Courthouse and Jail House Rocks Located just south of Bridgeport in the panhandle of Nebraska at the eastern terminus of the Wildcat Hills, Courthouse and Jail House Rocks ascend 400 feet above the North Platte River Valley. For me, the rocks are an enduring symbol of the pioneer spirit, hope and home. During the Westward […]
The Brook Forest Inn is southwest of Evergreen It was the summer of 1943 near Evergreen, Colorado and the Brook Forest Inn was a luxury resort nestled in a stand of lodgepole pine at the base of Black Mountain. Carl was at work in the nearby livery stable when he learned that his wife, Jessica, […]
Allosaur skull Down near the entrance into Bear Creek Canyon a prominent landmark rises above historic Morrison, Colorado. Locals call it The Hogback but Paleontologists have named it Dinosaur Ridge because it’s one of the most fossil rich locations on Earth. In 1877, some of the best known dinosaurs from the late Jurassic period were […]
Mount Sneffels is the Queen of the San Juan Mountains At the Dallas Divide, a restrained landscape of lower hay fields gives way to riotous slopes of quaking aspen and colorful wildflowers. Rising above tree line is a sweep of rugged terrain composed of banded layers of rock, steep crags and serrated ridges. Positioned majestically […]
Pygmy Nuthatch The pygmy nuthatch is an energetic, little songbird that lives in old, ponderosa pine tree forests. They twitter about the trunks and branches searching beneath the bark and in needle clusters for insects and seeds. Sometimes they even creep along the tree upside down just like the bigger nuthatches. Pygmy nuthatches are also […]
A relaxed atmosphere On a lazy, summer day at the Denver Zoo, we trekked across the grounds observing animals during their afternoon slumber. Too hot to engage in activity, most of the creatures we saw slept innocently in their comfortable confines. It always makes me feel bad to see wild animals held captive but in […]
The ranch It’s a smoky dusk in western Nebraska and as the spectral light begins to dissipate, the checklist of laborious chores comes to completion. Life on the ranch is hard as illustrated by battered grain bins and ragged hay bales but at least it’s not winter when the weather is brutal. The rhythm of […]
“Urad Lake” Colored Pencil “Through art we can change the world.” ~ #twitterartexhibit It’s a warm, summer evening at Urad Lake with skies of steel blue in the low, fading light. Situated at tree-line below the Continental Divide, the high basin is enclosed by a black forest and dense willows. An aggressive creek and its […]
“Mount Moran” Colored Pencil On a sunny, summer morning in the Tetons, Mount Moran is a massive monolith that’s been exiled to the northern front. Isolated from the rest of the range, the remote mountain is extremely inaccessible and virtually unclimbable. The chilling buttress is violet by nature but on this day a golden light […]
Poudre Canyon Gashed into the northern Front Range Foothills, Poudre Canyon is a steep drainage that’s as picturesque as it is rugged. A braid of blue water snakes through the tortuous chasm while flowing down to the lowlands. At its most shallow in the autumn, the Poudre River reveals the multitude of rocks and debris […]
“Self-Portrait with Green Background” Colored Pencil A self-portrait more concerned with the possibilities of line and color and less preoccupied with character and psychology. The picture is merely a sheet of textured paper covered by drawn forms that are filled with pencil pigment. The head’s deep shadow sculpts the rigid structure of the face while […]
Pygmy Nuthatch The pygmy nuthatch is an energetic, little songbird that lives in old, ponderosa pine tree forests. They twitter about the trunks and branches searching beneath the bark and in needle clusters for insects and seeds. Sometimes they even creep along the tree upside down just like the bigger nuthatches. Pygmy nuthatches are also […]
“Bergen Peak from Evergreen Lake” Colored Pencil A swift breeze sweeps across the surface of Evergreen Lake sending ripples through the reservoir’s vivid reflections. It’s springtime in the foothills so fresh greenery is on display but the willow brush and aspen trees are not yet in full bloom. The whole Bear Creek Valley has come […]
“Prairie Solstice” Colored Pencil Rising starkly above a sea of dried prairie grass, a pair of megalithic landmarks are backlit by the setting sun. It’s the first day of summer so on this special day the solar disk splits the giant rocks, flooding the atmosphere with yellow light. A long, dark shadow is unfurled across […]