Autumn Reflections
Pastel | Plein Air | 8x8”
A plein air painting started near Urad Lake in Colorado, and finished in the studio.
Availible - view listing
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A friend and fellow artist invited me to go painting. We discussed wanting to chase the fall color that week. Colorado is famous for aspens, but the well-known spots get incredibly busy. He knew this spot, so that made the decision easy on me.
We went after he got off work. This was around the time where days start to get shorter, and we really misjudged our timing. When we got to the spot it was that beautiful time of evening where the wind dies down and the sun dipped below the canyon. The water looked like a black mirror and all the landscape took on the richer jewel tones of evening. It was especially beautiful, but these were also all the signs that time was limited.
We ungracefully got ourselves down the side of a mountain to the marsh below and just tried to set up as fast as we could.
What I was able to get was a start of a painting. We painted until last light and again ungracefully got ourselves back up the hillside.
I at least had an idea in my head and got some of the true-to-life colors down. I’m very happy with the photos I got that evening. Everywhere I looked was a potential painting, so I was able to get many references and inspiration for the future.
Re-working it in the studio was fun as well. I experimented with a more stylized color scheme and marks. In this phase of art making I am using every painting to learn new approaches.
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Getting to paint with a friend and share an adventure
Hearing an elk bugle from somewhere in the distance
It was one of those rare colorado moments where we got to be the only people in such a beautiful place
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Definitely the time constraints!
There might be an easier way down to the marsh, but we did not know of it.
