Sanctuary

30"x40", Acrylic/Canvas

Near Swampy Pass, in the West Elks.

SOLD

Hillside Grove

30"x40", Acrylic/Canvas

An overcast day during the overlapping seasons in the West Elks.

SOLD

to a collector in Boise, ID

Annie's Aspens

48"x24", Acrylic/Canvas

SOLD

prints are available in several sizes by clicking the link on the right sidebar.

Shavano Shining (and new galleries)

24"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

$2500

Shavano from Monarch Pass. This file is cropped a bit too much, so email me if you are interested and want to see the full image, or visit my website.

On another note, I'm pleased to announce that I will now be represented by the Timberstand Gallery in Sandpoint, Idaho, as well as Centennial Galleries in Ft. Collins, CO.

Lake Fork Afternoon

36"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

A view of Carson Peak, near Lake City. This is on the way to Cataract Gulch, home of the craftiest, gorp-stealing marmots I've ever encountered. My buddy swears he saw the devil on a ridge up there, but I think it was just a goat.

SOLD

to a collector in St. Louis, MO

Turn, Turn, Turn

48"x30", Acrylic/Canvas

$3250

We have completed our move back to Colorado (woo hoo!), but we are still getting ourselves situated, so it may be a bit longer before I can get back on track with the dailies. I'll be able to get the studio organized once we get the rest of our furniture, so please bear with me until then. I am looking forward to heading to Rocky Mountain National Park with a french easel on my back, and I think I may dabble in oils again for the plein aire stuff. Until then, we are trying to get a feel for Ft. Collins, and find galleries and jobs (sigh).

Cheers to the Centennial State!

send me an email for info on this piece.

Placid

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Aridity #2

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The Onion Creek area of southeastern Utah.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Jackson St. Silos #5

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

This may be the last of the silo series, since we are moving soon. They've been a good muse.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Studio Light

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Towards Pullman

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Contrails and utility poles doing their best to frame the setting sun.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Doubletrack

24"x48", Acrylic/Canvas

$2750

Click the image for a larger view

Send me an email
for more information

Palouse Wheat

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

SOLD

Aspen Road

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

One of the old timber tracks on the flanks of the West Elks, gradually being consumed by the aspen groves.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Field Writing

8"x10", Acrylic/Canvas

The blue and orange of a Palouse afternoon. The wheat seems like it's lit from within when it is even slightly backlit...I think Van Gogh was on to something. This is a commissioned piece to mark this combine's last run.

SOLD

Machinery

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

My paintings always seem to be about the landscape, regardless of the subject matter.

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Brush Creek Cattle

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Skyline

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Retreating snow patterns doing their best Rorschach test imitation...like clouds and constellations.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Lowline Trail

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Redfish View

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The Sawtooths (teeth?)

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Paradise Divide Cornice

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas

Winter retreating near Daisy Pass.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Morning Virga

12"x16", Acrylic/Canvas

$495 + $15 U.S. shipping

Gothic Valley Summer

12"x16", Acrylic/Canvas

This is a strange canvas size...too big to be little, but too small to be large. I usually jump from 5x7 straight to 24x36+, and this was a little out of my comfort zone (which was never very comfortable to start with). At any rate, this is the Gothic Valley above Crested Butte, looking into the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area. You can see peaks shift towards the ruddy color that the Maroon Bells are so well known for.

$495 + $15 U.S. shipping

Winter Palisades

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Cottonwood and Cattle

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Cattle in Gold Basin, underneath Sawtooth Mountain...the most shape-shifting mountain I've ever seen.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Slate River Bend

20"x24", Acrylic/Canvas

The Daily Painters Gallery is having at theme day tomorrow..."Reflections". Here is my far-too-literal contribution to the show. It'll be interesting to see where the others go with the idea.

I'll be back to the small dailies when I can get some surfaces lined up and ready to go... I think I am going back to the boards.

$1150

Available at the Rijks Gallery

or send me an email

Mill Creek Melting

24"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

Looking towards West Elk Peak and Storm Pass.

$2500 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Quaking Autumn

16"x20", Acrylic/Canvas

These particular mountains may or may not actually exist.

