Old Bristlecone Pine

Old Bristlecone Pine
plein air oil  14" x 11"
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$395.00 + $10. s/h

Earlier this month I participated in the annual South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration in Fairplay, CO. I love this celebration and go every year.  It's a 4 day event where artists paint at ranches and different locations that the committee arranges throughout Park County. Or, you can paint anywhere nearby.  We have mountain property in South Park.  So, for me, I love seeing local ranches and close by locations that I don't know about.

The first day of the event we painting at Bristlecone View Ranch.  We painted there several years ago, so I knew that I wanted to paint one of the old bristlecone pines.

There are three closely related species of bristlecone pines one of which is the:

• "Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata) in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. The most populous species; capable of forming closed canopies and, unlike the other two, is commonly cultivated."  (according to wikipedia)

All three species are long-lived and highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soils, (which definitely describes South Park!)   The oldest bristlecone is more than 5,000 years old making it the oldest known individual of any species.

(more from wikipedia:)  "Bristlecone pines grow in isolated groves just below the tree line, between 5,600 and 11,200 ft (Fairplay elevation is 9,000 feet) elevation on dolomitic soils.^[4] The trees grow in soils that are shallow lithosols, usually derived from dolomite and sometimes limestone, and occasionally sandstone or quartzite soils. Dolomitic soils are alkaline, high in calcium and magnesium, and low in phosphorus. Those factors tend to exclude other plant species, allowing bristlecones to thrive.^[8] Because of cold temperatures, dry soils, high winds, and short growing seasons,(again, great description of Fairplay)  the trees grow very slowly. Even the tree's needles, which grow in bunches of five, can remain on the tree for forty years, which gives the tree's terminal branches the unique appearance of a long bottle brush."