Eldorado Canyon 8x10 oil

My painting from the Tuesday (8-9-11) PAAC paint out. We met at Eldorado Canyon just south of Boulder. There were 7 or 8 people already there, most of whom I didn't know. Chatted with Leslie Allen for a few minutes before heading off to paint. I think most everyone stayed down near the creek so I didn't do that. I have been here before to paint and have painted at this exact spot before. It's been years since I was here though.  I never got a decent painting from this spot so I wanted to try it again. This spot is a little way up the Fowler Trail heading towards the bottom of the canyon. You have a nice view of the canyon on both sides as well as the creek, the Bastille, and the plains beyond. The Bastille is the dark cliff on the right side of my painting. It is a popular spot for climbers, as is the whole canyon. There were at least 6 people on it while I was painting.

The weather was really nice and I was in the shade the whole time so I think I got an OK painting. This location is difficult to paint I think, because there is so much detail crammed into a narrow view. It makes it quite challenging to edit out things without losing the character of the place. If you chop down your field of view to simplify things, you lose so much that you can't really tell where or what you are painting. If you pull back to see everything you get overwhelmed. Plus, at my location, which is above the canyon floor, you can see up and down as well as left and right. Anyway, I think it came out all right. Certainly the best I have done at this location so far.