Pond Reflections

Pond Reflections

plein air oil  12" x 9"

SOLD

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 we can paint at the ranches and different locations the committee arranges.  Or, you can paint anywhere nearby.  We have mountain property in Park County.  So, for me I love seeing local ranches and close by locations that I don't know about.

One of this years locations was Warm Springs Ranch.  It's a former huge, working ranch, which now has several areas of houses and miles of open space.  It was beautiful!  This was one of the many ponds on the ranch.

Mountain Pond

Mountain Pond
plein air oil  12" x 12"
SOLD

This painting was done at the Beaver Ponds Environmental Education Center just outside of Fairplay, CO during the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration earlier this month.  This was the 6th and last painting done during the main 3 days of the event.  One of the great things about this plein air event is that the town of Fairplay organizes locations to paint.  I'd never been to the Center, nor did I know about it.  It was very interesting.  Of course, beaver ponds, but trails in the woods, a river, lots of aspen trees.  Upon first arriving I decided to walk the circular trail to find a spot to paint.  I saw very large hoof prints in the mud.  I am very familiar with elk prints, these were so much bigger, I knew they must be a moose.  The Center owner said that they frequently have a moose family near by.

After just a short while the shade around my easel disappeared and I was too lazy to walk back to my car to get my umbrella.  You want your canvas and palette to be in the shade, so I propped another canvas up to help a bit.

Friday evening is the Event Show in the bank lobby (there's only 1 bank in town.)  Every day at 4 pm we turned in 2 framed paintings from that day.  Each day at dinner one painting received a "Painting Of The Day" Award.  The awards for the 3 day event were given out on Friday night at the reception.

I was thrilled that "Mountain Pond" received an Honorable Mention!  And I was also so pleased that the painting sold!

Tucked Away Pond

Tucked Away Pond
plein air Oil  9" x 12"
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$195.00 + $10. s/h

This is from this morning's paint out with friends.  We hiked a short way in at Austin Bluffs Open Space to this little pond that was tucked away just off the trail.  The fall weather here in Colorado Springs is gorgeous.  We're having the most beautiful colors!  Way too pretty to be inside!

Morning Reflections -- Day 2, Painting 1 South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration

Morning Reflections
Day 2, Painting 1 South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration
Day 11 of 30 in the 30 in 30 Days Challenge
Oil  12" x 12"
$295.00 + $10. s/h

On the 2nd day of the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration we went to Bartle Lakes, a privately owned ranch and family run fly fishing operation near Jefferson, Colorado.  There was incredible scenery with high alpine lakes, ponds, trees, trucks, boats.  I could have painted there for days!

Below is my set up in the woods near one of the ponds

I started with the pond reflections first, as I knew these would change with the afternoon weather  (rain and clouds) coming in early.

Then I put in the blue/gray sky before it got even grayer.