On to Paisley & the Chewaukan River

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

The day after Christmas; Boxing Day in England; and overcast, as it had been all night, and I headed out as I thought I needed to be back in civilization by the 30^th; wrongly as it turned out, and most unfortunate as I could have squeezed out a few more days in the wild to include the New Year.  Be that as it may I left the CCC Hut Campground, home for the past few days and part of the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, and slowly crossed Warner Valley on a county road, between the dry lakes, stopping to take photographs now and then, and to study the map and identify distant features, eventually meeting the Hogback Road at a T-junction.

Floor of the Warner Valley

(Looking South with Hart Mountain on the left)

Hart Mountain from the West across the Warner Valley

(the CCC Hut Campground is at the base of the Mountain

below the dark diagonal slash at the center of the face of the mountainside)

Here one may turn south for Plush or north for Hwy 395, twenty miles away.  I turned for Hwy 395, and proceeded up between the Coyote Hills, to the south and on my left, and the Rabbit Hills north and on my right, seeing them close to, after having studied them from afar all week.  Seen from this road there are rocky buttes that rear up from the northern aspect of the Coyote Hills that look like they should be called the Coyote’s Teeth; whether they are or not, I do not know, but they should be.  A couple of miles before the junction with Hwy 395, there is a good view of Juniper Mountain and the northern extension of the Abert Rim; this latter is a fault escarpment, with its rim facing west and the plateau sloping east towards the now distant Coyote & Rabbit Hills, and the Warner Valley beyond.

The Coyote Hills from the Hogback Road

(a couple of the buttes I have called the Coyote's Teeth can be seen)

The Rabbit Hills

(Hart Mountain is beyond and across the Warner Valley from this view)

Juniper Mountain and the Northern Extension of the Abert Rim

(from the Hogback Road a couple miles before the Hwy 395 Junction)

From here I drove north for four miles to check out a rest area for future reference.  It had water pumps there, similar to the one at the CCC Hut Campground, but whether they were turned off for the Winter or just frozen, I do not know.  I retraced my path past the Hogback Road and dropped down towards Lake Abert, but before arriving I turned right onto another county road that would eventually take me to Paisley on Hwy 31.  If the road became to iffy, I could always come back to Hwy 395, but as a county road, I thought it would be OK; I wouldn’t take chances after my experience of the Mudfest of several weeks before; it was not as good a road as the Hogback Road, but was no real problem, partly because it was frozen for the first two-thirds of the drive, when I stopped to have lunch at a view north past the east edge of Wildcat Mountain, and Diablo Peak just poking its head up beyond, and with St. Patricks and Sheepshead Mountains a bit to their right.   It was turning out to be a photo-recon day; these days are too short to drive very far, stopping to take photos, and expect to get a painting in as well.

Lake Abert & the Abert Rim

(the latter on the left)

Abert Lake Homestead with the Abert Rim beyond

Wildcat Mountain

(with Diablo Peak just poking up beyond

and with St. Patrick's and Sheepshead Mountains a bit to their right;

here I had lunch)

Paisley, named after the town in Scotland, looks to be a pleasant village (hot in Summer, I expect), about the size of Lake Nebagamon, in northern Wisconsin, where I spent my first three years of grade school.  I topped up with petrol, and decided to check out the Chewaukan River, which flows through town.  I meandered up the river valley (county road 33), taking photos, and eventually decided to turn around about 10 miles up, the now icy and snowy road.  A few hundred yards back down the road I decided to spend the night at the Jones Crossing Campground, which although officially closed, was only closed as far as amenities were concerned.  Many tracks in the 3” of snow covering the ground … deer, coyotes, and what may have been cougar tracks; these latter were along the road where I had turned around.  I kept my bear spray canister close to hand while strolling around and preparing supper.  Studying the map I see that I’m now about 30, maybe 40, miles from the site of the now infamous Mudfest, but over some desperate and snowy roads, over the escarpment and mountains.

On the Chewaukan River #1

On the Chewaukan River #2

Christmas Day Snow Showers in the High Desert

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

C1592

"Christmas Day Snow on the Rabbit Hills"

(Warner Valley, Oregon High Desert)

Oil Sketch on Centurian Oil Primed Linen Panel

4" x 6"

Click here to make this your Own

(Take further Note: the images and incidents herein occurred in December 2014.)

