Impression Evergreen

"Ghost Horse" Colored Pencil Floating out of an eerie windbreak, a white apparition confronts the viewer face-to-face. It’s a piercing dawn in the Sandhills as the ghost horse haunts a prairie hacienda. The pale wraith is peaceful and harmless as it drifts through a moat of tall grass. Trying to bridle him in, a rough-hewn stockade is suggested by an irregular grid of interlocking, geometric shapes. Defined by a steel-blue shadow, the phantom’s head is the portrait of simplicity. His shaggy, winter robe is conveyed by the purest of white with touches of cool gray smudged into the shape. With the rapid rise of technology, automation and manufacturing, we creep ever closer to becoming the ultimate, urban civilization. It’s heartening to come home to western Nebraska where vast tracts of ranch land scenery can still be found, summoning the resilient spirit of the Old West.

The Wilson's Snipe The reclusive Wilson’s snipe lives in North America but you'd be lucky to ever lay eyes on one. Because of his secretive nature, he’s most active around dusk and dawn while preferring to sleep much of the daytime. When he's awake this plump, little shorebird uses his long, flexible bill to probe in the mud for larvae and earthworms. His unique mandible can move independently upwards allowing him to swallow small prey without having to pull his bill out of the dirt. The Wilson’s snipe is mottled brown overall with a white belly and streaked breast. Dark stripes decorate his head and back. He makes his nest in the wetlands where his drab plumage blends perfectly into the dried, cattail willows. His bill is outrageously long and his eyes are set so far back on his head that he can see not only in front and to the sides but also completely behind. He has short legs and massive flight muscles so when he’s flushed from his safe haven he can explode i...

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...

"Snowy Day, Bergen Peak" Colored Pencil On a December morning, clear blue skies foretell bitterly cold temperatures. White as a ghost, Bergen Peak is a powerful apparition looming over the snowy landscape. Capturing such a remarkable moment in time is a fleeting opportunity that can't be missed. Golden light permeates the blank canvas, infusing the scene with passages of surprisingly warm tones. It's morning so the ponderosa pine cast long, transparent shadows that skim across the choppy terrain. Evergreens are sprinkled with fresh snow creating intricate patterns of white lace. Just like waves in the North Atlantic, the windswept meadow forms whitecaps that flow out of the foreground. The calligraphic line work is described by spirited dots, dashes and squiggles. The drawing is an expression of excitement and enthusiasm. Look at it from an optimistic point of view, we still have ten more weeks of glorious winter.

The Brook Forest Inn is southwest of Evergreen It was the summer of 1943 near Evergreen, Colorado and the Brook Forest Inn was a luxury resort nestled in a stand of lodgepole pine at the base of Black Mountain. Carl was at work in the nearby livery stable when he learned that his wife, Jessica, had been unfaithful. Jessica also worked at the inn and she was preparing the Monte Carlo Room for that evening's guests. Carl stormed in, confronted her and a violent altercation ensued. Fueled by a jealous rage, Carl strangled Jessica to death. Overcome with guilt, Carl returned to the stable, constructed a rope noose and promptly hung himself. The stunning tragedy shocked the idyllic mountain community. A few years earlier, before the outbreak of World War II, a suspicious group of German tourists checked into the hotel. They claimed to be on a bicycle tour of America. Come to find out, they were actually spies. They used the place as a headquarters while they studied and mapped ...