Road to Phantom Canyon

For fall colors in Colorado, you can't beat the Road to Phantom Canyon (Cripple Creek to Canon City). This is a wild, winding, slow drive where I once saw a mountain lion.  I have to paint here more often.

Painting Outdoors

When painting watercolors en plein aire (at an outdoor location), real problems exist for me that aren't present in the studio:  the dryness, wind, temperature, etc.  Watercolor paints dry very quickly, the watercolor paper dries out too soon, bugs get in my paint, sometimes people even interrupt me to see what I am doing!  I enjoy that last part but must keep working to avoid weather conditions.

This watercolor of a small Catholic church in Manitou Springs was painted from the curb on a great morning.  I was using Arches 140 lb paper clipped to a piece of masonite and Windsor - Newton watercolor paints in a travel box.

Travels of My Children

Many of my watercolors are painted from photos taken by my children on their interesting travels.  Above are paintings from an Oregon fishing trip by a son who is with the National Wildlife Federation and an outing in Djoubuti from my other son who is in the U S Air Force.

Old Taos

I first visited Taos with my parents in 1944.  I had never seen Pueblo Indians or the ancient culture around the town.  Since then, I have made many trips to see the wonderful tri-culture scene and the terrific art colony.

Beaver Dam at Cottonwood Lake

The beaver dams west of Buena Vista, Colorado have always been a favorite place to get inspiration for a watercolor.  This is the seventh time I have painted from my photos at the site and I plan to visit there many more times.

Los Pinos River in Winter

This watercolor is from from a summer scene which I painted to resemble a winter scene.  We don't visit my brother's place in southern Colorado in winter but I have a lot of photos of our time there in the summers.