An hour after I fell asleep last night I awoke and found the stars had clouded over; so it remained the rest of the night, but I arose to a thick dusting of snow that had fallen sometime during the night when I wasn’t looking.  Coyotes had come by after the snow had fallen to inspect my campsite; they probably do it every night.  The morning was stupendous, with sun breaking through wonderful cloud formations all across the landscape, and with occasional snow showers passing by, sometimes on me; such an interesting day of cloud watching.  I painted the same view as yesterday, but with the new snowfall.    

Having been here a few days now, I keep wondering what it would be like to see those dry lake beds down on the valley floor, filled with water and tons of wildfowl.  Will I ever see it or has global warming tipped the scales as far as the Warner Valley is concerned.  Mankind has much to answer for.

Coyotes yipping to the West while I prepared my Christmas dinner, on my one burner stove, of smoked Salmon, mushrooms, carrots corn, onions, peppers, olives broccoli, and cous-cous in a pesto sauce, with corn tortillas, since Lakeview had no pita at the Safeway.  It takes about 20 minutes to get all the ingredients ready and only 7 or 8 minutes to cook.  Most of my camp meals are similar in timing.  Could have used a drop of wine to wash it down with, but didn’t even think about it when I was preparing for this sojourn in the wilds.  Got a better look at Venus tonight while nursing my after dinner hot chocolate, and Mercury is over there somewhere, not far away, but I haven’t spotted it yet (I did a few days later), and I watched the Moon again until it set at 21:03.  I hadn’t expected to see any traffic on the road today, but three cars and a pickup truck passed earlier in the day, and as I prepared my dinner, an camper pickup  steamed into the campground and set up for the night a few sites away … and so to bed after a beautiful day of interesting weather.

Imprimatura: Venetian Red.

The Pigments used were:  Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, with Winsor & Newton Cobalt & Cerulean Blues, Venetian Red, and Cremnitz White.

Christmas Eve in the High Desert

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

C1591

"Last Sun-break over the Rabbit Hills before the Approaching Storm "

(Warner Valley, Oregon High Desert)

Oil Sketch on Centurian Oil Primed Linen Panel

with an additional coat of Rublev Lead Primer

4" x 6"

Click here to make this your Own

We now continue with the journal entry for Christmas Eve, carrying on from the last entry upon returning from my supplies run to Lakeview (here).  Cloud began to come in from the southwest late in the day, but the stars did come out, and the crescent Moon, and while eating supper I watched it set, disappearing behind the Coyote Hills at 18:43.  Throughout the night the bands of cloud thickened and the wind arose, and by Christmas Eve morning there was only the odd wan sucker hole allowing a bit of sun to shine through here and there, and what appeared to be the occasional shower passing in the far distance; but it didn’t feel like rain just yet … when would it arrive.  And then during breakfast a few larger sun-breaks appeared and so a few hundred yards from the CCC Hut Campground I made a quick pencil sketch of view seen in the above Oil Sketch, and then returned to more level ground to paint the Oil Sketch from the driver’s seat; the view of the Rabbit Hills remained the same for reference, but the foreground was referenced from the pencil sketch.  It was a good thing I had done the drawing, since within the hour the rain swept in obscuring the distance at times; the lighting depicted was as it had been just after breakfast.  The rain became snow by 15:00 … a dusting, really, with more on the upper slopes of Hart Mountain, behind me … and although the wind slackened off during the day, there were some gusty periods, as the temperature dropped from the relative warmth of the morning.  The waxing crescent Moon broke through while drinking my after supper coffee, and I watched it until it set at 19:54; Christmas Eve in the High Desert … and tomorrow Christmas Day … maybe more snow!

Imprimatura: Venetian Red.

The Pigments used were:  Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, with Winsor & Newton Cobalt Blue & Cremnitz White.

Supplies

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

Stars were bright all night with just the occasional cloud passing by; I awaken several times during an average night; always have.  And the morning came bright and fair, and the best day since I left for the High Desert more than a month ago.  Christmas being two days off and my supplies needing a top up, I headed for Lakeview, 60 miles off.  I would have liked to have painted on a day like this, but I didn’t want to go to town on Christmas Eve, as I have no idea what the business hours might be.  I discovered that the water pump at the campground actually was working, and so I filled my containers; later I also discovered that it depended on the temperature whether water actually came out or not, but it was interesting to know, that it didn’t seem to be closed off during the Winter. 

