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Sunday, April 25th, 2021
Chipmunk at Crater Lake OR, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Chicory
Thursday, April 15th, 2021
Chicory, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper. Sold.
Indian Paintbrush
Friday, April 2nd, 2021
Indian Paintbrush, Gifford Pinchot National Forest regeneration, near Mt. St. Helens, WA – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Mt. St. Helens is still an active volcano about 50 miles north of Portland, OR and 100 miles south of Seattle WA USA. The last major eruption was in 1980. It disrupted all ecosystems near the volcano, except aquatic ecosystems in the area benefited from the amounts of ash. Most lakes in the area had returned to their normal state six years after the eruption. 42 years later, new growth forest is abundant, and many seasonal varieties of wildflowers thrive in the dry but mineral-rich soil.
Anoles
Sunday, March 14th, 2021
Anoles, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper, 27H x 33W” framed size. Detail image of male:
Sunset, Yosemite
Thursday, March 4th, 2021
Sunset, Yosemite National Forest CA, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb WC paper
Summer Storm, Montana
Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021
Summer Storm, Montana, 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
Red Rock State Park, Denver CO
Friday, January 22nd, 2021
Red Rock State Park, Denver CO – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on 90 lb watercolor paper.
Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB
Wednesday, January 6th, 2021
Prairie Dogs, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches.
The Canadian Badlands in Alberta and Saskatchewan are recognized for having unusual mudstone and sandstone landscape formations, and also for having the largest deposits of dinosaur bones in the world. The geography in Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta is ancient and incredible, and the prairie dogs – Albertans call them “gophers” – are an influential part of prairie ecology, having extensive impact on vegetation and animal life. They live in colonies of up to several thousand, burrowing in networks of tunnels where other ground-dwelling creatures move in, and rain water is reserved and redirected.
They are cute to be sure, but they are sometimes a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip in the holes. Pest control programs during the 1900’s meant their numbers have declined, which had an impact on the grasslands they helped sustain. As their own highways became populated with humans and cars, particularly during Springtime they are a road hazard.
In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to utilize the unfortunate casualties. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small hamlet where there is not even a gas station, along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road about an hour Northwest of Drumheller. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the conversation-provoking side-trip if you are planning to visit Drumheller and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.
Ouimet Canyon, ON Canada
Saturday, January 2nd, 2021
Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada – 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper
According to written information about this amazing place, the 100 metre deep (330 ft), 150 M (490 ft) wide gorge formed a billion years ago, when earth split due to advancing glaciers, then most likely the tremendous amounts of water released during their retreat, and erosion of the slabs by wind and rain.
It was a rainy day, so the park was tourist-free, and I was able to experience the park alone. In a meditative state of mind, foggy atmosphere enhanced the sense of mystery. I imagined the violent forces that created this wonder, and within the scale of a few small moments, tried to comprehend how much time a billion years is.
Shepperd’s Dell Falls
Tuesday, December 8th, 2020
Shepperd’s Dell Falls, East Historic Columbia River, Corbett, Oregon – 24H x 18W inches soft pastels on paper. Interesting that a change as trivial as flipping the format to portrait threw me off my game for a bit, and it took a while to adapt.
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