Denali

Denali

18" x 24"

[click on image to enlarge]

Denali rises to 20,320 feet making it North America's tallest peak. Although not as tall as Everest, the base is much lower in relationship to the peak, so the visible mountain is much taller than any possible view of Everest.

Denali, or officially Mount McKinley, is rarely visible to this extent - the massive formation creates it's own weather usually including clouds around the summit. The summit is the left hand peak, rather than the right hand peak. Although the 'Sourdough Expedition' of strictly untrained locals climbed the closer peak in 1910 'just to prove it could be done' and a $1500 bet and to disprove earlier claims. In addition they lugged up a 14 foot pole so the triumph could be seen from saner locations. Doing all this without any proper gear or oxygen, they were successful two decades before the pros could make an official summit. Ironically although lower by 850 feet the North Peak is considered the more difficult climb. 

[The Sourdough Expedition is worth time taken to read about: http://irishmountaineeringclub.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128&Itemid=89.  And somewhat typical of Alaskans even today.]

From this view inside Denali National Park, the peak is about 35 miles away. Several smaller ranges are visible before the 'real' mountain begins.

Distance changes our perception of mountains, they first become more purple and then bluish.

The caribou can easily outrun the grizzly and are therefore not concerned about the large predator although the large bull is giving the bear a good look. Despite their reputation the bears also graze on such vegetation. It makes up more than half their diet. They don't have the easier salmon-filled life of coastal bears.

[The general reference for this painting was an NPS photo]

Campbell's Sunflower

Campbell's Sunflower
8" x 10"
[click on image to enlarge]

Campbell Brock wanted me to paint a sunflower and it is very difficult to refuse anyone so special a request.
So she helped pick the design.
Choosing to do a yellow butterfly, a Tiger Swallowtail, on a sunflower is not a good demonstration of contrast, but I thought we could make it work. Of course one could reverse this and paint an orange Monarch and then a more yellow phase sunflower however the orange seed head would still be a problem.
Overall I was pleased with it and Campbell gave it a big smile so we are good.

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

16" x 20"

[click on image to enlarge]

American Goldfinches are found at some season in virtually the entire United States. Breeding in the northern sections and Canada and wintering more southerly. They like weedy, semi-open areas and are frequently found in the suburbs if less  cultivated areas are nearby.

They are gregarious and acrobatic feeders, loving mostly small seeds but especially thistle. These small seeds, called niger, will almost always attract them.

A birder will notice that I have mixed a breeding male with an alternate plumage female. In theory one could see this combination of birds in October in the moderate western climate. Regardless the winter birds are  very handsome.

I wondered while doing all the work of painting the male and then covering much of him with the Russian thistle blossoms but I liked the composition as more realistic.

One step that I have used while painting is to photograph the work and then switch it into black/white or sepia in Picasa while trying to adjust the tones and values.

The combination of yellow and it's complement purple/violet makes each color appear a bit more intense. Happily the goldfinches seem to agree.

The Well

The Well
18" x 24"
[click on image to enlarge]

Water is one of life's most essential requirements. That is more obvious in desert places. The painting somewhat reflects the relative presence or absence of water on the right and left sides - a condition not uncommon in the Middle East.

This is my interpretation of Jacob's well, in Sychar, immortalized in scripture by the account of the Samaritan woman and her encounter with the Savior. She was taught, challenged, edified and sanctified.

This scene depicts a time after that encounter. The Savior is no longer present. It occurred to me that the woman needs to 'return to the well' on  a frequent basis to renew that spiritual experience. Without that renewal she and the others converted will surely not endure to the end. She will need to revisit the Divine and commune there or she will surely wither and perish.

Our lives are blessed with spiritual high points, but then we return to Samaria and the mundane, the cares of the world and the diminished fire of our memory cause the uplifting water to slowly evaporate.

We all need to return to the spiritual wells of our past experiences. We do this by meditation, holy scripture, communion and returning to memory's journal of those spiritual highlights. 

The Living Water is available and we once felt and knew of it.
This painting is a reminder to cherish and revisit those times.

Half Dome

Half Dome
Spring at Cook's Meadow
16" x 20"
[click on image to enlarge]

In late spring Yosemite starts to thaw out. Snow vanishes from the valley turning the streams into silt laden water with their highest flow.
The colorful new growth has more yellow than will be evident late in the summer.
This time I returned to a view of Half Dome in the more traditional 'landscape' canvas. This allowed room for more deciduous growth and the inclusion of the wonderful quaking aspen on the right.
The day after I finished it, I was studying a painting in the Sacramento Temple and noticed a redbud prominently featured, so I was doubly happy with my choice.
The redbud is also positioned to stop the eye as it follows the stream to the left. So the eye can stop there rather than following the stream off the canvas, and then move up into the scene.
It is a 'spring' scene however it is a struggle to avoid getting too much plain, strong green in the painting.
Lastly the small, orange foreground flowers are probably Tufted Poppies which grow in this valley rather than the nearly identical California Poppies.