I drove through Plush, 15 miles from the CCC Campground, and which has only a small general store, stopped to take some photos of an old green barn, which I intend to paint at some point.

Green Barn in Plush

I continued on up out of the Warner Valley, via the Plush Cutoff Road, and with Drake Peak, to the southwest as a landmark, I enjoyed the drive along the rolling terrain of the plateau.  A few miles along I noticed a large herd of cattle, about two hundred, far off to the west that had not been there two weeks earlier; they looked odd, so I pulled over and glassed them with my binoculars, and lo and behold they turned into ANTELOPE!  Here I have been in the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge for almost two weeks, and not one sighting of an antelope, and here they are across the valley!  Sadly, they were two far for decent photographs.  I stopped again just before joining Hwy 140 to take some more photos of Drake Peak (altitude 8407’); this is part of the Warner Mountains. 

Drake Peak

I liked the look of Lakeview, (population 2294; 2010 census); it’s an oasis of trees and houses in the High Desert.  First I had lunch at the Burger Queen; I felt like having a cheeseburger at a local one-off café, for a change.  Next I visited my bank and as I was strolling through the doors, I noticed across the street a tiny home-like building with a sign saying, “Town Hall.”  I enquired of the teller, if that was actually the Town Hall across the street, and upon receiving a yes, I paused for a few seconds, searching for words, and said, “How sweet!”  Well … it was; what else need be said?  Chuckling to myself and exiting to the street, I looked at the sweet Town Hall again, and proceeded to the Safeway, the only food store in town that I was aware of.  Then after topping up my stores, I drove around the town a bit; I was surprised at the variety of and number of shops there were; perhaps I shouldn’t have been as it is a long ways to anywhere else.  I tanked up on petrol, gave my Mom a call, wishing her a Merry Christmas, and headed back to the wilds.  I hoped to find a road into the mountains that wasn’t too snowy, and find a clearing among the pines to spend Christmas, but even though I found one that might have been OK, and after driving a short way along it, I decided not to risk it … snow, and the memory of my recent mudfest of a few weeks ago, militated for caution. 

In the end I returned to the CCC Hut Campground, sighting no antelope on the way, but a herd of deer with one stag, as I dropped down into Plush, and another herd as I entered the campground, also with one buck.  I Mountain Bluebird was gracing the fence as I pulled into my campsite; they are a beautiful blue, these birds … a bit of sky come to Earth.  I took a few photos of the last sun on the Hart Mountain Ridge (both of these below are from my campsite).  

Last Light on Hart Mountain #1

(& Poker Jim Ridge)

Last Light on Hart Mountain #2

There were some cloud layers to the southwest as the sun set, and as I prepared supper, I thought I glimpsed Venus low above the horizon.  This was confirmed later, when I brought up my Astronomy App on my tablet … so, Venus will now be an Evening Star for the next few months.  My tent neighbors of the night before had gone up the mountain this morning, so I again had the camp to myself.  I watched the thin crescent Moon until it set at 18:43, read a bit and turned in for the night, hoping the morrow would be as nice as this day had been.

Misty High Desert Showers

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

C1590

"Misty High Desert Showers"

(Warner Valley, Oregon High Desert)

Oil Sketch on Centurian Oil Primed Linen Panel

4" x 6"

Click here to make this your Own

(Take further Note: the images and incidents herein occurred in December 2014.)

Although there were intermittent stars during the night, by 06:15, when I arose, it was overcast and a light rain.  Coyotes yipped and yowled to the northwest, just as they did as I prepared supper the previous evening … towards the Rabbit Hill, no less; the Coyote Hills are the massif to the south from the Rabbits.  As I ate breakfast I was taken by the peach coloured strip of sky low along the horizon to the left of Poker Jim Ridge, and glowing through the soft desert rain … perhaps a promise of clearing; it was essentially the same view as painted two days before (seen here), but a different kind of rain.  Breakfast finished I did a rapid Oil Sketch using a big brush to quickly jot down the impression, as witnessed by the brushstrokes; it’s always interesting to see how much one can do with a large brush in good condition.  I used about a #6 bristle bright, for the whole thing, save for my monogram; one learns to judiciously use the corners for the smaller details.  I am learning that one goes through Oil brushes at a much more rapid pace by far than with Watercolour brushes; brights* soon become ragged filberts*; Watercolour brushes, especially the larger ones, can last for decades, well taken care of.   

