A Walk in the Wasatch

The Mouth of the Canyon

I love painting outdoors, but on occasion I feel the need to leave the painting gear behind and just hike. Last Saturday was one of those times. I gathered my day pack, canteen and hiking stick, and headed for one of the local canyons in the Wasatch Front.

A Little Ways Up the Trail

The canyon trail is a little steeper than some people like, but it's been one of my favorite places to hike for many years.

One of the Few Wooded Sections

The lower canyon was full of birdsong; spotted towhee, canyon wren, chickadee, jay, with many other avian songsters adding their notes to the open air concert. Even the humming birds joined in with their high pitched chatter.

Towering Cliffs

A Couple Miles Up the Trail

A Look Back Down Toward the Valley

Another Wooded Section of Trail

First Meadow, Right Fork in the Upper Canyon

Upon reaching the meadows near the top of the canyon, rainy weather caught up with me. I decided to keep walking up canyon anyway.

Rain clouds Move In

Up in the Aspens

Provo Peak, Viewed from the First Meadow, Left Fork, Upper Canyon

I passed through a meadow I call Moose Meadow. It's the first meadow up the left fork trail in the upper canyon. It was here last September I was chased out of the meadow by a big bull moose. There was plenty of moose sign, but no moose showed themselves this time.

Buckley Mountain, Seen from Moose Meadow.

Violets That Are... Not Violet

Wild Forget-Me-Nots. With a Particularly Memorable Pink One

Up through More Stands of Aspens

Closer to the pass, the view opened up again and the rain cleared up. Up on the 8130 ft. pass the aspen trees were just beginning to bud.

Just Below the Pass

The View South from the Pass

Looking North from the Pass

I know where I am when I reach the pass, but I guess it's not official unless there's a sign there. The sign did make a handy place to dry out my rain gear.

State Forest Coat Rack

The Rest of My Things

The meadow on the pass was a good place to sit down, rest, have another drink of water and something to eat. After that, I went up a little higher for a better view of the Wasatch Mountains.

Mt. Tinpanogos

Time to retrace my steps and head back down. I refilled my canteen at a spring in Moose Meadow, then headed back into the canyon and down to the trailhead.

Provo Peak with Moose Meadow in Shadow

Rock Outcrop in the Canyon

Evening Light

Final Image: Firecracker Penstemon

It was, for me, a long hike. But with the birdsong, wildflowers, wildlife seen (a couple lizards, a squirrel, and three mule deer), the brief rain shower that overtook me and moved on, and the wonderful views, it was a great day for a hike!

Presentation at UVAG

A few weeks ago Linda Paulsen of the Utah Valley Artist Guild asked if I would do a presentation for her group. Or maybe it was more than a few weeks. Anyway, yesterday evening I finally did a presentation for them.

Linda was kind enough to snap a few photos for me to put on my blog. She took the photos from the front row, so you'll have to take my word for it - the were, I think, thirty or so people there at the meeting.

Most of the presentation was about plein air painting. We talked about portraits a little also. I brought some examples of both to show. Part of the display also included a few pochade boxes and other pieces of equipment for them to see. I can't say that I'm an expert presenter, but the group asked a lot of good questions and we had some good discussions. The presentation touched on things like: Why to paint on location, equipment for painting outdoors, The challenges and rewards of painting "en plein aire." Also, a few resources such as workshops, blogs like James Gurney's or Stapleton Kearns, and online forums like Wetcanvas' plein air forum. There were also a few stories told of the kind outdoor painters have, and are scattered throughout this blog. 

Many thanks to the Utah Valley Artist Guild for inviting me, and for helping to set up and take down the display. For more information about UVAG, click anywhere in this post where the group's name is highlighted. 

Grey and Bronze

9" x 12" Pastel on Toned Textured Paper

The model that was supposed to sit for the live portrait session at Howard Lyon's studio yesterday canceled at the last minute, so Howard got one of his kids to sit for us. I was a half hour late for the session, so decided to use a medium that was less complicated and more familiar to me than oil paint. This portrait began as a charcoal drawing, but somehow my fingers found their way into the pastels in my sketch box, and it changed into a color drawing.

The young man who sat for us recognized me. Turns out I had sketched him before, nearly a year ago, at Casey Childs' studio. That session I had used charcoal in a sketchbook. The sketch from then can be seen here.

For more about drawing sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "sketching" or "drawing."