$925 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Upward

36"x24", Acrylic/Canvas

The Sangre de Cristo range, with late sun igniting Kit Carson peak. This is on the climb to one of the million "Willow Lakes" that dot the Rockies, underneath all the "Sheep" and "Bear" mountains and "Castle" peaks. I think their names might deserve a bit more thought. My favorite mountain names are actually along the Russian River in Alaska...."Right Mountain" and "Wrong Mountain". That's just funny to me. Speaking of names, I'll probably change this title when I come up with something more eloquent or clever.

I've really been trying to push the foregrounds lately, and these sunlit rocks quickly became my favorite part of the piece.
$2750 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Backlight

16"x12", Acrylic/Canvas

This would be a neat primary color scheme if this horse were red. Alas, he's white(ish). So it goes.

$750

Available at the Rijks Gallery

or send me an email

July 4th in the Ruby Range

20"x24", Acrylic/Canvas

$1150

Available at the Rijks Gallery

or send me an email

Mill Creek in June

22"x28", Acrylic/Canvas

I've painted this creekbend in every season, and it always seems to feel familiar and different at the same time.

$1350

available a the Rijks Gallery

or, send me an email

Slate River Slate

48"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

I've been away from the easel as we try to get our house in order before we sublease it for our move back to Colorado. In the meantime, I'll continue to post some larger pieces of Colorado itself. This is near the confluence of the Slate River and Oh-Be-Joyful Creek...perhaps the coolest creek name ever.

$3750

available at the Rijks Gallery

or, send me an email

Liquid Glass

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The clear waters of the Central Rockies.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Gray Day

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Cloud shadows surfing over the West Elks.

$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

West Elks PM

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

My favorite valley beneath my favorite range. Again.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

The Space Between

30"x40", Acrylic/Canvas

This is the large version of the little study I posted on 4February.

$2950 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Mass

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The hulking mass of the Sawatch Range after an early storm. The deep valleys are like wells of blue ink, filling and darkening as the afternoon progresses.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Evening of the Shortest Day

24"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

The Gunnison River on the winter solstice. This was along my old school bus route when I drove for the Gunni school district. I actually parked the bus (all the kids were safely delivered home) and trudged down to the bank to do a color study. The study was 8x10, I think, and it was absolutely terrible, because the paint was freezing on my brush. It looked more like a used palette than a painting, but there were a few smudges of icy acrylic mud that were more or less the right colors.

$2500 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Sun on the Taylor

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The Taylor River, perhaps the world's best cataract factory.

SOLD

to a collector in Denver, CO

October Sky

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The view downvalley from the flanks of Carbon Peak

SOLD

to a collector in Lubbock, TX

Spring Dreams

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The temperature is in the fifties today, which has a lot of people excited about Spring. All I can think about is how this is going to melt our hockey pond.

This is near my favorite napping spot on Hinkle Hill.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Columns

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

October snow near Pass Creek

$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Contrast

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I may have been a little drunk when I painted this. Just a little.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Grove Patterns

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Sometimes the old, chewed up snow is more interesting than the fresh stuff, as it twists and contorts the shadows and highlights.

SOLD

to a collector in Long Beach, CA

Corridor

30"x40", Acrylic/Canvas

A larger piece that I've been sitting on for a while. I rarely paint aspens in frontal lighting, because I think the fun is usually in the reflected light in the surface shadows...but man, do they glow when the sun hits them, eh? This is near my favorite campsite in the West Elks.

$2750 inlcuding U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Aspens and Willows

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Aspens Again

6"x8", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Maybe tomorrow I'll mix it up and paint a birch tree.

SOLD

to a collector in Hanover, NH

Forest Floor

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The seasons overlap in the West Elks. I have painted this tree from every possible angle, I think. Maybe I need to climb it and paint from its canopy.

SOLD

to a collector in Oro Valley, AZ

Viscosity

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

A slow river of granite flowing down to Spring Creek.

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Blue Sky and Shadows

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas panel

I know backlight and aspen shadows are a bit of a crutch for me, but crutches aren't always bad... especially when they are as cool as backlit aspen groves. This is Mill Creek again (surprise!)

