Impression Evergreen

Cold, blue creek It’s brutally frigid on the Arctic plain but a cold, blue creek rushes defiantly through a field of icy florets. Freshly fallen snow has created a deep embankment smoothed over by persistent winds. Providing a warm note, reddish trees are gathered in clusters that are scattered throughout the winter pasture. At 22 degrees below zero, there isn’t another living creature to be seen, making the extraordinary wandering even more memorable. The intense storm has cleared out but even a dazzling sun can’t warm up the cushion of cold air that has filled the void left behind. The stream of transparent indigo flows in a series of sharp s-curves through a vast country of desolation. Life on the prairie is hard. Brutally frigid Deep embankments Icy florets Freshly fallen snow A dazzling sun An indigo stream Cushion of cold air Desolate country Life on the prairie is hard Reddish trees

Winter Storms This year we have skipped fall and descended directly into the dark season as winter storms Aubrey, Bessie, Caleb, Dorothy and Ezekiel have already pounded the foothills with heavy snow. It is generally during the month of March that we receive most of our moisture but the amounts dumped this autumn have been historic. It is not just the excessive precipitation that is remarkable but also the arctic cold as the deep snow is piled into drifts of feathery powder. The mountains are cloaked in a robe of glittering gray while the limber pine are bent by the weight of thick frost, creating an arched pathway into the frozen, forest kingdom. When ploughing across the pale meadow, your footsteps make a distinct crunching sound that can only be heard when walking on soft snowpack. December is usually dry so it is unpredictable as to whether we will awaken to a classic Christmas Day but I know one thing for certain - dreams of a White November have already come true. We

"Mount Evans Winter" Watercolor It's a cold and windy day in a spectacular basin known as Upper Bear Creek. Buried under a blanket of fresh snow, Mount Evans is a lofty landmark that imposes it’s iron will on the local weather patterns. Tethered to the foreground, sturdy evergreens are built to withstand the brutal storms that wreak havoc on this hidden valley. Here, heavy snow clings to the blue spruce creating an intricate pattern of dark and light. This time of year, the landscape can only be expressed with mostly cool colors like blue and green. Surprisingly, there’s also some pink and yellow washed into the drifts that are angled across the foreground. Such a difficult medium to work with, watercolor painting demands that you relinquish control. Most of the fluid brushstrokes are allowed to flow freely as they encourage you to let your imagination run wild. Strokes of pale color are scrubbed across the textured surface, giving a loose suggestion of the v

Bergen Peak is a cold mountain It’s a frigid morning in Evergreen, Colorado and Bergen Peak forms a dark backdrop, brooding over a lonely meadow. A strange ambiance engulfs the landscape as morning light struggles to leak through the dense atmosphere. Plastered with a coating of fresh snow, the pine trees are glittering white against the windswept grassland. After the frigid sunrise, lemon-colored clouds swirl ominously across the northern sky. Ascending the icy slopes is a cautious endeavor achieved during the morning’s daybreak silence. The perilous trail leads seductively into a wonderfully crystallized forest. I have great reverence for the harsh wilderness and I mostly enjoy being out in the thick of this dour season but today I can’t stop shivering as I gaze quietly upon that cold mountain. A frigid morning in Evergreen Brooding over a lonely meadow A strange ambiance engulfs the landscape The pine trees are glittering white Yellow clouds swirl

A clearing storm The morning after a fresh snow, I’m first to enter the white wilderness. Propelled by cautious footsteps, I break a powdery trail through the silver forest. A sharp breeze sends temperatures plummeting to ten below. My bare hands feel as if they’re frozen solid and my exhaled breath looks like gray smoke. Around the bend, below a row of bleached aspen, cheerful elk have gathered into an energetic herd. These hardy beasts are built for the cold so they celebrate by bucking, playing and prancing around. Blue skies begin to show through as the milky sun wrestles with gray clouds. The winner will determine who dominates the local weather forecast. Winter is a long and difficult season but after the last few days being mired in a gloomy darkness, there’s something comforting about watching a clearing storm. The morning after fresh snow A white wilderness A silver forest Temperatures plummet An energetic herd of elk Bucking and pranc

Courthouse and Jail Rocks On a wintry morning in western Nebraska, I wandered around Courthouse and Jail Rocks, photographing the countryside in bad weather. The megaliths were like ghosts of the Great Plains as they were barely visible during an extreme whiteout. It was no easy task trudging through a foot of deep snow but any type of moisture is a blessing for the parched prairie. The blizzard could only be truthfully documented in black and white because there wasn’t even the slightest hint of color. During a cautious approach across the bleak landscape, the formation was a gray apparition that flickered in and out of view. Just as resilient as the first settlers, a solitary tree was somehow still standing fast in the face of fierce, northerly winds. The return to the roadside was a gloomy venture provoked by bitter cold. Along the way, a cheerful robin singing in the tangled brush was a surprising ray of hope that brightened the dreary day - spring may actually be closer