Red Rock Lake
Pastel | Plein Air | 12×16”
This artwork was created on location in Nederland, CO, during the 2026 Estes Valley Plein Air, a juried plein air show and exhibition.
🥇 Artist’s Choice Award - Estes Valley Plein Air 2026
Available
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During Estes Valley Plein Air, I spent a lot of time driving and scouting to get to know the area better. Usually, my Estes trips go the same way; I’ll go to the same coffee shop and then into the national park. This time I was on a mission to discover more.
When I checked into my campground, I asked the camp hosts where they would go, and Brainard Lake was listed first on a very long list of suggestions. Something about it felt right to me, and I set my mind on going there. They still told me about many other places, but I stuck with Brainard. It is an absolutely beautiful recreation area, not at all busy, and as I learned, it is regarded as the moose capital of Colorado. I did see three!!!
While driving in towards the main lake, I saw a small accessory lake called Red Rock Lake. I stopped to look around and got that instant knowing feeling again; I was pretty certain I would paint this spot this week. It was late and almost turning over into evening, so I did two value studies with markers and pen. I liked the first one, & loved the second. I knew I would be back to turn that one into a painting.
Most of the week passed, and I still hadn’t returned to the spot. I already did two other paintings for the show and participated in group events. Our artwork turn-in day was Wednesday. It was Tuesday when I finally made it back to do the painting. It was raining on me off and on. I used my umbrella, and actually loved the experience. The rain felt nice; it was a sunny rain that made everything more vibrant. I was blessed with beautiful light to inspire the feeling in the final piece.
As for technical stuff, my value study helped me tremendously. I kept a couple of larger landmarks in my painting true to life. I was a little more truthful with the mountain peaks and larger rock on the right. I added the other rocks with more of a compositional goal in mind. I also added a break in the trees under the peak, as there would be if a stream ran into the lake from the mountain. Working larger always tempts me to get more detailed, but anytime I started adding more rocks that weren’t in my value study, the painting suffered. Just because you can see it doesn’t mean you need to add it. I loved that they turned out so similar!
At the show, awards were given out by the juror, and the Artist’s Choice award was left for last. This painting and my name were called for it, and I am so grateful to the other artists who selected this painting from such strong work.