SOLD

to a collector in Hanover, NH

Maxwell Lake #3

5"x7', Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The view from the saddle above Maxwell Lake, in northeast Oregon's Wallowas. It's a fun challenge to cram mountains onto postcards. Maybe I should try to paint a thimble on a six foot canvas, to see what it's like to go the other way...but I'd rather paint mountains.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Pass Creek Hollow

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Near the Pass Creek crossing on the trail to Swampy Pass.

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

High Pine

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Just below timberline in the Ruby Range.

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Sunset Over Mt. MacIntosh

8"x6", Acryic/Canvas Panel

A cold evening from the studio window in Gunnison.
$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Palouse Evening #4

6"x6", Acrylic/Board
Evening east of Moscow.

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Distance

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

This is probably the nine hundredth painting I have done of the Mill Creek valley, and I'm still not tired of it. There are lots of places to sit and hide up there in that lavender paint.

SOLD

to a collector in Dyer, IN

Storm Over Red Lady

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Winter on Mt. Emmons. She has alot of molybdenum in her belly, fueling a debate between mining and environmental concerns that has captivated Crested Butte for 30 years. John Denver recorded a song about it..."The Mountain Song". It was written by a CB local, Tracey Wickland. You can read an article from the CB Weekly here.

SOLD

to a collector in Middleton, MA

Sentinel, 5x7, A/C

Another Yosemite piece. $75 + $7 U.S. shipping.

Dusk

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Mill Creek Sketch

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Mill Creek's willows cascading out of the valley. My favorite place in the world. Happy new year!

SOLD

to a collector in Oro Valley, AZ

Silver Lining Over Ohio Creek

36"x24", Acrylic/Canvas

Autumn weather over the West Elks.

$2500

Send me an email if interested.

Ohio Creek Evening

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Old Town Hall

4"x4", Acrylic/Canvas

Crested Butte's old Town Hall, which is also the building that houses my first gallery, the Paragon Co-op. It is one of the longest running artist's co-ops in the country, established in 1979....the same year I was "established", as it were. It's a pretty cool concept. They even let a twenty-five year old me be the Gallery Director for a time, which essentially meant I got the tall, cushy barstool at the meetings. But it sounds good. I probably should have posted a better painting to represent it, but, you know....
Check out their new (to me) website and drop them a line...

$35 + 6 U.S. shipping

Palouse Evening #3

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

Evening light rolling up the fields.

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Palouse Evening #2

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

Long shadows and apricot skies near Moscow.

SOLD

to a collector in Woodland Hills, CA

Palouse Evening

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

Lingering light on the hills east of Moscow.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Taylor River in March

24"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

$2500 including U.S. shipping

If interested, send me an email

Colour, Obsession, Joy and Torment The Daily Painters Art Gallery 2008 Announcing our first ever Daily Painters Gallery book!

Day Fading

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

I'm kind of on a tonal kick again. I think it's because of the short days.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Winter, Imagined

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

A mental image (one of many) of Mill Creek that is imprinted somewhere in the tangled bracken of my head.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Cloud Shapes

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Cold Light

36"x24", Acrylic/Canvas

Afternoon light at two tens below zero, somewhere in the West Elks. I liked how the two little aspens seemed to be playing in their little sliver of sunlight before the shadows of the old spruce-fir forest put them to bed for the night. I really need to take the time to come up with better titles. Happy Tofurkey Day.

$2500 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Moscow AM

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

Diffused light and Moscow Mountain.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Gradation

12"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

The many moods of the forest near Pass Creek. Click the image for a larger view.

SOLD

to a collector in Oklahoma

Beckwith and Aspens

36"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

A view towards the West Elks from high in the Ruby Range.

$3550 including U.S. shipping

or send me an email

Lone

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

$85 +$8 U.S. shipping

Open Range

5"x7", Acrylic/Board

The Anthracites. And a cow.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Seasons

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Daisy Pass

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

The area beneath Daisy Pass, near the head of the Slate River Valley. This is where our shepherd rolled in a dead porcupine, with predictable results.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Fields

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

Waves of earth in the Palouse.

SOLD

to a collector in Bellevue, WA

Elk Ave.

