C1696

“Green River Reverie”

(Dinosaur National Monument, Utah)

Oil on Pannelli Telati fine cotton Panel

6”  x  8”

Click here to make this your Own

Imprimatura & Drawing

Block-in 

The Green River arises in the northern end of the Wind River Range in western Wyoming, first briefly flowing northwest, then loops out of the mountains to flow south along their western edge. It continues through western Wyoming, cutting the Flaming Gorge south of the town of Green River (where those of you familiar with the works of Thomas Moran will recognize the buttes and bluffs in some of his paintings). It enters Utah at the south end of the Flaming Gorge, turning east as it is blocked by the Uinta Mountains, flows into Browns Park, in extreme northwestern Colorado (definitely in Butch Cassidy country here), until it cuts through the eastern extension of the Uintas, at the Gates of Lodore. We are now in the northern section of Dinosaur National Monument. Rafting trips begin here. It now flows through deep canyons in the Monument, past the campground at Echo Park, near its junction with the Yampa River (an interesting descent of 3000” by car to get to), flows westerly from here, back into Utah and the western end of the Monument (Dinosaur National Monument, straddles the Utah/Colorado  border).

It is here where I came up on this quiet scene, not far from its egress at Split Mountain, and less than a mile or so below the Green River Campground. I have thought about painting this ever since my few brief moments here. I passed this spot several times in my explorations of this end of the Monument, and this time the lighting was just perfect. The contrasts of the purples and blues of the shadowed canyon wall (with its dark streaks of desert varnish), with the yellows, oranges and greens of the foliage, and the milky jade greens of the River itself, has stayed in my mind since those days I spent in the area in Autumn of 2017.  I stayed one night in the Green River Campground,  and it is quite pleasant as far as campgrounds go, with the River quietly flowing past. I spent the next 8 nights dispersed camping just outside the Monument on BLM land. The dinosaur bones are what bring most people to this monument, but if you are interested in geology and hiking intersting landscapes, Dinosaur National Monument is an interesting area to explore.

From here the Green winds south through eastern Utah, until its meeting with the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park. I did not see the source of the River, but I could see the Canyon of the source south from where I camped at Mosquito Lake up on Union Pass, after I witnessed the  2017 eclipse of the Sun. I travelled the length of the Green through western Wyoming; saw it in Browns Park; saw it enter the Gates of Lodore; enjoyed the cooling shade of the cottonwoods for awhile at Echo Park; witnessed its emergence at Split Mountain; and enjoyed this little scene near the Green River Campground. I am not familiar with the River between here and Canyonlands NP, but I did see it from high places in Canyonlands, and just like not seeing the actual souces, I did not see its endgame, but I did see the canyon junctions where it joins its waters to the Colorado, from a distance. There are rivers that stay in the mind, and this is one ... I would see it again, should I ever go that way.

Pigments used in the painting were:

Imprimatura & Drawing: Rublev French Red Ochre;

Pigments: W&N Cadmiums Orange & Yellow Pale, Ultramarine Deep Blue, Titanium White;

Rublev:  Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, French Red Ochre, Lead White #1;

Schmincke: Caput Mortuum;

South to Dinosaur National Monument & Beyond

(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.)

Friday, October 6^th_Wednesday, the 18^th, 2017; Yellowstone National Park to Dinosaur National Monument, Utah.

C1644

“Afternoon … Mount Moran”

(Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming)

Oil on Pannelli Telati fine Cotton Panel

6” x 8”

Sold

It was a nightmare getting my last post published, as I did it from my phone from my campsite on a cliff high above and a few miles away from Dinosaur, Colorado, the same campsite I occupied for a night back in August, as I explored Dinosaur National Monument on my way north for the Eclipse.  It may just be my favorite campsite of all just for the view, not to mention solitude.  It feels like being in Asgard (home of the Norse Gods), looking down on the earth below, especially in the evening when the lights of Dinosaur (ten miles distant) and Rangely, Colorado (twenty miles beyond that), twinkle on in the gloaming.  But I digress.  The nightmare of that posting was the hours spent trying to copy and paste from my Word document to my blog, and get the photos inserted, on the small phone screen … it took most of a day.   I’m probably going to have to cut way back on the photos in future.

