Impression Evergreen

"Mountain Storm" Colored Pencil It’s an early winter morning and a mountain storm is funneled by a string of ghostly peaks into a remote river valley. It’s the first big tempest of the season so it won’t be long before the view vanishes behind a squall of heavy snow. Trickling through a maze of wine-colored willow-brush, the lazy river is oblivious to the deteriorating weather conditions. The black shrubs anchor the foreground into place and bookend the wide value range this landscape displays. Illuminated in a murky ambiance, this vista is characterized by soft edges and subtle gradations, requiring a soft touch to reproduce. More realistic than my recent pieces, this drawing still retains a certain romanticism with life in the West.

The Bay Window House Animas Forks is a rickety ghost town teetering high in the San Juan Mountains just east of Silverton, Colorado. It used to be a bustling community during the silver boom of the late 1800s but today only the miner’s spirit permeates the cool, mountain air. Pictured above is the best preserved building, an impressive residence known as The Bay Window House . Broken down and beaten after enduring years of nasty weather, the resilient structure rises defiantly out of a dense thicket of green willows. I can’t imagine how people lived up here all year long, extracting precious minerals from the generous earth. There’s no debate that they enjoyed breathtaking views of the surrounding peaks but struggling to survive the harsh winters must have been absolutely brutal. Cool mountain air The best preserved building An impressive residence Rising out of the willows High in the San Juan Mountains A miner's spirit A rickety ghost to

"Sneffels Range Spring" Acrylic Tucked discretely below the Dallas Divide, the Sneffels is a scenic sub-range of the San Juan Mountains. The confusion of untidy crags is a rugged remnant of an ancient volcano. It's late spring but bare rock is beginning to emerge from a shroud of heavy, winter snow. A row of crooked cottonwoods is an elaborate gateway into the Colorado wild. Patches of delicate dandelions are scattered throughout the lush meadow while an assembly of blazing brush complicates an already busy foreground. As a gray sky drizzles the landscape with cold rain, receding into the distance, colors cool from violet to blue-green. A series of spectacular buttes is a scenic prelude to an awesome alpine environment where cautious strokes define the ragged peaks. Composed from equal parts image, experience and memory, this painting was not meant to hang on a wall. It's more of a sketch than a showpiece. A little bit looser and fabricated with less concer

Virgin River, Utah The Virgin is an enigmatic river that sweeps through southwest Utah shaping the deep chasm at Zion National Park. Contradicting the vibrant colors of the canyon landscape, the shallow stream is a muddy brown. Cut through an arid desert, the cold river is a life-giving force offering fresh water to a diverse selection of plants and animals. The forest of arched cottonwoods is a peaceful oasis that also provides plenty of shade. The compressed end of Zion must be approached with caution as flash floods are a serious hazard. Despite drenching the hiker with peril, this awesome waterway rewards the risk with spectacular scenery at every bend.

Utah Blessed with untamed rivers, deep canyons and green mountains, the state of Utah is celebrated for its diverse scenery. Established on a painted desert, the topography transitions dramatically up to the lofty Wasatch Mountain Range. The winding waterways rush towards the southwest while carving surreal chasms out of an uplifted plateau. Heavily eroded by wind and water, the unique landscape is littered with an interesting array of arches, pinnacles and hoodoos. I enjoy wandering around our local foothills and I could spend a lifetime exploring the vast Rocky Mountains. I must admit, though, that the territory to our west has definitely cast a spell. Our home is Colorado but my second favorite state is magical Utah.

Dallas Divide, Colorado Rising out of Ridgeway, Colorado, the Dallas Divide is an elevated overlook with remarkable views of the spectacular Sneffels Range. Summer evenings are the best time to visit because the southern light saturates the landscape with gold. The rugged mesa of sage and pine stretches across the vista before uplifting into a chain of staggering peaks. The wilderness scenery is complicated but here the space is defined by dark shadows that follow every contour of the land. I’ve traveled all over the western United States and visited some extraordinary locations. I’ve swam in the Pacific, hiked the Grand Canyon and climbed in the Tetons but I have to say southwest Colorado may be my favorite place on earth.

"Zion Canyon" Colored Pencil Celebrated for its rivers, lakes, mountains and canyons, the Colorado Plateau is a complicated composition. It would take a lifetime to fully explore and comprehend this unusual place. To express southern Utah’s unending beauty through perfection would certainly fail. Devoid of tedious details, this desert landscape was drawn freely from an etched memory. It’s a sizzling, summer day in Zion Canyon where the clear air is hot and dry. An orange undertone permeates the textured paper and infuses the dreamy rendering with a warm glow. Providing some relief from the heat, a row of crooked cottonwoods lines the muddy riverbank. Exiting at an angle, the Virgin is a refreshing river whose color reflects the powder-blue sky. The soft edges of a wispy, white cloud seem to melt into an infinite atmosphere. Photographs are unable to interpret the scenery with acceptable realism so a vivid imagination is required. As a cactus anchors the corner,

Zion Narrows Deep inside Zion National Park, the red-rock walls start closing in. There, our first experience in the dark chasm was negotiating that startling labyrinth known as The Narrows. At first you follow a traditional pathway but after a mile, the river becomes the road. From this starting point, the shallow stream is about ankle high but before long you’re wading through water that is waist deep. Tinted a muddy green, the Virgin is an unpredictable force propelled by a swift current that gets even stronger as the canyon becomes compressed. Thunderstorms that occur miles upstream can create a dangerous situation for unsuspecting hikers in Zion. Heavy rainfall can send a powerful swell through the unforgiving gorge, trapping anything unlucky enough to be stuck inside. Fortunately, our canyoneering experience was filled with nothing but beautiful scenery and blue skies. Due to unstable footing, attaining the mysterious slot was a slippery endeavor but well worth the s