Thursday, October 20, 2011

Plein Air Moab 2

Near Canyonlands
9" x 12" Oil
$195.00 + $10. s/h


This is the second plein air painting from my recent trip to Moab, Utah.  We stopped painting around 4:00  because we wanted to head further down the road to photograph the late afternoon shadows on the canyon walls.  At the time, I thought I'd come back and add more to the piece, but now, I'm not going to.  It works as is.

Here I am painting away...I know, my umbrella should be all white on the outside and gray on the inside.  But, my all white umbrellas is so large (it covers my easel, me, anyone who's looking) that I use it only in my back yard.  This one was left over from when the kids were small, and being my frugal self, I'm using it!

Here are some of the spectacular views in Canyonlands National Park:




We spent our 29th anniversary in Moab, and to celebrate went 4-wheeling.  We drove across the bottom of one layer of the canyon:


You can more or less see the 4wd road (going diagonally across.)  Then, we headed up the canyon:



Believe me...it was not pleasant going up!  I think that I deserve the what did you do on your anniversary award!

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love the dusty sage bushes in this piece, Nancy. Such a beautiful place and those overcast skies are just phenomenal!

Linda Popple said...

Beautiful landscape! Love the blues. Your photos show a gorgeous part of our country. Thanks for sharing. And your anniversary 4-wheeling ...... YIKES! :-)

Samantha said...

I love the colors in this one!

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

The painting is beautiful. Great sense of distance. Happy anniversary too, and you do deserve an award for bravery!

Shirley Fachilla said...

Your colors are beautiful. Love the light catching the top. Marvelous photos. Scary road up!

Marian Fortunati said...

WOW... What scenes!! LOVE those clouds!!!
Great painting too... What a great experience!!!

Pam Holnback said...

Sherry, thank you. We had 2 days of beautiful clouds!

Thank you Linda. The whole state of Utah should be a national park! It is so beautiful!

Samantha. Thanks so much!

Thank you Mary. You're right! What we do for love!

Shirley. Thanks so much. The road was too scary!

Thank you Marian. I felt like Maynard Dixon looking at those clouds!

LindaHunt said...

I enjoyed your photos very much...beautiful country.
This painting just took my breath away it is beautiful. Rich, full colors and wonderful brushwork.

mary maxam said...

Spectacular photos and you are getting such color out of your plein air works-excellent! By the way, you look like you're about 20!

Claire Beadon Carnell said...

I love the way you have handled the sage in the foreground - it's a beautiful piece, Pam. Hope you had a wonderful anniversary!

julie davis said...

Wow! You do deserve an award. I don't think I'd have agreed to four-wheeling up those trails...you are brave! A nice painting to remember it with!

Pam Holnback said...

Thank you so much Linda! The drive was what took my breath away!

Mary, Thank so much! I find the color when plein airing is so much truer than in my studio from a photo. Believe me, I am so not close to 20, but thanks!

Thank you Claire. Right now the sage is a bit spindly and gray. I wanted it to appear a little more alive, so used cerulean.

Julie, Thank you. Even my palms were sweating!

Sadeu said...

Lovely painting, Pam!