Fall Colors, and studio skies - pastel landscapes

The Green Shed - 12x12"
 pastel on black cardstock

Saturday afternoon's painting, from one of my favorite locations along the river, which of course, isn't visible in this piece.  Each year at this time, I'm reminded of what a fleeting season fall is, or at least as it pertains to fall color and painting.  

The cottonwoods, both narrow leaf, and Fremont, are rapidly fading and dumping their leaves, and I am sort of bummed I wasn't able to make the most of this season.  But, it was peaking in the high country when we were in Escalante, and here in town when we were in Moab, so I can at least bandy that around as an excuse, right?

I had plans to go up to Baker's Bridge and paint there, which I did last year around this time, but I think the window for that is shut; tomorrow, the 4C group has a paint-out in northern NM, and after that, the temperatures are supposed to drop precipitously as the storm hitting CA moves east to our region.  By the time things warm up again, no color will likely remain anywhere in our area.

Here's a small piece I did during the 4CPAP's recent outing the Wildflower Ranch in La Plata Canyon a couple of weeks ago.  This paint-out fell between the Escalante and Moab trips, and was the only painting I got done that week. The larger morning piece, of aspen, I worked on for about two hours before deciding I didn't like the direction it was going, and became bored with it.  I know from experience that it's best to just quit and move on, rather than keep pounding away at it, hoping I can make it work.  This was done after lunch, about 1/2 mile down the road on this property, and the first "keeper" painting I've done of the La Plata river.

Cottonwood Shadows Across the La Plata
8x6", pastel on black paper

And, finally - two studio pieces, small, both done for this week's DailyPaintworks challenge - "The Sky's the Challenge". 

Both reminded me that painting skies/clouds is always a challenge, and that I find it increasingly difficult to work from photographs, probably because it is so easy to overwork the clouds.  You just don't that as an option when painting them in real time.

Burr Trail Sunset - 9x12"
pastel on Strathmore 400-series paper

Monsoon on the Mesa - 6x12"
pastel on black cardstock

Two more plein air pastels from Escalante Canyons Art Festival

Not posted in the order painted...

Storm Over Escalante Canyon - 12x16", plein air
pastel on gray Artagain paper

This piece was done (and still not quite finished) in two afternoon sessions.  I'd intended to head back out for a third session to finish it up completely on location, but time and weather/light conditions didn't permit that.  So, after dragging it around on my easel for the better part of a week, it's now finished!

It was started Wed early evening, less than an hour before sunset.  The location is along the road to the Escalante State Park/Campground, where we spent the first two nights in Escalante.  It is about 2 miles west of town, so this view is to the east.  The late afternoon light lit up the beautiful sandstone cliffs and canyon walls, and I knew I had to paint it as we drove back from picking up my Quick Draw entry.

I jumped right back in the car when we got back to our campsite, drove to this location by a cattle ranch, and quickly established the main composition and the basic colors of the rock  and foreground while the light was still good.  I had to stop when the sun went down behind the distal plateau behind me, and the light had completely disappeared.  

I returned around 4PM the next afternoon, and was in luck that the stormy skies that had provided the contrast for the original view were staging an encore, albeit a bit different.  So, I worked quickly to capture the ever-changing clouds.

One thing I love about painting skies such as these, are the edges.  Hard, soft, lost and found - these clouds had them all.   

Buttes Near Harris Wash - 9x12", plein air
pastel on toned UArt #600

An "unofficial" piece done (not stamped) on Friday, along the trail leading to the Zebra slot canyon.  We loved this hike when we did it back in May, and I wanted to do a painting somewhere along the trail, or in the washes.  These stunning striped buttes, of Jurassic period Navajo sandstone, are a stand-out feature along the hike, and these are about 2 miles into the hike.  When I found a large juniper to provide shade right near the trail with this view, it was a no-brainer.  I spent about an hour or so working on this while Wayne explored Harris Wash downstream.

I even had him take a picture of me at the scene after he got back:

Two more pictures from that hike:

Forming cumulonimbus anvil looking north from where I painted

Clouds against sandstone - Halfway Hollow wash on the hike back

Escalante Canyons Art Plein Air Festival - part I

We got back yesterday late afternoon from the 9-day trip of camping, hiking and painting, and I'm in the process of getting caught up on things.  In short, the trip was awesome and the event was great.  New friends and connections made, both fellow painters and locals who love and support this event in their small home town of Escalante, UT.

Statistics for the trip:

Total paintings done on trip:  11
Counties painted in:  3
National Park paintings: 2
Paintings sold:  3
Awards: 1

I'll have to split up this into a few posts, simply because most of the paintings need a bit more work before I consider them "finished".  Two of the paintings sold the night of the awards reception, and I never got photos of them.

