A few years ago, I forced my daughter to climb with me to the top of what is now called Haystack Mountain. The climb up and then down again was brutal, over big lava rock boulders. Smarter people quit half the way up. I was so tired when I reached the top I didn’t even take any pictures, darn it all, but the view was beautiful!

I did this painting to submit to the Paint the Parks Competition. It qualifies as a representation of the Lewis & Clark Historical Trail. Lewis camped near this spot on his return trip from the coast on July 8th, 1806. “Sishiqua” is an oil, 24 x 32.

“Spring Storm” 9×12                  “In Blows Summer” 24×30 is below

I love Glacier Park and all the wild places I’ve been lucky enough to experience over the years. This painting was inspired by a sketch I had done at Lake McDonald near West Glacier, looking out toward Mount Stanton. It’s hard to beat the subject matter! The painting and the original sketch are included in the Montana Painters Alliance show at the C. M. Russell Museum, opening this month. The show is called “Russell’s Haunts” and includes sketches and paintings we did at two of Charlie Russell’s favorite places, the Judith Basin and Glacier Park. “Mountain’s Majesty” is an oil, 24 x 24.

Many of us in the art community are marathoning for the Russell Shows that begin on Wednesday, March 17th. That is enough to think about, but also on our minds are the events of a year ago at this time, when Tara Bowman was killed in the Montana Trails Gallery explosion. Just a few days later, another good friend, artist Joe Halko died as well. Such a sad time it was, and now it comes to mind again. I had posted a blog then with a sketch I’d done for a painting to be done in Tara’s memory. I have recently finished the painting. It was time. I will be giving it to Tara’s family.

The Bridger Range of mountains lies just to the north east of Bozeman, MT. I understand that Tara once lived where her view was this one of the Bridger’s. Tara, may you rest in peace.

This area is dear to my heart. It’s out of Augusta, MT. and along the Dearborn River – my old stomping grounds. This is also my favorite time of year, autumn, when the quaking aspens turn to gold and contrast with the dark green pines as if they’re lit from within.

This painting is 12×16 and will be in my room – 176, at the Heritage Inn in Great Falls for the week of the Russell Art Shows. March 17-20th.

With the Russell Shows fast approaching, I’ve got seven or eight pieces in the works, none of them finished although this one is getting close. I keep rotating which in some ways is good, as I have the time to distance myself a little from each piece. It takes that for me to begin to see a painting objectively and then decide what is good about it and what needs to be worked on. This painting is 16 x 20. My focus is it’s tonal character. An artist friend of mine said that “it’s all in the grays”. I’m beginning to understand that, which hopefully means there’s some artistic growth happening here! Grays are not easy.

The subject is a ridge on the edge of the Big Belt Mountains SE of our place. You don’t see this ridge from the west in the daytime as the lack of shadow flattens the whole thing out. But come late afternoon, there appears this fascinating “dinosaur” ridge back (much of it hidden from this angle). We rode horses through that high country one fall day. What a treat!

Hi. I know I’ve been a long time gone. I’m working on pieces for the March Russell Show(s) and have many things in the works, but none finished. I will post some of them soon.

I did just hear today that my painting “Opportunitree” was selected as one of the Top 100 in the 2009 Paint America Top 100 Competition. It will travel with the national show in 2010.  Another of my pieces was selected for the Top 200.

I thought I would also include some more – YES – SNOW pictures as that’s what it’s been doing around here lately! Recently, we got over two feet of snow, which was beautiful, but a pain to deal with when the wind started to blow. Yes, more shoveling, plowing, pulling vehicles out of snow drifts, hiking home, etc. It pays to stay home in that kind of weather! This storm has been exceptional in that we’ve had so many mornings where the landscape has been iced up just like a crystal fairyland. And interestingly, the crystals have been different from day to day. One day they were long chains of snowflake shaped crystals. Gorgeous! A few days ago those were gone, and everything was covered in little icy crystal daggers. So interesting!

I’m trying to get back on track here. It takes awhile! Christmas usually commands my attention for a few weeks of the month – at least. We had a nice Christmas day – snow on the ground, family home and dinner with friends. The next day we all went to the pond to go skating – girls, boyfriends, dogs…how great to be able to do that!

This week I’m working on a few pieces for the Settlers West Miniature Show in Tucson in February. In a day or two I’ll show you the first piece. Painting always amazes me.  The first of these pieces went really well and easily, and is almost done. The second has not gone so smoothly. You’d think that once you learned to do something it would always stick with you, like riding a bike, but that doesn’t necessarily apply in the world of painting! Tomorrow is another day though, so we’ll see.

My first image is testimony to why I’m still sitting at the computer…our bunkhouse in the cold this week. The next are pieces from the Gallery Russia in Scottsdale. I always try to get to the Main Street galleries when I’m there, as I was a few weeks ago. The nude is a painting by a Russian artist,  Laimodot Murnick from the 50’s. I am amazed by the color! The next piece is called “The Pickers” and is by Maija Eliase, also from the 50’s. The landscape is called “Snow in the Country”, by Valery Shmatko, 2002. These pieces impress me so, as do many of the classical Russian impressionist works. There is so much texture, vibrance and gutsy brushwork. These are, in my opinion, some great painters!