It seems like I spent weeks creating this Nocture of the Front Range for the National Pastel Show, only to have it not accepted. Oh, well, I got the painting "Serene Reflections" in but this one is really dear to my heart. I'll hope for the best for it and send it off again, one of the jurors for some show HAS to fall in love with it, right? Maybe it's just me, but I think paintings like this have mystery and beauty that can be created by the viewer, not much is spelled out, but it's all still there. My intrepid mountain climbing friends can name all these summits from south to north. Round Mountain is pretty noticeable but the others are a little more remote. We see this scene driving up and down highway 287, are we lucky to live here or what?

Independence Day/Serene Reflections

I am so excited that my painting, "Serene Reflections" was accepted for the Mile High National Pastel Show for 2009. I also really liked the other paintings I did for this show...that didn't get in, but oh, well!! If you can get at least one painting into National Shows you are way ahead of the game, and...this show is close by, in Longmont, so I can drive the painting there. Having to ship paintings is not good, it costs so much to enter, so much to have your piece framed and photographed that by the time you have to ship it there...and, if it doesn't sell, ship it home, an artist is w..aaa..y into big time money. And, didn't we do this just to enjoy painting? Right?

I just returned from a 10 day vacation to the West Coast of California. It was really a thrill to see the coast line north of San Francisco. I visited my sister, Debbie, who lives in California and has a vacation home in Gualala. This is a really cool area to visit, beautiful rough seacoast and a different type of foliage and weather than you see down around LA and San Diego. I took about 250 photos and did three paintings. I have decided that my theme for the next year or so will be flowers and florals in the landscape. For about the last three years I have concentrated on water, lakes, reflections and I think this will be a fun, enjoyable series and get my juices flowing again.