Bristlecone Memorial

Born 306 AD - Died 2005 AD

I had the privilege of visiting two amazing National Parks this last month as a part of an extended visit to the St. George Art Museum for their Tuesday night Art conversations where I was honored by being asked to speak. On the way back from the talk, my wife and I camped in Zion and Bryce. When we sat through the presentations at the visitors centers, I couldn't help noticing the small mention of a nation of people dislocated from a place of such pristine beauty.

When we arrived in Bryce Canyon National Park and were planning the hikes we were going to go on during our stay there, I happened to notice a hike called the "Bristlecone Pine Loop". I have been fascinated by these amazing pines since my first discovery of them. The same thing happened to Robert Schuman when he discovered these amazing trees in a remote location of the California's White Mountains. In the toughest of growing conditions, the poorest soil and harshest weather, these little pines make their home. They almost seem to laugh in the face of adversity as they defy the odds and hang on. They will let half of the tree die off and keep a thin strip of living bark alive that connects the needles to the roots. Old Methusalaf in Schuman's Grove has survived to the ripe old age of over 4700 years old. The parks department has had the foresight to not tell visitors there which tree is the oldest, because even though it can survive everything that nature can throw at them, they are no match for the thoughtlessness of human nature. At the very end of the loop on one of the most exposed points stood a naked bristlecone, stripped of her life giving needles. I happened to notice that there was a forestry service plaque not far from this relatively young pine. I noticed in the picture on the plaque that there was a sizeable mass of dark green pine needles, which this tree happens to keep on the tree for up to 25 years as a way of conserving its limited resources. I made mention to my wife of my discovery and thought this was a recent death. I couldn't let the idea rest and set out to find the answer to the riddle of this ancients death. I found a Ranger in one of the visitor centers and inquired about whether or not he knew what happened. He said that this old tree had died whithin the last three years. It had been core sampled and verified to be over 1,700 years old but couldn't survive the thoughtless mob of visitors. He tired to soften the disrespect of this old pine by saying "The poor old tree was basically loved to death."


"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."
Ancient Indian Proverb

Garden Angel

16 x 20 oil on alkyd primed canvas.

A couple of weekends ago I spent some time at the Serra Retreat center in Malibu, CA. The gardens were spectacular and they had a great collection of stone and concreted sculptures. A friend of mine studied at the Waterstreet Atelier in New York with Jacob Collins and had sketchbooks full of studies they did of Stone sculpture. The studies were of just a foot, a bust or a hand. The school uses the curriculum of Charles Barque to establish good structure. I was fascinated with the approach and made a mental note that I would give it a try if the opportunity presented itself.

One of my favorite songs is Calling all Angels by Jane Siberry and KD Lang. When I can across this little statue, something inside me connected to it and I decided this was the one to give the Barque approach a shot on. I had a good time painting it and felt quite challenged to get the values and reflected light correct.



This is the working drawing that I used to get familiar with the structure and a general value plan. It would have been easy to get carried away at this stage and take the sketch allot further.



Last but not least, the location where I found the subject. The light was amazing and created some interesting opportunities for study.

Stone Chicken Coup

24 x 30 oil on alkyd primed canvas.

A little find from my trip to the Grand Canyon this last weekend. We came back through Sedona and hiked the west fork of Oak Creek on the way back to Phoenix. At the trail head, I came across this little building that was in an advanced state of decay. I was pretty amazed when I started to explore it to find that it had roosts for chickens inside. I am not sure if is started out being a chicken coup or not. If it did, that is alot of effort to construct the building out of stone.

I was pretty much instantly mesmerised by the cast shodow on the ground. This had a real similar feel to me to the painting "Under the Pier." Needless to say, this was a setting that got my juices flowing. I couldn't wait to get started on this. I was going to do a study of this one, but only got as far as the thumnail before I wanted to get started. One thing that I have learned is that with a scene like this, I better have an accurate drawing, or I will be asking for trouble later on. I have been really conscious of the basics recently. Shape, Value, Color.

Evening Juniper

16 x 20 oil on canvas

I have been spending more time with rag and knife. Having just returned from the Grand Canyon with the family. I had a bit of inspiration to paint another juniper. I am constantly drawn to these stately old evergreens.


Part of the trip was to view the Paint the Parks exhibit at the rim of the canyon that I had two painting included in the showing. It was displayed in the Kolb Studio. I can't imagine a more spectacular setting to have a studio.



Here is a view off the back of the studio.

Studies, Studies, Studies

One of the commitments I made this year was to spend more time doing studies. More plein air, still life, and life drawings. Some real week points in my work is overdetailing, too many sharp edges, not enough variety in shapes color and values.

Here are some recent explorations.

Sterling Picture Window

One of the subject matters that created alot of interest in the Celebration show were the old trucks. This one had an old broken out winshield that frame the distant mountains quite nicely. I enjoyed the overstated contrast between the purple in the rusted body playing off the blooming brittlebush.

18 x 24 oil on alkyd primed canvas. Click on image for larger view.

Swimmin with the Poppies

9 X 12 oil on primed board. For a larger view, click on image.

This year is supposed to be about exploring new territory and getting out of some ruts that I have created. I guess a floral is a good way to start that process. This is my first floral and I had a good bit of fun with it. I really enyoyed the opportunity for artistic license with the color. It was really obvious that the objective with this was to give the color something to read against. I believe it is Payne that said, "A color needs its compliment in order to exist."