Garden Of The Gods Visitor Center

 

I'm excited to have work displayed at the Garden Of The Gods Visitor Center                                          here in Colorado Springs.  

The show, "Our Natural Splendor", continues through May 16th.   The paintings                                  depict the land and skies found here in the Pikes Peak region. 

Garden Of The Gods

Garden Of The Gods
plein air oil  12" x 9"
click here for Paypal
$295.00 + $10. s/h

This is a recent painting from the Garden Of The Gods, one of the most visited parks in the state of Colorado.  You could paint there everyday and never run out of rocks to paint.  The red rock formations were created during a geological upheaval along a natural fault line millions of years ago.

For those of you not familiar with this area here's a little history:  When the Garden of the Gods was being surveyed in 1859 one of the surveyors suggested that it would be a great place for a "beer garden".  The other surveyer was awestruck by all of the rock formations and couldn't imagine a beer garden in such a majestic place.  He said that it was a place for gods to assemble and named it:  Garden Of The Gods.  It is owned by the city of Colorado Springs and is visited by thousands of people every day.

Springtime on Pikes Peak

Springtime on Pikes Peak
6" x 8"  Oil
SOLD

I painted this view of Pikes Peak one spring day when my plein air group, Garden Artists, was painting at the Garden Of The Gods Visitor Center.  It sold today at the Little London Market.  I love it when I get to meet the owner of a painting.  This man used to live in Colorado Springs but has moved to Arizona.

I recently got a "Square".  I've tried swiping credit cards and can't get it to work.  I used it successfully today by typing in the credit card number.  Any one out there using a Square and have any advise?

Kissing Camels

Kissing Camels
8" x 10"  Oil
SOLD -- Commission

This recent commission was painted for a woman who found me by googleing the "Garden of the Gods."  I hike there regularly and have done many paintings of the park.  She went to my website, looked at my local paintings, and contacted me.  After many emails back and forth, she decided to have me paint this scene instead of buying one that I had previously painted.  For those of you not from Colorado Springs, and not familiar with The Garden of The Gods, near the upper left top of the cliff you can see the camels kissing...thus the name!

This morning I went to her home, as she just bought another painting!  Never underestimate the power of the internet.  And, bloggers, make sure you have great labels on each post that can be picked up by Google.

Morning View -- 100 Garden & Floral Oil Paintings 97/100

Morning View -- 100 Garden & Floral Oil Paintings 97/100

6" x 8"  Oil

$85.00 + $10. s/h

This is another piece from a recent morning at The Garden of The Gods.

Morning At the Garden of the Gods -- 100 Garden & Floral Oil Paintings 96/100

Morning at the Garden of the Gods -- 100 Garden & Floral Oil Paintings 96/100
8" x 6"  Oil
$85.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD

I'm lucky that I live sort of near the Garden of the Gods and can quickly head over there on nice winter days!

I clicked on a recent PayPal button today and it said that painting was not available.  Well, sadly that painting hadn't sold, even though PayPal was saying that it had.  So, I clicked back on several other paintings and my last 6 paintings all said not available when I clicked on the PayPal button.  I guess I should be more vigilante about clicking and checking these buttons.  I've never had this problem before.  I called PayPal and they helped me figure it out.  There was a glitch in my inventory tracking.  So, fellow artists, check your buttons.  And, if someone out there tried to buy one of these and was told it wasn't available,  Please go back and try it now!

100 Garden & Floral Oil Paintings, Original Artwork by Pam Holnback, 53/100

Another View of the Garden of the Gods
6" x 8"  Oil on panel
$100.00 + $10. s/h

This is another piece from my morning in the Garden of the Gods last week.  Several people commented that they hadn't heard of the Garden of the Gods, which made me realize that we only know what is around us and what we see on trips.  The Garden of the Gods is the 3rd most visited location in Colorado Springs, along with Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy, both also pretty spectacular places geologically.

The Garden of the Gods Park has incredible geologic features: ancient sedimentary rock beds of red, blue, purple, and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically.  These shifts and faults were caused by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Pike Peak massif.

This is the view from the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center parking lot, with Pikes Peak hidden in the clouds.

The name Colorado is said to come from the color of the sandstone.

Morning at the Garden of the Gods

Morning at the Garden of the Gods
100 Garden and Floral Oil Paintings by Pam Holnback, 51/100
6" x 8" oil on panel
$100.00 + $10. s/h

SOLD

Last week the weather was absolutely spectacular, in the 60's everyday.  For me, that means it's time to be outdoors.  So, I spent Wednesday morning at the Garden of the Gods. Since this is one of the most famous and beautiful gardens in the world, I wonder if this should go towards my "100 garden painting" series.    

Red Rock Canyon Open Space

6" x 8" oil on board
nfs

Yesterday my plein air group painted at Red Rock Canyon Open Space.  This area used to be a county dump and before that a quarry.  A small percent (I think 1%) of Colorado's lottery money goes to buy land for parks.  This park is a great result of that money!  Red Rock Canyon is a southern continuation of the rock formation found in the Garden of the Gods.

I plan to use this as a study for a larger piece.

This is the tip of Pikes Peak, still very snow covered.

These almost vertical formations used to be horizontal (millions of years ago) and were pushed up from ground by earth quakes and geologic movement.

You can see the Garden of the Gods in the middle of the background.

Cool and Overcast

6" x 8" oil on canvas panel
$75.00 + $10. s/h
SOLD

This morning my plein-aire group, Garden Artists, painted at the Garden of the Gods. It was a cool (we all had on jackets) and gray, overcast day. We had several inches of snow on Sunday. I thought the light would stay the same, but even though it was flat, the values changed; although not nearly as much as on a beautuiful sunny day.

White Rock

9 x 12 oil on canvas panel
$100.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested


In the middle of Colorado Springs is an almost 1400 acre park called Garden of the Gods. 2009 is the 100th anniversary of the park. The original owner left it to the city in 1909. One of his friends wanted him to turn it into a beer garden. Luckily, that didn't happen. The park is filled with towering sandstone rock formations and sits just below Pikes Peak. It's pretty spectacular. No matter how many times I visit the park, I'm always amazed. The rocks, the light and color, the shadows; they're always changing. The formations and spires all have names. The one in the front here is aptly named "White Rock".