View From Above

The 3rd day of the South Park Plein Air Arts Celebration is a "free" day, ie:  you can paint any where in Park County.  I wanted to paint the South Platte River from an over look.  But, I had to peak through the trees.  This kept me moving back and forth in front of my easel.  The painting sold during the opening Friday evening.

Early Fall Morning

Early Fall Morning
Oil  9" x 12"
$195.00 + $10. s/h

This is about the same spot as the painting I posted on September 23rd.  There's a spring that bubbles up out of the ground making the soil spongey and soft.  The water then flows to meet up with the South Platte River.  I love the warm fall colors.  I think it's my favorite time to paint.

South Platte Valley

South Platte Valley
11" x 14"  Oil
$295.00 + $10. s/h

This little valley is tucked away by the South Platte River.  Occasionally when there we see a few other people, usually fly fisherman.  But more often than not we're the only people around.

October on the South Platte River

6" x 6" oil on panel
SOLD

This piece is from last week, before the 4 inches of snow froze the leaves in South Park. I know, those of you who live elsewhere have bigger rivers, but the South Platte is a typical Colorado River.

South Platte River 2

6" x 8" oil on masonite
$100.00 + $10. s/h
contact me if interested



No matter how many times I hike in the same valley or paint the same view, it is always completely different: a different time of day, different colors and values, different season. I used Naples yellow again in this piece, also using it to warm up the cloud reflection in the river. That's about the only thing warm in the South Platte. The water is really cold. The elevation here is about 8,000 feet and the river water is rain and snow run off from even higher mountains. When our kids were small they could only wade and play in the water for a short time.

South Platte River

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

I think reflections add a lot of interest to a painting. Usually, light values reflect just a bit darker, so I painted the reflection in the river using the darker value of the cloud. (And, dark values usually reflect just a bit lighter.) The water color also affects the value of the reflection.