Sierra Morning

I started this painting a couple of years ago, but I put it on the dog pile to recycle. Today I dug it out and reworked it.  The location is in the Gem Lakes area in the Eastern Sierra, at Chickenfoot Lake. It is a view that has been painted many times. I may still decide that it belongs on the dog pile or that I'll rework it again, but for now I'll leave it be.  18x12", Oil on Linen.  

Iceberg Approach

 
16x12" Oil on Linen.  Getting ready for a Sierra Show this fall.

High Sierra

12x16 inches, Oil on Linen

Sierra Afternoon

12x16", Oil on Linen  

Sierra Pool

11x14", Oil on Linen

Sierra Headwaters

From a recent backpacking trip in the Eastern Sierra.  14x11", Oil on Linen. Available at Holton's Gallery.

Sierra Glow

From a recent backpacking trip to Chicken Foot Lake in the Eastern Sierra.  12x9", Oil on Linen. SOLD.

Emerald Summer

9x12", Study, Oil on Linen. 

Sierra Gem

From a backpacking trip in the Gem Lakes area in the Eastern Sierra in early July.  14x11", Oil on Linen.  Available at Holton's Gallery.

Alpine Cathedral

This was painted based on a study painted last summer in the high eastern Sierra, in the Gem Lakes area.  We are getting ready now for this year's pack trip, I can't wait to get back up in the mountains.  20x10" Oil on Linen.  Available for purchase at Holton's.

Sierra Sunrise

When I haven't been painting in a while, my natural tendencies are to tighten up, paint too much detail and to over-complicate the painting. Still, it is fun to be painting. I will let this one sit for a bit and see if I want to rework it or crop it. 18x14", Oil on Linen.

Alpine Morning

I am finally able to paint again, and I do feel a bit rusty. This seemed to be a nice warm-up subject for a smaller painting. This was from a study painted on last year's Sierra trip. 18x14", Oil on Linen

Morning Backlight Study

I painted this study more as an exercise than as a study for a final painting. Study 10x6", Oil on Linen

Slice Of Morning Light

I liked the way a thin swath of sunlight came through the gap between two mountains early in the morning. I roughed in this study one morning and finished it a couple of days later. When I came back to it with fresh eyes, I found that a lot of my color was way off, not sure what I was thinking at the time. Sometimes all it takes is having one off color that everything else starts keying off of and suddenly the whole piece is strange. This view was painted from the meadow by Chickenfoot Lake, a few steps from our campsite. The mosquitos were particularly fond of this time of the morning before the sun hits the meadow. Fortunately though, the mosquitos were more fond of Ernesto than they were of me. At one point I had at least 8 mosquitos embedded in the painting and about 20 on my palette. Study 10x8", Oil on Linen.

High Sierra High Noon

The light was very flat at noon and I was struggling to find something I wanted to paint, so I decided to try to do a quick study of one of the mountain forms and snow patterns. It was also nice to have some cloud shapes to play with. It is usually wise to have a tube of grey paint when painting all this granite or one spends a lot of time mixing greys. I was standing next to the uppermost Gem Lake, the lake in the basin above this near ridge is Treasure Lake. Study 10x6", Oil on Linen

Sierra Morning

Terry Miura and Paul Kratter had already painted this view before I did and I loved both of their studies so I wanted to try it too. The lake in the background is Chickenfoot Lake. The fields of snow coming down to meet the water are beautiful elements to paint, but are intimidating to design around. The blues tend to go a bit electric when digitally photographed, so this looks a little off in color from the actual painting. Study 10x8", Oil on Linen

Snow On Gem Lake

This one is maybe my favorite from the trip. This is the uppermost Gem Lake. Study 10x8", Oil on Linen

Shade Color Study

I painted this study the first morning of the trip, not really sure where the sun was going to shine when it rose. It was a nice way to get familiar with the local colors in shade. Study 10x6", Oil on Linen

Gem Lake Reflections

I kinda rushed this study because I was standing in a rather swampy area thick with mosquitos. I liked the nearly symmetrical composition of the scene, reminiscent of a cathedral in nature. I could almost hear the Palestrina. Study 10x8", Oil on Linen

Chickenfoot Lake Morning

One of the mornings was quite windy. I chose to paint this little scene near our campsite largely because it was in the lee of a hill and relatively calm. The sunlight hitting the jewel tones of the water was also very appealing. Study 10x6", Oil on Linen.