Impression Evergreen

"Desert Gateway" Colored Pencil Offering sanctuary from the furnace of sweltering heat, a chain of blue mountains streaks across the background of a fiery landscape. The desolate environment is stark, harsh and lonely. Despite its beauty, the desert is a brutal place that can bring your demise at any moment. Not only is the severe climate and rugged terrain a problem but a sudden snake bite can be deadly. The wide open space is broken by terraces of escarpment that appear more red as they recede. Applied with precision, smooth gradations mask the rugged nature of this rocky netherworld. The bleached shelf in the foreground is bathed in a bright yellow made even more vibrant by the violet shadows. Yet, the most shocking aspect is the shimmering sulphur sky that results from a mid-summer sun. This non-naturalistic expression is not designed to display superficial accuracy. The arid plateau is too straightforward to tether with complicated details so a more symbolic appr...

"Yellow Pine" Colored Pencil It’s another gray day in Evergreen as the entire landscape is shrouded in an eerie mist. Stationed at the forest’s perimeter, a yellow pine is a sturdy sentinel standing watch over Elk Meadow. The tree’s transparent bough allows flecks of the orange field to stream through. Edges become softer and the colors less saturated as grayish hills are stair-stepped into the background like paper-cut silhouettes. Gnarled branches twist and turn, creating an intricate web of limber, red wood. Writhing towards a lemon sky, the spirited lookout is a living, breathing organism with a personality all its own. The foothills are a fascinating mix of plants, trees and animals, each depending on the other to survive. Though engulfed by a sea of ochre grasses, the ponderosa pine is perfectly suited to life on golden ground. Resilient in the face of fierce winds and heavy snow, the fearless straggler is an essential part of the alpine setting. It’s an un...

Lower Square Top Lake Stair-stepped below a secluded thirteener, the two Square Top Lakes are connected by a streaming cascade of cold water. Beginning at the bustling Guanella Pass, the alpine trek to get there concludes at a considerably less crowded location. Bushwhacking through muddy bogs and thickets of prickly willows, it’s an uphill haul all the way. Established at such a high altitude, this quiet kingdom is defined by wide open space, clear air and a steady breeze. Upon arriving at the cobalt-colored reservoir, the vivid color contrast is simply too much for the human eye to comprehend. It’s satisfying to explore the lower lake’s lovely setting but curiosity may compel you to ascend to the next level. After scrambling up to the far ledge, you behold another quite shocking color scheme as the long, upper lake is surprisingly green. Squinting into the sun, you can see Square Top Mountain’s eastern slope slide right into the silky tarn. Dusk is an unquestionable sign...

"Yellow-eyed Hawk" Colored Pencil Finding your place in the world today can be a challenge but this bird of prey is more than well-equipped to thrive in the wild. An eastern red-tailed hawk stares confidently out of a blazing, autumn background. After two years of age, the extraordinary yellow eyes of this juvenile will transform into a dark brown. Raptor vision has evolved to become the sharpest in the Animal Kingdom. The visual acuity of the hawk is legendary. Using its excellent eyesight to find and capture its prey, a red-tail can spot a rabbit from two miles away. Large eyes allow for maximum levels of light so the retinal picture is composed from a greater number of optical cells resulting in a higher resolution image. The hawk has front facing eyes that give it binocular vision which is assisted by a double fovea. With binocular vision, the fields of view of the left and right eye overlap. This binocularity allows for stereoscopic vision, which in turn provide...

Early morning light created an ethereal effect It was a late fall, Sunday morning and I was searching for peace and quiet. I found it at Meyer Ranch Park just south of Evergreen near Conifer, Colorado. I didn't make it to church that day but it felt like I was in heaven. The early light shining through the transparent aspen leaves created an ethereal effect. It reminded me of being inside a cathedral with huge stained-glass windows. The sun felt warm on my neck and the entire landscape was bathed in yellow. It was perfect. It was paradise. I think this open space probably goes unnoticed from the highway but its history is fairly remarkable. Mount Legault and its lush meadows were originally homesteaded by the McIntyre family around 1870. They fed and lodged travelers who came up the Turkey Creek wagon road. In 1883 Louis Ramboz purchased the land for haying, cattle and timber. Ramboz built a Queen Anne style ranch house with lumber milled on the property. It is still there t...