5"x7", Acrylic/Board

Downtown Crested Butte

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Long Shadows

5"x7", Acrylic/Board

Winter light in the Ruby Range.

SOLD

to a collector in Carbondale, CO

Ohio Creek Valley

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Winter Shallows

30x48, Acrylic/Canvas

It's amazing that the smallest streams can run free even at 20 below. I guess it speaks to the power of the alpine sun and the weight of a few thousand feet of water pushing down on itself.

$3250 including U.S. shipping

0r send me an email

Tempest

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Expanse #2

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

Paradise Ridge and wheatfields from the UI arboretum.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Catwalk Shadows

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

I think I've realized why I'm so drawn to these silos...they bend and reflect light just like giant aspen trunks. They have the same finish as aspen bark, a powdery matte with just enough of a satin tinge to reflect their surroundings, and the same linen coloring, like canvases waiting for the day to paint them. Cool, eh? Well, I think so.

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Strata

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

Aridity's colors on the Palouse River.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Silos at Sunset

5"x7", Acrylic/Board

These guys are some of the tallest structures in Moscow, and they make a great canvas for sunset's light and shadows.

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Industry

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

The University of Idaho's steam plant under a Vicks Vapor Rub sky.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Silos, South View

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Waves of Light

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

Late-day patterns in the West Elks.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Fenceline Sunset

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

SOLD

to a collector in Long Beach, CA

Hanging in there.........

We're about to ship this wonderful example of modern technology off to places unknown so that people or machines unnamed can perform some witchcrafty transplants or transfusions on its vital hardware organs. We should be up and running with our fancy new desktop soon, at which time I'll be able to upload, provided i can figure out how even modern-er technology works.
Cheers.
nodp

Canopy Shadows

36"x48", Acrylic/Canvas

$4250 incl. U.S shipping

Email me if interested in this piece.

Also, I've recently redesigned my website.

View it here.

Let me know what you think.

Mudflap, 6x6, A/C

Apparently our computer's hardware is shot, and we have to send it in for a month to get repaired. We may get a desktop in the meantime so that Lizzie can keep up with school, and so my millions of painting files don't lock up her laptop anymore. Grrrr. So....buy some paintings and keep us in the computing business, eh? I'll continue to post what i can from our existing files until I can upload again.

$100 + $7 U.S. shipping.

#@*! computer!

This is our shepherd, Zoe. She's very sad because our computer has decided to stop recognizing any of its USB ports, preventing me from uploading any new work. We'll try to consult with someone smarter than us and get things working again. Thanks for checking in.
NODP

Maxwell Lake #2

6"x6", Acrylic/Board

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Maxwell Lake

7"x5", Acrylic/Board

Maxwell Lake in Oregon's Wallowas. I asked Lizzie to marry me here last Saturday.

After much thought, she said yes.

NFS

Click the image for a larger view.

4th St. Fire Escape

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

This might actually be 5th st.... Anyway, it's the street the Moscow police station is on.$100 + $7 shipping

Round Mountain in Autumn

11"x14", Acrylic/Canvas

Round Mountain from Farris Creek trail.

$350 + $10 U.S. shipping

Shipping Containers

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas

Plywood containers at the old silos.

SOLD

to a collector in Skillman, NJ

Jackson Street Silos

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas

These are abandoned silos from the Latah County Grain Growers...across the street from us. There is a debate over whether or not to raze them for new development. They are kind of an iconic landmark here...it would be a shame to see them go. I say call 'em sculpture and leave 'em be...kind of like the old barns and haysheds around Crested Butte. No new building is going to bend light around like these guys.
$100 + $7 shipping

Autumn Gold

48"x36", Acrylic/Canvas

$3950

An especially vibrant grove on a bluebird day in the Little Mill Creek drainage. This grove is outstanding every year.

Email me for purchase arrangements.

November

40"x30", Acrylic/Canvas

There's been a bit of autumn in the air, and I've realized that even after 29 laps around the sun, I'm still suprised every time the seasons change. Lizzie thinks this one is depressing...and I'm alright with that. This is one of my favorites.

Click the image for a much larger view.

$2750 + $100 U.S. shipping

Email me for purchase options.