After I had completed that sketch I had lunch, hoping that the day would improve and cast some interesting light over the landscape, so that I could perk up the sketch of the CCC hut published in the last post, but it was not to be; the rain did stop, but the overcast remained, so I continued on and completed that sketch, and dabbing in the deer as I mentioned in the last post.  Thus it remains more or less a reference study. 

Even though I am still in (just) the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, I have yet to see any antelope; coyotes, some birdlife and deer, but no antelope.  I wonder what is the best time of the year for their sighting.  A Great Horned Owl hooted off towards the mountain to the east, while I prepared supper, replacing the coyote choir of last night and the morning’s serenade.  I cooked at my campsite tonight as it was warm and calm, and stars appeared through various sucker holes to the southwest … over the Coyote Hills across the Warner Valley.  I have a tent neighbor several sites away, and almost a caravan neighbor in another, but after supper, the latter, left and headed up the mountain.  They could have a problem maneuvering the caravan in the snow at the Hot Springs campground, if that’s where they were headed, but perhaps they were instead passing through the antelope refuge, and heading for Steens Mountain.  Since Christmas is only two days away, tomorrow I shall go into Lakeview, the ‘tallest town in Oregon,’ to top up my supplies and my gas tank … oh, and my water supply as well! 

No imprimatura was used, just the white of the Oil Priming, and the Pigments used were, Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, and Winsor & Newton Cobalt Blue, Venetian Red & Cremnitz White.

* A bright is a short flat squarish brush, and a filbert is a flat brush with rounded corners, so the tip is rather oval in shape.

Hart Mountain from the CCC Hut

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

"Hart Mountain ‘CCC’ Hut"

(Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Oregon High Desert)

Oil Sketch on Panelli Tellati Canvas Panel

with additional Coat of Rublev Lead Ground

8" x 6"

Click here to make this your Own

(Take further Note: the images and incidents herein occurred in December 2014.)

I’ve had a very busier than normal ten days, so this posting is well overdue, so to carry on from the last post … the first night down here at the Hart Mountain CCC Campground, in the Warner Valley, was a very rough and windy.  The gusts I sheltered from while cooking last night’s supper, turned into a very vicious wind by the time I turned in.  I had chosen a campsite that faced the mountain, but after only a few minutes in my sleeping bags, I realized that I had parked broadside to the wind and the SUV was lurching back and forth like a small boat in wild seas, so I climbed over the seat into the driving position, and moved to the next campsite and faced northeast away from the wind, which now blew down the length of the vehicle from back to front … much better, but even so there were moments when I feared the gale might pick up the truck and waft it into the side of the mountain. 

Came the morning and the winds scaled down immensely, but it remained overcast on this shortest day of the year; Christmas looms near.  The winds, having blown from the south/southwest all night, were warmer and the patches of snow on the mountain were visibly reduced.  I quickly finished up yesterday’s Oil Sketch of ‘December Rain Shower,’ and after a brief lunch decided to try to get down the feel of Hart Mountain from here.  Since the mountain ridge is 20 or so miles long I chose a section of it rising behind the CCC hut (the Civilian Conservation Corps that gave jobs to many during the 1930s’ depression … probably could have done with some of that during the last 7 years, rebuilding bridges and other infrastructure in this country).  The overcast and intermittent rain gave a bland light on the scene, but the mountain top with cloud swirling about was interesting, and the resident herd of deer made an appearance at the right time so I dabbed in a few deer blobs near the hut; the patch of gold in the notch below the snowline was a grove of Aspens, and they had lost their leaves, but I dashed in their Autumn Gold colour as a reminder; an informational sketch.  It is about a three and a half thousand foot rise to the tops from here; maybe a little more; reminds me of Scotland a bit since the rise in altitude is similar, although it must be pointed out that we are already at an altitude on this valley floor that is higher than the top of Ben Nevis (the highest mountain in Britain, to inform the Yanks).  I completed the sketch the next day … these days are short.