The Drawing & Block-in stage of the painting.

On the Friday morning after leaving Yellowstone, I crossed into Idaho with the whole purpose of having my tires rotated at the Les Schwab Tire Center in St. Anthony, the closest Les Schwab I was likely to see for awhile, and I did need a rotation, and of course it would be free.  It was interesting to see the Tetons in the distance from their other side after so many days on the Wyoming side.   The tires were rotated by 11:30 and I was passing back through Jackson, Wyoming by mid-afternoon.  I found my campsite north of Pinedale at the south end of the Gros Ventre Range early enough to get supper cooked by dark.  This would be my last night in Grizzly country, after seven weeks and one day.

Big Horn Sheep in ...

... Sheep Creek Canyon, Flaming Gorge, Utah.

The next day I stopped off at the Mountain Man Museum in Pinedale, spending several hours there.  As I was leaving I was showing the ladies on the desk some of my small Oils, when a chap named Sam showed interest and ended up buying the one of the Pinnacles in the Afternoon at Brooks Lake.  Then on down the through Rock Springs & Green River, where I located the view that Thomas Moran had painted more than once, and on down the west side of Flaming Gorge to Sheep Creek Canyon just over the border into Utah.  Here I saw Bighorn Sheep, a first for me.  I also decided to spend the night here amongst the Gold of the Autumn Cottonwoods.  The afternoon light was wonderful.  Who knew that three hours later it would be snowing while I was having my after dinner hot chocolate!  And I thought I was leaving the snow behind for awhile!!  Incidentally, the Thomas Moran viewpoint is pretty seedy these days, with railroads and small industries past their prime clogging the view.  It would be an interesting exercise painting it, retrieving the natural scene without the modern clutter. 

I awoke (07:23), looked out and saw a ram & 5 ewes of Bighorn Sheep passing just in front of the truck.  I watched them as they gamboled through the campground … a couple of the ewes would do these stiff legged leaps straight up on occasion, like domestic lambs I’ve seen … pretty funny stuff.  The snow began melting off with the Sun of morning, and I took the Sheep Creek Canyon geological loop drive, which is signposted with the various layers of strata as they appear along the road.  I crossed over the Uinta Mountains, which is made up of the oldest rocks in this part of Utah, and is also the only east-west mountain range in the country.  By evening I was in the western sector of Dinosaur National Monument; you will remember I passed through the eastern part of it on my way north to the Eclipse two months before.  I camped that night in the Green River Campground.

On the Green River, Dinosaur National Monument.

The next day I visited several sites, beginning with Josie Morris’s cabin at the end of the road.  She lived there alone for fifty years, passing away at age 91.  In her younger days she was acquainted with the outlaw Butch Cassidy.  About three quarters of a mile before the cabin the road forks and the right fork is signposted for 4-wheel drive and high clearance only.  I found that it leads to BLM land and that the road eventually climbs onto Blue Mountain and Point of Pines where I had camped back in August, but I did not make that climb just yet.

Josie’s Cabin.

Box Canyon where Josie corralled her cattle.

I camped for four nights on the way to the mountain, after going to the Quarry, where you may see a raft of Dinosaur bones still embedded in the rock.  This boneyard has been enclosed in an exhibition hall to protect the bones, in situ, from the elements.  The following are photos of Dinosaur bones at the Quarry.

Brontosaurus Skin Impression.

I remained in camp after that completing two paintings I had begun in Grand Teton National Park.  Finally I made the desperate climb up to my old campsite at Point of Pines.  The road is one of the steepest dirt roads I have ever been on, and there is no respite once you begin the climb, for it does not ease off until you have reached the top of the four mile climb.  I easily found my cliff top campsite, which was less than five miles distant from my previous camp.  I remained there for four nights, and is one of my favorite campsites of all time.  I worked on processing my photographs and other PC work, and my last blog post which was so infuriatingly time consuming to post.  But post it I did, and during each day I camped there I drove out to some of the places on the Harpers Corner Road I had visited in August, including the two mile trail at the end of that road, 3000 feet above Echo Park, and the confluence of the Green and Yampa Rivers. 