Nu Art and Nimbus

8"x6", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

A bruise-colored sky over Moscow's Main Street.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Palouse Moon

7"x5", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Late summer moon over the wheat fields outside of Moscow, ID.

SOLD

to a collector in Boise, ID

Raining Light

9"x12", Acrylic/Canvas

The last few leaves directing light across the forest floor.

$250 + $10 U.S. shipping

Stony Grove

5"x7", Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I'm back in the groove. I swear. This is a grove emerging from the foot of a talus field in the West Elks.

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Fall Study, 12x9, Acrylic/Canvas

It's good to be back in the studio. This is near our regular camping spot in the West Elks.

SOLD

Utility 3, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

A very simple, somewhat abstracted view of some utility poles downtown. I liked how different each orientation felt as I spun the canvas to paint it, so I thought I'd show them all (these are all the same painting, for the record). It's to the point where I'm really not sure which view I started with.

$65 + $8 U.S. shipping

Morning Over Westwater, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Angled clouds reflecting angled light over an angled landscape in southeastern Utah.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Sixth and Jackson (dusk), 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The Jackson Street silos again, just off of Main in Moscow. This is the view from Hawg's Grill. I've never eaten there, but Hawg was nice enough to help me push our old VW when it died right in front of his place. This is one of my favorites.

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Third and Washington, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Last light filtering through downtown Moscow. Happy birthday, mom!

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Sunshine on Sunshine Peak, 8x10, Acrylic/Canvas

Sunshine peak from Cataract Gulch.

SOLD

Salmon River Hills 2, 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Another piece from along the Salmon. This one is right before the climb up Whitebird Hill, where Volkswagen vans go to die.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Salmon River Hills, 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas

Afternoon light along the Salmon River. This is on the main fork, just north of Riggins, Idaho. There's some unique light there, so I may do a small series of these. This is my 150th post.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Mill Creek and Flat Top, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$85 + $8 U.S. shipping

Yosemite Evening, 9x12, Acrylic/Canvas

SOLD

Corona, 36x24, Acrylic/Canvas

I'm off to Colorado tomorrow for a show at The Rijks Gallery, and I think I'm bringing this guy with me. So.....posts, if any, will be sporadic for the next week. Contact the gallery or me if interested in this piece. Take care.

Carbon Creek Scree Field, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The shoulders of Carbon Peak sloping into its namesake creek.

Rijks Gallery

Haze, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

$75 + 8 U.S. shipping

Switchtrack, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas

This was actually my first post on this blog (scroll waaaayyy down to read the original post), but I had an absolutely lousy picture of it. Now that I have the system figured out a bit better, i thought I'd clean it up and repost it, as it's one of my favorites.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Paradise Divide, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Paradise Divide seen from the upper lower loop trail.

Rijks Gallery

The First Few Flakes, 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I've been chased down this valley by more rain, hail, and snow storms than I care to count. I remember snow-shoeing up here on an absolutely bluebird day a few winters ago, when the typical afternoon puffers combined into a boiling wall of cloud over West Elk Peak. I bounced back down-valley to the trailhead, feeling chased the whole way. On the short drive back to Ohio Creek, the shadow from the front literally passed me. I was driving about forty miles an hour, and it swallowed me. I watched it move down my hood and speed up the road to the west. In my rearview mirror there was nothing but a swirling vortex of white and gray...no mountains, no sky, no road. Not only did the thing pass me, but it managed to drop about two inches of snow in the five minutes it took me to get back to pavement. That weather was possessed. And it was wonderful.

SOLD

to a collector in Woodland Hills, CA

Farris Creek Aspens, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Seeing as how it snowed about an inch this morning, and the fact that it is currently 34 degrees outside, i thought i'd play around with Spring, in all its technicolor glory. I can no longer look at the color green without seeing orange underneath it. Or within it. Or maybe just next to it. Some preposition, anyway.

Rijks Gallery

Elevation, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

The West Elks from above Lake Irwin.

Rijks Gallery

Slate River Spring, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas

The Slate River Valley, my second favorite valley in the world. The glaciation is so evident on the valley walls that it looks like they just receded yesterday. This one kind of bridges the seasons between yesterday's green and the large winter piece i've been freezing through.

