Impression Evergreen

"Curious Red Fox" Colored Pencil A red fox emerges from the lush undergrowth of a dark forest, watching quietly from atop a granite platform. A keen observer of the world around him, this resourceful creature has earned a legendary reputation for intelligence and cunning. The fox is nimble afoot and has remarkable paws built for rough terrain while his black stockings blend impossibly into the vermillion coat. More orange than red, he moves easily through the thick brush and across a rockfall of strewn boulders. Cropped out of the picture, the bushy brown tail lends some balance to the agile critter as well as to the composition. The textured, pine tree trunk is pushed into the background because of its low contrast, enclosing the scene. The depiction is awash in morning light as limber ferns cast a pattern of peculiar shadows across the interior space. This resurrected drawing was freshened up with layers of rich color and completed with cautious realism. The de

Crown Hill Park Crown Hill Park is an expansive hilltop risen above a sea of amber waves of grain. The far off Flatirons form an impressive backdrop, giving an imaginative wanderer the feeling he’s walking in the wilderness. The centerpiece of this wide, wheat ridge is a placid lake that’s cobalt blue and smooth as a mirror. Almost perfectly oval in shape, the reservoir and its adjacent wetlands are a birder’s paradise. During an Indian Summer, the sun-drenched forest exterior is a glorious yellow and full of life. Buzzing about the gnarled cottonwoods, energetic kingfishers happily call this place home. Nearby, Kestrel Pond is mostly a soggy bottom filled with cattail willows. The ground floor is crawling with creepy, little creatures such as spiders, grasshoppers, praying mantis and garter snakes. You’ll notice the landscape is distinguished by contrasting colors and textures while romping across this countryside. An isolated haven nestled in the sprawling suburbs, Crown

"Dillon Reservoir" Colored Pencil It’s a dreary, November day at Dillon Reservoir in Summit County, Colorado. Observed from an astonishing overlook, the watery encompassment is hit with a precursor to the volatile winter weather that defines this elevated area. As temperatures continue to plummet, the passing storm fills the air with pellets of frozen moisture. On land, the foothills feature broken terrain expressed with indistinct outlines erased by the murky atmosphere. The dark foreground of brush and foliage is enlivened by an inconspicuous grove of orange aspen. Stretched across the textured sheet of paper, the water is steel-blue, taking on the tone of the turbulent sky. The thin strips of shoreline are jigsawed carefully into the dense forest. Also, horizontal passages of infinite shades of green are succeeded by a string of gray mountains whose contours fade into the distance. Where the sun’s rays are allowed to touch the earth, patches of vermillion warm

"Bighorn Sheep Winter" Colored Pencil Rocky Mountain thunder cracks across the gray, November sky. Heard for miles around, the stirring echoes are from the violent clash between massive combatants who are desperate to prove their masculine dominance. The battles may last for twenty-four hours but the exhausted victor earns exclusive mating rights. The weapons of choice are the impressive, coiled horns that are the distinguishing feature of Colorado's state symbol, the bighorn sheep. They are the ultimate gladiators built to live along steep ridges and in rugged canyons. This fragile species must also carefully navigate the precipice of extinction as the sheep are extremely sensitive to artificial disturbances in their natural environment. It's a familiar story but the numbers are staggering - before 1800, two million bighorn sheep populated North America. By the year 1900, only a few thousand remained as hunting, loss of habitat and disease spread by introdu