Evening looking East from my valley campsite.

Morning looking Southwest from camp.

Canyon Corral.

The Elephant Toes.

Finally on Wednesday, the 18^th, after nine days in Dinosaur National Monument, I made my way the nine miles to the Harpers Corner Road, headed towards the town of Dinosaur, but after another nine miles turned west onto County Road 16 (the Miners Draw Road), which after 24 miles in total, took me down beneath my Point of Pines camp, now only a couple miles distant, but a couple thousand feet above.  On the way down I startled a Pronghorn, who ran down the road before me for a half, maybe, three quarters of a mile before turning off the road … at times she was going about 30 mph.  This road took me through Snake John Reef (which sinuous geological feature I had been looking at for four days), to Hwy 40, and once on the pavement, through the Reef a second time as I headed to Dinosaur from the west.  Snake John Reef is made up of three layers of late Cretaceous strata rising gently from west to east, breaking the surface of the later alluvial soils, and representing an ancient coastal shoreline.  I do not know the origin of its name … no doubt there’s a story there.

Snake John Reef in the center
from my cliff-top campsite.

Sunset at Point of Pines …

… and in the valley below.

The lights of Dinosaur, about 10 miles distant,
with those of Rangely another 15 miles beyond.

Snake John Reef from on the way down
Miners Draw Road …

… and closer …

… and closer still.

… and at the cutting on US Hwy 40.

Imprimatura: Rublev Ercolano Red;

Drawing: Ercolano Red for the foreground foliage, & W&N Cobalt Blue for the mountain & distance;

Painting: W&N Cobalt and Cerulean Blues, Cadmiums Orange & Yellow Pale;

Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Ercolano Red, Purple Ochre, and Lead White #1 & 2.

Snow on the Mountains at Jackson Hole.

September 22, 2017; Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Yesterday morning, September 21^st.

So … I am posting this in real time, and will get back to the proper sequence of events with the next posting.  Last Friday I came out from my northern Wind River Range campsite, with a view of the Grand Tetons 23 miles away (see the next two posts when they are posted), because there was a chance of snow … chance of SNOW(!) … I mean it was 75ºF the day before, on the 14^th of September!!!  So I had the foresight to dig out my long-johns and light Winter boots (as opposed to my super heavy duty Winter boots), even though it was 75ºF.  Good thing, since it was in the forties Fahrenheit on the Friday, and wet and even though I didn’t put the long-johns or boots on, they were to hand when needed.  I toddled on down to Jackson Hole, and posted on my blog (which I’ve been doing for the past week, amongst other PC work), and that night found a campsite up in the Gros Ventre Range on the east side of Jackson Hole (the Teton Range being on the west side).

View northeast from my camp.

I expected a few flurries and a dusting of snow, which is what we got, and then back to warmer temperatures.  But the cooler weather has remained and on Wednesday night a Winter Storm Warning was issued for 8 to 18 inches in the mountains above 8500’!  I was at 8570’ that last Friday, but at 7913’ ever since.  And at my altitude I found about 4” on my vehicle on Thursday morning … the 21^st September(!) … 1^st day of Autumn(!!).  I was only worried about getting down the mountain … I didn’t want to slide over the edge and go rolling down the mountainside, but I needn’t have worried, as the ambient temperature of the gravel road, melted off the snow, and so it was not a problem.  I did however go slower than normal as I didn’t want to hit any slippery mud sections and disappear over the side through negligence.  Of course 1900’ below it was only a cold rain in Jackson.  I went back up last night and more snow this morning, but it was warmer this morning.  I do love it though, these variations in weather; it makes for a wider range of subject matter for future works.  It is interesting that the first snows have fallen, yet so many of the deciduous trees still are green, and even up on the mountain, the Aspens have yet to reach their prime.

Ambient road temperature keeps the snow down … only one pick-up truck has passed by.

