Afternoon on the Ranch

Afternoon on the Ranch

6" x 8"  Oil

$100.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD

I recently attended a four day Artists Gathering Invitational at the Medano Zapata Ranch in southern Colorado.  The ranch is owned by the Nature Conservancy and managed by the Phillips family who also manage a ranch near Colorado Springs.  It's a 103,000 acre bison and guest ranch bordering Great Sand Dunes National Park.  The area is ecologically diverse with high desert grasslands, forest, wetlands, sand dunes, creeks and lush meadows and scrub.  Each year a group of Colorado artists are invited to photograph and paint on the ranch.  This exposure allows us a way to teach about the Nature Conservancy ranch.  There will be three shows this fall and winter featuring work done as a result of the experience.  I was thrilled to be invited and to learn about ranch life first hand.  I painted this piece right outside of our guest house.

I think I shot this one in the middle of the day, the light is pretty flat.  But you get the idea of the vastness of the ranch.  Part of the Sand Dunes National Park can be seen in the background.

Many ranches in Colorado have large cottonwood trees around the houses and old homesteads.  These

 trees love water and grow well near streams.  They're a necessity as it is hot and dry here!

Home, home on the range.  You can see a few of the bison herd on the range.  The

 ranch manages a herd of 2,500 bison.

This is Gordon, an orphaned bison baby.  He was found in a ditch and is temporarily 

being kept in the stables where he's hand fed.  When he can take care of himself he'll

 be kept in a pasture with other orphaned bison and be enjoyed by ranch guests.  

Ie:  they'll be able to see bison up close.