Buffalo Mountain    9x12    oil/panel

Out again with PAAC today. This time it was a special trip to Silverthorn to paint at Barrett Edwards (http://barrettedwards.com/ home. Many thanks for having us up, it is a beautiful spot. We were painting along the Blue River and it was a fantastic fall day. I liked this view of Buffalo Mountain with a nice small marsh in the foreground. Like yesterday, there was way too many nice things to paint. The aspens are all turning, the sky was deep blue and the river looked great. Oddly, this painting was a hard one to get out. Not sure why. It was definitely one of those paintings that didn't come together until the last 10 minutes or so. I really didn't think it was going to work out at all until I added the bits of yellow and orange. In the end I think it turned out fine.

This painting is available at the Colorado Mountain Art Gallery in Georgetown, Colorado

www.coloradomountainartgallery.com  for more information.

James Peak    8x10    oil/panel

I painted with the PAAC group today in Genesse. This view was on property of Noel Custer who let our group paint there today (thanks!). There was a ton of great things to paint and it was hard to chose. I don't get to see these mountain views too often so this one was real hard to pass up. James Peak (center right) is a 13er on the Continental Divide. The aspens are turning and you could see them just below tree line over on the mountain. The ghost town of St. Marys (now a vacation/cabin town) is right where the orange and yellows are on the mountain. There is a permanent snow field just above the town that is a great hike in the summer.

Shelter     9x12    0il/panel

Today's painting trip was with PAAC at Castlewood Canyon State Park. It was raining at 9AM and sputtered on and off for a few hours. I have been to this state park many times and always painted either down in the canyon or at the north end of the park. I have tried a view near this one of Pikes Peak several times but never got something I liked. While standing in the rain, I realized that the nearby shelters are the only shelter anywhere around (not the first time I thought of this, but I always forget that these shelters are there). Since it was raining it seemed like the appropriate thing to paint. I got some helpful critiques from several PAAC members and they pointed out some great things I missed. It's been a long time since I got a good painting at Castlewood Canyon and I am glad to break that streak!