However, I can share the two paintings that are finished and photographed:  the entry for the main competition and the painting from Wednesday's quick-draw event:

Passing To the North - 16x12" - SOLD
pastel on black Strathmore paper

Honorable Mention - pastel/WC/mixed media division

This painting, done last Monday afternoon, was my entry for the main competition, whereupon I took advantage of the storm system moving through the area and also took a gamble that it would spare me while I painted.  

It is actually painted at the same location (campsite) as the stormy painting I did from our May trip:  "Gathering Storm Over Duffrey Mesa", about 5 miles east of the town of Boulder, UT, along the Burr Trail.

Conditions of strong wind gusts and spatters of rain earlier as the storm advanced from the west made it impossible to paint in another location by the Boulder Mail Trail, and I was feeling a bit restless that I'd not been able to paint all day after we got back to our campsite.  Later, I walked up to the hill, saw the dark sky against the pale sandstone slopes, and knew I had a painting in that, so I ran down and grabbed my gear.

I had to literally hold my easel while I painted as the wind continued to blow, figuring I could get hit with rain at any moment.  Amazingly, the rain kept to the north, which the title reflects.

By the time I'd finished the painting, that particular wave had passed to the east:

I knew when I finished this that I had my painting for the competition, which was both a thrill and a relief.   I had actually brought along a 12x24" paper, figuring I'd find a great place to have a staged painting of that size, but that never happened...but, I did find a spot for one of next year's paintings that I'm already excited to paint.

What was surprising, and delightful, were the number of people that came up to me after the awards ceremony and told me how much they loved this painting, the sky, and that they'd voted for it as the People's Choice award.   So, this storm, rather than being a damper, ended up being a gift.

Here is the painting from Wed's quick-draw event, which we actually had pretty much all day to complete (9-5, I believe):

Corner of 200 North - 11x14"
pastel on black Strathmore

We had to stay within a mile of the park where the main festival was going on, and it was suggested to do one of the many historic buildings in town.  I knew I was painting this house before I'd even seen it in person, thanks to a virtual drive around town via Google Street View.  If you are planning on painting an area but aren't familiar with it, Google is your friend!

I decided to have fun with color for this painting, and I decided to use one of the beautiful violet Ludwigs that normally just sits, unused, in my main pastel box.   Since I don't draw buildings often, I spent probably an inordinate amount of time just drawing the building and double-checking the angles and perspective.  That's important, along with accurate values.  Of course, by the time I'd finished the painting, the neat morning shadows were all gone thanks to the overcast skies you see.

But, I have to say, I am really happy with how this painting turned out, although I may adjust the values under the porch a bit - I didn't darken them enough during my final adjustment on location.

I'll post the other paintings in batches as I bring them up to completion; thankfully, most just need a bit of tweaking or filling in of small areas.

Monsoon sky - pastel, plein air

Colors of Earth and Sky - 12x12", plein air
pastel on sanded black cardstock
 © S.Johnson

This was just plain fun to paint.  Near the river and looking south with a peek of the Purple Cliffs.

Painting and hiking around Lizard Head Wilderness

Back from our trip.  I spent part of the afternoon doing finishing touches on two of the paintings, by which time a monsoon storm had moved in, forcing me to wait until today to photograph them.

From this trip, I learned how to work around heavy monsoon activity:  1) paint near the car; 2) wait for any window of opportunity, no matter how small, to head out with the easel; 3) be prepared to return at a different time when the weather is amenable, to finish; 4) small paintings at camp.

First up, is my favorite from the trip.  Started Sunday afternoon during a short break in the weather, and finished up yesterday morning before we headed home, it was a "two-for-one", so to speak:

San Miguel Colors - 8x16", plein air
pastel on board with Golden pumice ground + black acrylic
© S.Johnson

This is painted from the area I mentioned in my last post:  "the meadows".  The meadows themselves were striking, with a variety of summer grasses and small meandering stream passing through.  Hills with scattered groups of spruce/fir, and aspen lead up to the base of the southern edge of the San Miguel range.

I'm always struck by the colors of the mountains within the southern San Juans (of which the San Miguels are part of).  A geology query of the San Miguel range tells me that the colorful purples, greens reds and yellows are due to the sandstones, breccias, tuffs and claystones of the San Juan Formation and Telluride Conglomerate.  Volcanic intrusions into these sedimentary layers, referred to as "stock", are what form the mountains themselves.

