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Showing posts from January, 2021

Red Alpenglow - Colored Pencil Drawing

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"Red Alpenglow" Colored Pencil Down in southern Colorado a string of snow-covered mountains looms over a broad, ranchland valley. It’s just before dawn and the sun’s rays are streaming into the atmosphere where the light is reflected onto the peaks, creating a red alpenglow. The drawing’s obscure foreground is still frozen in a state of mystic shadow. A stand of dark trees stretches across the page as the strange silhouette is outlined in blue, emphasizing the scene’s surreal essence. The snowy pasture gradually gives way to the rosy cordillera where the shapes are defined by passages of delicate shading. Devoid of all detail, the white summits melt into a bleached sky, confirming the mountains’ sacred connection with heaven. Rather than race to faithfully record the fleeting nature of a transitory sunrise, it seems like there must be something much deeper. An expressionistic approach releases the artist to pursue a more personal interpretation that depends on a certain

Northport Blues - A Comforting Tapestry

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Northport Blues Located on the distant side of the river, Northport is concealed in the faraway Sandhills of western Nebraska. From a high overlook, the idyllic valley is a comforting tapestry woven together from cottonwood trees, corn fields and cattle pastures. While out on the prairie wandering with the pack, it feels like you can march a million miles without ever seeing another soul. We accompany a little creek as it makes a lonely journey through remote ranch land until the confluence with the doleful North Platte. A herd of horses grazes near the riverbank but their curiosity is perked by the stranger who approaches their barbed fence line. Broncos are more prevalent than people as they are an important part of the very fabric that binds this frontier society. The region has been in a terrible drought but as a result, dry air allows warm light to infiltrate the peaceful vale. With not even a patch of snow, there is no White Christmas but on this special evening while roamin