Desert Tower

9" x 12" Oil on Panel

Early this month I was back in the desert, near the Book Cliffs. There's so much to explore and paint there! Other parts of Utah get much more attention, and that makes this area all the better for exploring and painting. No noisy crowds. No national park bureaucratic regulations. Just desert canyons and cliffs, pinyon and juniper forests, and wide open views. 

This painting was made on a beautiful day early in November. The weather was one of those late autumn dichotomies where chilly air and warm sun contrast sharply with each other. After painting, I took a little time to hike a trail that led through a couple canyons and through stands of pinyon pine and juniper trees to a pleasant surprise; a waterfall in the desert! This time of year there was a lot of ice built up on the waterfall, and along the creek that tumbled over those falls.

There was much more trail to hike, but the sun was getting low and the time short, so I thought it best to return. And although I physically returned, it's as if part of my mind remained, wondering what else there was farther along the trail. Bits of my mind always seem to get stuck in wild places! I'll be back, for sure, both to paint and to hike more of this wonderful and intriguing landscape!

Backlit Redhead

12" x 9" Pastel on Sanded Paper

This pastel is from last week's portrait session at Howard Lyon's studio. Howard had placed the lighting so that a cool light illuminated the model from the front, and a strong reddish light shone on her from the opposite side. I had gone into the session intending to only do a charcoal sketch, but when I saw how colorful the subject was, I had to get out the colors!

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