So, having the colorful southern edge of the mountains combined with the meadows was like being handed a gift as a painter.  But, I had to work fast:  less than 40 minutes after I set up my easel and began painting, rain started suddenly, and I was thankful I was set up 2 feet from the car...and not painting on LaCarte paper.

view from the driver's seat...two minutes earlier, I had been painting

Earlier in the day, I'd painted just down the road from this rainy view - a cabin complex situated at the end of the meadows.  I got most of it finished on location before the rain started, and pulled it out later at the campsite to work on it more between rains.

 Morgan Cabin and Dolores Peak - 12x12", plein air
pastel on black cardstock

I didn't take any photos of this cabin, but at some point (as we will be returning to this area - a new favorite for everyone), I plan to revisit this building complex from a different compositional approach.

Finally, two small pieces done from the seated comfort of our campsite yesterday morning - fun and fast, while I chatted with Sarah, and before I headed out to finish the San Miguel Colors painting:

Mountain Morning - 6x6", plein air
pastel on black cardstock

Morning Sky - 6x6", plein air
pastel on brown cardstock

Saturday was spent hiking (and dodging lightning storms).  The Kilpacker trailhead was a mile up the road from our camp, so the four of us headed out on our chosen methods of transportation:  foot and horseback.

Morning along the trail

falls along Kilpacker Creek

Sarah and Jypsi in the meadow near the Navajo Lakes trail junction

Ominous skies and tree appropriate to the mood along the steep switchback section of the trail (Sarah and Todd opted to turn back before this section, thinking it might be too narrow and of loose scree)

Navajo Lake, from the basin, almost 6.5 miles from the trailhead.  Mt. Wilson,
one of CO's fourteeners, is visible from the saddle 

We were lucky that the thunder and hailstorm we got caught in on the way back didn't last more than about 25 minutes before fading off to the west.  Lightning flashing overhead, followed by immediate loud cracks of thunder, were a reminder that hiking in the high country during monsoon season is not to be taken lightly.

Approaching the trailhead (cars in stand of trees to right), with another storm over the Yellow Mountains.  Thankfully, we were back to the RV by the time this 3-hour rainstorm hit us.

More photos from the campsite:

Saturday sunrise 

Dramatic afternoon light over the Yellow Mountains (the same in the small paintings above)

More Skies on the mesa - pastel, plein air

Because the clouds are amazing, I need more practice painting them, and I can avoid using much green.

Both done from Pastorius SWA.

Today's painting, looking south.  It was time for some turquoise skies and a bigger size.  I forgot that there are certain pastels that don't handle well on this paper, and oops - those would be the turquoises.

Florida Mesa Sky - 12x16", plein air
pastel on black construction paper

The entire area surrounding the lake is farmland, with distal mountains, so almost anything can be incorporated into the landscape:  grain silos, sheds, fences, roads, green fields, etc.


Saturday's painting, looking to the northwest.

Convergence - 12x12", plein air
pastel on yellow cardstock

I decided to try a piece of the yellow cardstock that comes in the packs I have purchased.  Using it for a high-key sky painting seemed a logical choice, and aside from the effect on the relative values of the pastels I used, it was a surprisingly easy transition from the darker colors I'm used to using.

I did this in probably 30 minutes, if that.  As usual, I waited until mid-afternoon to go out, at which time the clouds were really starting to kick into high gear.  When I set up my easel, the sky above was blue, but a wall of rain was falling to the southwest, probably in New Mexico.

Within about 15 minutes, these two cumulus clouds had merged, wind had kicked up, and by the time I was finished, the sky was almost completely filled with rain-laiden clouds that looked to burst at any moment.  If not for the impending threat of rain, I'd have definitely done another painting.

Utah cottonwood color - pastel

Kaleidoscope
12 x 12 inches
pastel on Artagain
© S Johnson

A studio piece that took far longer than it should have to finish (and subsequently, feels a bit over-worked).   It didn't quite meet my pre-painting expectations, but I got a lot out of painting it nonetheless.

From a photo taken about 25 miles south of Moab along Hwy 191 last year, at a rest stop situated next to one of those tickey-tacky tourist stops:  Hole N''The Rock.  Not to be confused with the road of the same name in the Escalante-Grand Staircase NM (also in UT), it started out as a house built into the large outcropping of Navajo sandstone by a Mormon pioneer close to a century ago.  That in itself is kind of interesting, but if you click on the link, what immediately assaults your aesthetic sense is the huge white lettering on the side of the rock.

Really?  Why?

At any rate, this beautiful Fremont cottonwood showing off its range of leaf color, was mercifully well out of view of the whole [hole?] view of all that.  Cottonwoods have these wonderful organic shapes to their trunks and branches, never orderly or predictable, and that is what draws me to them as photography and painting subjects time and time again.

