Paintings from Colorado’s Rocky Mountains

Thanks to my handy-dandy pochade box, a new kind of plein-air painting panel from ArtBoards (a Brooklyn-based company – rah! rah!)  a couple of days off from skiing plus  gorgeous scenery, I came home with three 9″x12″ paintings of a couple of ski runs. We just don’t get blue skies like out West here in Brooklyn! (nor the snow, but they are forecasting up to a foot of snow here by later tomorrow!! Although I have to admit I’m starting to feel ready for spring.)

“Beaver Run, Breckenridge, CO”

“Cabin Fever,” Bachelor Gulch, CO

Bachelor Gulch, which is part of Beaver Creek, is at a lower elevation than Breckenridge, hence the large growths of aspen trees in between the pines. At first I thought they were dull-colored and was reluctant to paint this scene, but then realized they added interest to the composition and in fact there were reds and yellows to be played with to depict the leafless trees. Painting all the different shades of white – in the snow on the ground, the snow on the trees, clouds in the sky, snow on the distant slopes – seemed daunting at first, but I made myself focus in on each area I was painting and mix colors based on my observations and impressions (especially how colors look next to each other). It ended up being incredibly satisfying to capture the nuances of snow in the shade, snow reflecting the sky, clouds with different relationships to the sky.

There’s one more painting in my studio awaiting a few finishing touches. I’ll post that one as soon as it’s finished.