What a difference a day makes; high winds while cooking last night and tonight … nary a breeze.  It did rain while I cooked, but thank goodness for the sheltered cooking area, and then the stars came out while I ate my chicken and pesto pasta, with mushrooms, corn and olives;  mmm, mmm good!  Before turning in for a quiet & calm night, I spent half an hour or so tracing some of the constellations that I’m less familiar with: Pisces Austrinus; Cetus; Equuleus; & Aquarius.  All of these I have always more or less known they were there, but in the winter skies other asterisms have usually caught my attention; they are also relatively dim. 

Imprimatura: Venetian Red.

The Pigments used were:  Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, with Winsor & Newton Cobalt Blue, Venetian Red & Cremnitz White, and a touch of Cadmium Yellow.

December Rain Showers in the Warner Valley

(Take Note: for those of you who have signed up to be notified by email of new postings to this blog, you have been receiving not just a notification, but an actual copy of the new blog posting as the email.  As this does not show the images of the paintings in the best possible light, you should click on the title of the latest blog posting at the top of the post, and not the title of the painting itself; this will open up the actual blog itself, and you may then enjoy the paintings at their best.)

C1588

"December Rain Shower"

(Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Oregon High Desert)

Oil Sketch on Winsor & Newton Canvas Panel

5" x 7"

Click here to make this your Own

(Take further Note: the images and incidents herein occurred in December 2014.)

After the delightful though brief glimpse of the stars through the sucker holes in last night’s cloud, the rest of the night was overcast and a quarter inch of snow had accumulated on the truck.  I was at work finishing up yesterday’s painting by 09:00, refining the huddle of buildings and vegetation that make up the headquarters of the National Antelope Refuge, here at Hart Mountain.  And the rain came sweeping in … and the wind … at times obscuring the HQ, but most of the time obliterating the distant Beattys Butte, and even the closer mass of upland on the right where lies Lookout Point. 

Upon finishing the sketch I drove the mile to the HQ and entered the ‘Open 24/7 Visitors Center,’ and corrected my entry in the log about how many days I had been in the Hot Springs CG.  I used the indoor head and spent some time musing about the weather outside through the windows, working out my best course of action.  The rain was obscuring the view of Hart Mountain, which I had considered sketching; the rain might freeze on the descent back down to the Warner Valley, up which I had ascended a week earlier; the rain might turn to heavy snow back at the Hot Springs CG, and keep me there longer; so the best course of action seemed to be descending the 1400’ back to the Warner Valley, and to camp at the CCC campground at the base of Hart Mountain, which was still just inside the Refuge. 

Thus I gingerly made the descent; my fears of rain freezing on the road proving unfounded, and the driving rain had now turned to individual squalls moving periodically across the landscape.  After exploring the as expected empty campground, I began another painting; this time of rain showers over the Warner Valley.  The view is north from the CG with the northern extremity of Hart Mountain being the cliffs on the extreme right of the sketch, and Poker Jim Ridge, being the lower high ground immediately to its left; the road up to the plateau behind, and down which I had come, lies between the two.  I’m not sure whether Poker Jim Ridge is considered part of Hart Mountain or not, but it forms part of the same escarpment that forms the eastern edge of the Warner Valley.  I wonder how often the lakes in this valley actually have water; I would like to see them when that might occur, filled with wildfowl, as in times of old (actually not so long ago, but the current extended drought, hereabouts, has aggravated the situation).  You might wonder where the drought is, with all this talk of snow and rain in these postings, but the accumulations have not been great, and if that which falls is rain instead of snow the accumulated snowpack up in the higher mountains is not as normal; and the accumulated snow pack up there is what sustains these regions, by its slow and measured melt, during the warmer months of the year.

With dark coming on I repaired to a roofed picnic area, with walls at one end and prepared supper.  Although windy, the main wall blocked a good part of it, and my body the restless gusts that crept around the barriers, so that supper was more easily managed than if I had been out in an open site.  I would finish the painting in the morning.

Imprimatura: Venetian Red.

The Pigments used were:  Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, Lead White #2, with Winsor & Newton Cobalt Blue, Venetian Red & Cremnitz White.