Only one more day to get any painting in before I leave for Moab!  Thanks to expedient handling and shipping of an order placed on Monday, my two display easels from Dick Blick arrived yesterday, allowing me to leave on Monday instead of Tuesday.  Weather is supposed to be sunny and warm and dry during the event, which after the very winter-like storm that has been hitting our area for the better part of the week, is a relief.

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Photos taken yesterday along a drive up Hwy 550 to go check out the snow and fall color situation:

Aspen stand in full color in a fleeting moment of sunlight

Engineer Mountain as seen from the highway near Andrews Lake (~9,900')

Hermosa Cliffs closer to town (~8,000')

Sunset along Florida Mesa in photos

No painting today...so I thought I'd share some photos taken yesterday evening at my favorite location on Florida Mesa before I head off to tonight's photography club meeting.

All:  tripod-mount, with Nikkor 18-70mm DX lens.

Enjoy!

Horses and the lone ponderosa 

Making her way 

The barn along Hwy 550 

Field and fencepost

Skies to the north

Heading east on CR 220

Final light along CR 220

Tree against sunset virga

After The Storm - pastel, 16x20 inches

After The Storm - 16x20"

pastel on black Strathmore

© 2011 S. Johnson

First studio piece in a few months, because I wanted to go bigger and because:  clouds + road + reflections = awesome to paint.  

I started it last week before I went on my trip and finished it up today.  It was based on a photo taken on the recent Sunday afternoon photo shoot (the post with all the horses) along Florida mesa.  

I had some specific things in mind when I did this, and for those that read The Pastel Journal, the article by Albert Handel on painting clouds was one thing that nudged my choice for reference photo.  He does some of the best skies, and his comment in the article about using different colors of the same value was apropos to this piece in particular.  For all the sky and cloud paintings I've done, I don't think I've done one quite like this.  The sky in particular was a blast to paint - subtle color and temperature shifts, lost and found edges - clouds are great for such things.  

Another reason was to have a piece to enter in the local county fair.  Yeah, laugh if you want, but I've always loved county fairs, having entered them since I was a kid.  I don't enter to win anything, but really to just support the fair and community.  I also entered three photos, and based on the # of entries, anyone winning a ribbon should be thrilled.  

Anyway, I chose 16x20 because I happened to have a couple of frames I refurbished in that size.  Normally, I don't care for the 4:5 format for landscapes; it seems too indecisive to me:  either square or 1:2 or 3:4 are my preferred formats.  

It also gave me a chance to experiment with framing the pastel directly against the glass, which I have never done before.  There was a recent article in Pastel Journal that discussed it, and which I couldn't find, but it gave the technique.  I use Coroplast for a backing - it is ideal for this method of framing - and framer's tape around the glass-pastel-backing to form a nice sealed package.  Pop it into the frame, drive the points in, and you're good to go!  

A hike to Crater Lake - wildflowers and monsoons

Friends from Flagstaff visited us over the weekend, and since all are avid hikers, I suggested we do the hike to Crater Lake, as wildflowers were likely to be peaking, and the trail - while high at its starting elevation - isn't particularly steep or strenuous.  It's about 11.5 miles RT.

Here are some photos from the hike:

A view of Engineer Mountain, as seen from Andrews Lake, where the trailhead for Crater Lake begins.  Monsoon storms were predicted, so we tried to get an early start.  

Cloud reflections in the lake - this is a 3-part vertically-oriented pano

Along the trail at one of the many vantage points of Engineer.  The wildflowers were incredible on this trip. Here, Orange Sneezeweed brightens up this open meadow section of the trail.

Higher up, a field of Elegant Death Camas (so named because they are very poisonous and many early settlers died from eating their roots), some purple daisies and Rosy Paintbrush make up the majority of wildflowers.

About 1/4 mile from the lake, a marshy field is filled with Elephant's Head flowers, which are members of the Snapdragon family.  

Crater Lake with Twilight Peak in the background.  Approximate elevation here is 11,300'.

The gang:  Radka (visiting from Slovakia), Eva, David and Wayne

Heading back, this is what the skies looked like about 30 min after we left the lake.  

Looking back along the trail, about 1 3/4 miles from the trailhead, as the trail leaves a wooded section...

...and this is what it looked like ahead.  

Taken about 3 min. before it started raining on us and the camera went bye-bye in the pack.  The rain started out as a light sprinkle, progressing to sleet and then hail that felt like getting hit with BB's.  There was lightning a few miles away, and thankfully by this time, we were in the final, forested switchback section of the trail.  We ended up running the last mile in the icy, cold rain, and probably not my preference after having just hiked 10 miles, but hey - it's an adventure!  I only slipped and fell in the mud once, and my trusty REI rain jacket at least protected my backpack and camera from getting soaked.