Rijks Gallery

Above Gothic, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I've been buried in a large winter painting lately, so i thought I'd go green for a day. This is a meadow above Gothic, CO. $75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Fall Sketch, 20x24, Acrylic/Canvas

I've finally gotten my studio set up in our new old house. It seems like the light in here will be decent, which is really all that matters. This is another painting of the grove on Swampy Pass, which is probably the best leaf-peeping hike in the world. Check my website for more aspen work.

SOLD

Predawn, 9x12, A/C

I wish i was strong enough with color to knock it back like the good tonalists do. This would be a stronger piece had i focused on a complementary underpainting, but overall i like the feel of it. New ground for me.

$125 + $7 shipping

In Progress, 48x60, Acrylic/Canvas

I've spent most of the last week roughing this one in. That, combined with the fact that we moved this weekend and that our computer froze for three days, has kept me from posting. This one might be at 80%...I'm not really sure. The values need some work. This is the biggest canvas I've worked on, and I'm not sure if it will fit in my jeep to take to the gallery. I could measure, but i prefer to just cross my fingers. Email me if interested in the finished piece.

Old Man, 16x22, Acrylic/Canvas

Hi Mom.

SOLD

Declination, 36x36, A/C

I'm working on a 4' x5' landscape this week, so the dailies are kind of taking a backseat. This is one of my favorite aspen pieces of one of my favorite aspen groves, completed last winter.

$3550

Contact the Rijks Gallery for purchase information

http://rijksgallery.com

Color Field Cumulus, 48x36, Acrylic/Canvas

A large piece that I just finished, probably for an upcoming show. It felt good to put some miles on the bigger brushes. This is on gallery wrapped canvas, and I think I'll paint the edges of it. I was a bit stumped on a title for this one. The trifurcation of colors reminded me of Rothko, if not the colors themselves. As always, I reserve the right to come up with a more clever title.
If interested, shoot me an email at zthurmond@yahoo.com for details.

Turnstile, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

A rancher's turnstile on a trail to the Gunnison River. I've been wanting to do this painting for years, but I kept putting it off for whatever reason. I'm not sure why.

$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Canyon Light, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I've been looking up alot lately...sky after sky after sky. I thought I'd take a break and look down. This is the Gunnison River's Black Canyon, upstream from the North Rim. It's fun to cram so much space into such a small format.

Rijks Gallery

Ovation, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

This isn't my best painting, but I think it's my best title yet. Surely trees clap their limbs and leaves together for the cloud show each evening. Why not? If only they could hold lighters.

$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Railway to Heaven, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Okay, so that's a stupid title. However, "Railway to the back of the Subaru dealer" doesn't have the same rythym to it. I think this is my favorite of the dailies so far.

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Red Bed and Flyover, 8x10, Acrylic/Canvas

I've been on the road alot lately. I liked the contrast of shapes in this one. This is I-15 north-bound again, between Salt Lake and Ogden. Rush hour traffic there is a pain, but the light is good this time of year if you are dumb enough to look while driving. I am. Have you ever tried to navigate in heavy, stop and go traffic while looking through a camera lense? You probably shouldn't.

SOLD

to a collector in New York, New york

Migration, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

On the road again...

SOLD

to a collector in Playa del Rey, CA

The Painted Ceiling, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

A rare flash of an emerald horizon over the Washington border...there and gone again.

SOLD

Utility 2, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I might have to start a second blog for these skyscapes...if I do I'll link to it here.

SOLD

to a collector in Skaneateles, NY

Three Windows, 5x7, A/C

I don't get to use a bold green very often. I find that Ma Nature's green is usually shifted one way or another on the wheel. That's why this plywood door caught my eye. This is another building on the new-development chopping block. Is it just me, or does it kind of looks like it's yelling at you? $100 + $7 shipping

Utility, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I considered putting a bird or squirrel on one of these wires, but this painting isn't really about birds or squirrels.

$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Aridity, 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Sunrise on a sagebrush sea. Say that a few times fast.

