Impression Evergreen

Grizzly Creek Smack dab in the middle of spectacular Glenwood Canyon, Grizzly Creek tumbles down out of the wilderness and collided with the Colorado River. The beautiful confluence occurs within the sheer walls of steep cliffs adorned by a variety of high country botanicals. The rocky creek bed is a complicated conglomeration of boulders, snags and whitewater, revealing an array of sights, sounds and textures. A far away mesa dominates the view but its full profile is partially obscured by the imposing evergreens that tower above the pathway. The scene of last summer’s devastating fire, the scars are still visible but the burn zone is beginning to blend into the vigorous greenery, concealing the catastrophe. Even after such an awful disaster, the watershed remains resilient as Mother Nature has begun to heal her wounds. A spectacular canyon Out of the wilderness Evergreens tower above High country botanicals Beginning to heal A complicated conglomeration An array of sights, sounds a...

"River Landscape" Colored Pencil High in the northern mountains, a slow-moving storm has settled in a secluded river valley. Heavy, low-hanging clouds are beginning to consume the purple peaks and it won’t be long before the entire landscape is devoured by a snowy whiteout. Down below the disappearing mountains, the dark woodland is a menacing border enclosing the billowy moraine. The meadow is a verdant field during the summer but here it’s gradually turning golden brown. In an aggressive prelude to the drama that is about to unfold, the red willows are portrayed as separate sections of simplified form. The fallen grasses droop forlornly over the muddy riverbank, reinforcing the picture’s already melancholy mood. You can feel the spirit of freedom in this wild country where the unpredictable elements are beyond your control. Some of the most spectacular scenes occur in the ethereal light characterized by bad weather conditions. I admire the resiliency of the imm...

Eagle River at Edwards, Colorado Emerging out of the lofty Continental Divide, the Eagle River descends freely from the remote rooftop of the Rockies. There are no dams to impede its progress so the wild waterway rushes uninterrupted through Vail Valley’s western slope. Early Native Americans observed that it had more tributaries than an Eagle has feathers, which is how the river got its appealing name. During the Eagle’s 60 mile journey to its confluence with the Colorado, as the number of tributaries increases so does the river’s size and speed. I encountered the Eagle River at Edwards, Colorado the morning after a terrific snowstorm. Still dark and blurry under the cover of dense clouds, the vigorous creek wound its way into a black forest of frosted pine trees. Treading lightly along the frozen riverbank, the thin ice cracked ominously with every footfall. During the dead of winter, the river runs at its shallowest so the rough edges of exposed boulders were softened by ...