this move for 4 years.  I leave behind some wonderful friends I made through my two jobs, and they are what I will miss about living here.

Given our impending move, a Colorado-based Sky Friday seemed apropos.  Last year, Wayne and I spent almost a week there, and of course, I came away with hundreds of photos.  These photos are as much about the sky as the land...what can I say?

On August 2, we took a day-long drive encompassing highways 550, 62, 145 and 160.  The loop offers some of the most spectacular scenery in the state.  It passes through several scenic mountain towns, then drops down into a valley, passing through the towns of Dolores and Mancos, and then back east through Hesperus before returning to Durango.

Monsoon season was in full swing during our trip last year.  As we started our drive late that morning, dark rainclouds were forming over the San Juans (a sub-range of the Rockies), chilling the high mountain air and adding drama to the land.  As is typical of such storms, they seldom last, and rain is often confined to a small geographical area.  We expected to drive through a downpour, but it only sprinkled along the pass south of Silverton.

Near Telluride

After heading north as far as Ridgeway on 550, our route took us southwest, along Hwy 62, which eventually terminated on Hwy 145.  Telluride is  a mere 2 miles to the east off the highway, so it's a must-see.  A stop for gas just outside of town was situated near a glorious field, filled with summer grasses, yarrow, and other wildflowers.  A row of cottonwoods, flanked by the receding mountains offered a splendid view.  

Virga over Yellow Mountain

Continuing south along Hwy 145, we climbed up towards Lizard Head Pass.  Beautiful clouds were forming to the east over Yellow Mountain in the distance and a beautiful, sweeping alpine meadow right off the  road.  Following the small river valley formed by the Dolores River, the highway continues through the small mining town of Rico.  Stands of aspen, with their brilliant green foliage and smooth white bark,  are interspersed amongst the conifers and hardwood on the mountainsides.  

Cumulus over Mesa Verde 

Eventually, the view opens up and the mountains give way to mesas which eventually taper down to a plateau and the town of Dolores.  Heading east from Dolores, the land opens up and scattered ranches and farms are seen.  Due south of this area, is Mesa Verde, home to the famous cliff dwelling ruins of the Anasazi.  

Back towards Dolores

The next day, we decided to drive back up Hwy 550 towards Silverton, to do a hike starting from Crater Lake.  At 11,000', it's a decidedly alpine climate and biotic zone.  Wildflowers were in full bloom, and we were treated to yet more beautiful monsoon clouds.  Amazingly, we managed to avoid getting caught in a downpour, although it seemed dicey at times.

Monsoon clouds over Coal Bank Hill

Forming clouds from Crater Lake trail

This trip was a reminder about priorities, lifestyle and location, and how the southwestern part of Colorado is idyllic in all of these criteria, and more.