SOLD

to a collector in Moscow, ID

Time and Space, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Watching the darkness of space recede towards the zenith as a new day begins. It's mind boggling to think of all the motion involved here...driving at a certain speed, beneath clouds that are moving at their own pace, chasing the sun as it arcs across the sky, all on a spinning earth, each going in its own direction, like cogs driving each other around. And somehow it all stays together. You think about odd things when you drive a billion miles a year. I think this one would be fun on a six foot canvas.

$125 + $8 U.S. shipping

Sixth St. Sunset, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Downtown Moscow at dusk. I liked how the traffic lights echoed the scalloped sunset.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Expanse, 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Evening clouds rolling over the hills of the Palouse.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Cruciform Army, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I spend a great deal of time painting trees, writing about trees, thinking about trees...but rarely do I stop to consider these monuments to forests gone by. They used to carry birds' nests and bugs, the sun and the wind amidst their leaves or needles. Now, many of them carry that magical electron that allows so many of us (myself included) to get soft and lazy. Trees have never struck me as vengeful beings, but if they were...what a sweet revenge it must be.

SOLD

Paradise Creek #4, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I don't know why I keep coming back to this creek, but it probably has something to do with the fact that it flows right by our house. The snow flurries fled east, up the slopes of Moscow Mountain, just in time to reveal this absolutely blinding sunset.

SOLD

to a collector in Boise, ID

Cloud Study, 6x8, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

A quick study of a front passing over Paradise Ridge. I'm working on a large piece that is along these lines.

$100 + $8 U.S. shipping

Six, 8x6, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

I was out chasing clouds when I looked up the hill and saw these cattle backdropped by the last bit of daylight. It immediately reminded me of that scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indy and his workers are digging for the Ark, silhouetted by the the dawn. These cows weren't doing anything that cool.

SOLD

to a collector in Playa del Rey, CA

Paradise Creek 3, 7x5, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

Paradise Creek flowing towards the setting sun.

$75 + $8 U.S. shipping

Sagebrush Sunset, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

"I was used to a sun that came up over mountains and went down behind other mountains. I missed the color and smell of sagebrush, and the site of bare ground."

-Wallace Stegner

I can think of a hundred other Stegner passages that are more eloquent or poetic, but none that sum it up so well.

SOLD

to a collector in Playa del Rey, CA

Over The Hill, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas Panel

SOLD

I've decided to make some of my larger paintings available as prints. Click on the Imagekind widget in the sidebar to see what's available. I may add more pieces over time. Thanks for looking.

Downstream, 6x12, Acrylic/Canvas

The Taylor River again, this time looking south from the same spot as "Upstream" a few posts ago.

$150 + $8 U.S. shipping

Hinkle Hill Grove, 24x36, Acrylic/Canvas

One of my favorite groves in the West Elks...but then again, I think my favorite grove tends to be whichever one I'm laying in.

$1450 + $75 U.S. shipping

Storm Over Five Mile Gulch, 7x5, A/C

I've always tried to use a very limited palette....basically a warm and cool of each primary, white, and burnt umber as a filler when mixing darks. The sky is a different color here, so a few weeks ago, with much fanfare, i thought i would reward myself with a new blue. It has touched my palette once. It's so foreign and strange trying to assimilate it into the drawer with the old tried and true tubes.
This storm is one of the greatest days I've ever had in Boise. It just came in waves as i watched it for an hour or so.

SOLD

Dolores River in June, 9x12, Acrylic/Canvas

It's 70 degrees and sunny outside, and I have a new bike...so the brushes get a day off.

SOLD

Shadow's Edge, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

Rijks Gallery

The Palisades, 5x7, A/C

Gunnison, Colorado. Home sweet home.

SOLD

North Rim View, 40x30, Acrylic/Canvas

The Gunnison River from Pioneer Point.

$2750 + $85 U.S. shipping

Layers, 7x5, Acrylic/Board

Rijks Gallery

Passing Time, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

Morning breaks over the Idaho/Utah border.

SOLD

Procession, 5x7, Acrylic/Canvas

It's snowing again, and I need spring to spring...but it's nice to daydream in paint.

Speaking of daydreaming, here are some nonsensical, rambling journal notes that a younger version of myself wrote while leaning on this very tree...