The long-johns did go on last Saturday, and the Winter boots, only on Wednesday night.  When the cloud clears, I am looking forward to serious recon of this area with all the new snow on the mountain tops.  I shall take a few days to do so, hopefully a painting or two, buzz briefly through Yellowstone (much fewer visitors due to the weather), and then head down to the four corners region … to the Europeans, that is where the States of Colorado, Utah, Arizona & New Mexico all connect.  Warmer still at this time of year.  So here are a few photos of the snow.

The lower slopes of the Tetons in sunlight to the west,
below the cloud above me.

Close up view … I think that is the Grand Teton.

Cloud rising.

Is it clearing or is that just a sucker hole
(Portland-speak for ‘a break in the cloud that suckers you into believing it is going to clear’)

On the down the mountain.

Oh! … more sucker holes?

The first dispersed campsite up the mountain …
this guy is hard-core; note glimpse of hammock under the tarp to the right.

And down on the valley floor with the outskirts of Jackson in the distance.

Looking at the Great Divide.

(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.)

Saturday, September 2 to Wednesday, September 5, 2017; to Brooks Lake, Absaroka Range, Wyoming.

C1639

“Moonset at Dawn”

(Brooks Mountain, Absaroka Range, Wyoming)

Oil Sketch on Centurian oil primed Linen Panel

4” x 6”

Click here to make this your Own

Saturday: Over across the lake from my dispersed campsite is Sublette Peak and Brooks Mountain [I met Brooks Lake Lodge local who set me straight on the name], which mark the Continental Divide, and at present I am on the eastern side of it, so the streams here will be flowing to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.  I’ve been bouncing back and forth over the divide since crossing Independence Pass the day after leaving Salida.  I crossed from the Atlantic to Pacific flowing waters there, and back again when I crossed over South Pass, at the south end of the Wind River Range, and back to the west side a day later when I crossed over Union Pass before the Eclipse.  An interesting aside here is that in the Union Pass area waters flow in three directions; east to the Mississippi and the Atlantic, south to the Green River, which joins the Colorado and eventually into the Gulf of California (which separates Baja from the rest of Mexico), and northwest into the Snake River, which joins the Columbia and the Pacific, between Oregon and Washington.  On Tuesday I recrossed Union Pass to the east side, to Dubois, and am still on that side here at Brooks Lake, looking at the Divide in the form of Brooks Mountain, and watching the shadow of the Pinnacles Buttes slowly crawling down its face in the dawn light.

View from my 2^nd Brooks Lake Camp at the north end of the lake.

Flowers in my Camp.

Afternoon light …
I believe this is part of the Pinnacles,
but this mountain is separated
from the main body by a Valley.

Evening.

Morning Shadows.

Monday, Labor Day: Extreme smoke haze from the forest fires way up near Glacier National Park in northern Montana, so much so that you could not tell the Sun had risen by the usual shadow descending the cliffs across the lake, and those cliffs themselves were almost lost in the haze, although only two miles, or so, away.  The lake surface itself was calm until about noon, after which a breeze blew up for the rest of the day, but that had no effect on the haze.  In the evening twilight, the usually bright planet Jupiter could hardly be seen, and in fact I had to find it with binoculars before I could make it out with the naked eye.  By the time it lowered into the notch between Sublette Peak and Brooks Mountain, it could only be made out with binoculars, before it passed behind the latter … now that is haze!  However, it made for a beautiful warm, reddish-gold full moon … gosh! Two weeks since the eclipse already!!

Wednesday: A light ground frost this morning, and still a bit of smoke haze, as was yesterday, although nowhere near as much as on Labor Day.  Jupiter was easily seen last night and the Moon was its usual silvery self by the time rose high enough for it to have crested the Pinnacles and tall trees behind my campsite.

Morning.

Sublette Peak.

Montana smoke-haze in Wyoming!

A bit of mist on the Lake.

Add Sun beyond the Great Divide.caption

Smokey Evening.

Moon setting through a smoky dawn.

Smoky Moon.

The pigments used were:

Imprimatura: Rublev Ercolano Red

Drawing: W&N Cobalt Blue

Painting: W&N Venetian Red, Cobalt & Cerulean Blues, also a touch of Cerulean, Cadmiums Orange & Yellow Pale.

Rublev:Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Purple Ochre & Lead White #1.