...and the sky blue sky hides every shade of yellow, and there is red in the leaves that are every green ever grown, and the growing green grasses hide their orange bellies from the violet eyes of apricot sunsets...and even the empty air flutters like butterfly wings...

and it goes on and on. Maybe I lean on trees too much.
But I don't think so.

Rijks Gallery

West Elk Autumn, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

A view of the Castles from the flanks of Ohio Pass.

Rijks Gallery

The Way Through, 7x5, Acrylic/Board

Whenever we are bouncing through the forest, I try to my remind my husky how lucky she is to get to play there, instead of on some lifeless sidewalk. She usually responds by eating a bug or rolling in something. She must get it.

SOLD

to a collector in Middleton, MA

Headwaters, 7x5, Acrylic/Board

Lingering spring snow watching over its future, the waters of the Slate River. Kind of an adventure story, if you think about it. That is some lucky snow... to fall where it fell.

SOLD

to a collector in Little Rock, AR

Scattered, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

The Ruby Range, above Lake Irwin.

Rijks Gallery

Six String and Sunflowers, 24x24, A/C

I just returned from a trip to Colorado to stock the gallery, and I brought back a few old paintings. I thought it would be fun to get some files of them and post them. I've always really liked the simple composition and brushwork of this one. This was about five or six years and apartments ago... strange to think about. My husky was young then, and she systematically destroyed that couch. She unstitched the piping and ripped the arms down to the particle board frame. Oh well...it was an ugly couch anyway. Still have the guitar. And the husky.

$395 + $35 U.S. shipping

Filtered Light, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

A sure fire cure for "painter's block"...just look up.

Rijks Gallery

The Meeting, 24x36, Acrylic/Canvas

This cluster near Farris Creek has always amused me...it seems like the four on the left are having an intense discussion, while the other five are anxiously awaiting their decision. Or maybe like a defensive line waiting for the huddle to break.

SOLD

to a collector in Ridgeland, MS

Upstream, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

This is the Taylor breaking free from this winter's record snowfall. The snowpack is so thick that many people along the Gunnison are scrambling to buy flood insurance in case of a rapid thaw this spring. Even the old-timers say they can't remember this much snow. Wild. I'm feeling this one out for a larger canvas.

Rijks Gallery

Backdrop, 7x5, Acrylic/Board

Springtime and the mud that accompanies it make me daydream about the canyons of southeastern Utah. My husky ends up dyed red for weeks when we camp here.

SOLD

to a collector in Scottsdale, AZ

Snowed In, 5x7, Acrylic/Board

Bale stacks at the I-Bar ranch in Gunnison. There is a hay shed there where I saw the greatest John Denver tribute concert ever. This is on the daily dog-walk route out to a meandering stretch of Tomichi Creek...not bad for a 15 minute walk.

Rijks Gallery

Congregation, 48x24, Acrylic/Canvas

You'll never convince me that they don't speak to eachother, but I do wonder what they talk about. I'm sure it's a fascinating conversation.

$875 + $75 U.S. shipping

Slate River field study, 24x24, A/C

This is the trial run for a much larger painting. The big piece can be seen on my website, http://www.zthurmondfineart.com/.

SOLD

to a collector in Denver, CO

Edward Hopper's Coffee, 16x20, A/C

This one is four houses ago, at my old cabin. That kitchen had great light. The floor was bare concrete, painted turquoise, which sounds awful but really wasn't. It worked. I still have that mug. For the record, the perspective is skewed on purpose. I wanted it to feel like you were going to fall into the mug. Not sure if that worked, but i like the light. I remember being on a Pthalo green kick with this one, especially in the lighter shadow and the highlight on the edge of the sink. Strange what we remember at random, eh?

$375 + $20 U.S. shipping

Wrong Way Alley, 7x5, A/C

The time change is pretty dramatic this far north....the low light gets here in the middle of the afternoon. I've been watching the alleys for a while now, and i liked this one because of the light on the utility poles. I left the dumpsters out, but now i kind of miss them. $100 + $7 shipping

SOLD

to a collector in Washington, DC

The Sun and the Wind, 36x24, Acrylic/Canvas

SOLD

to a collector in Tulsa, OK

Beef Barn #9, 6x6, A/C

A barn on the University of Idaho campus. $100 + $7 shipping