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"Fresh Snow"
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"Unreal Beauty"
I feel very blessed to having been able to live the outdoor lifestyle and experience the things in nature that I have throughout my life. It seems as though that no matter how much one sees, there's always new surprises that await those who are willing.
This painting captures two aspects of what fascinates me, color and the unknown. Ever since I can remember, I find myself thinking about what's out there. I ponder where animals are on the landscape, what they might be doing, or what species are present. Typically if you spend enough time in the woods you'll eventually see what's out there. However one exception to that always seems to be wolves.
Wolves make themselves very well known on the landscape through the sign they leave and occasionally their howls. What intrigues me about them is I don't believe there is another animal in the wilderness who has made their presence so clearly known without revealing themselves to me. Time after time I hear them, cross their tracks, see their scat, and yet never quite catch a glimpse.
I've only seen two wolves in the wild, once crossing the road in Northern Minnesota and once recently while backpacking in Montana. The latter experience is where true understanding can be found and the same goes with any animal. Being in their element, whatever the species, to me is the only way to truly learn about something.
We were crossing a wide open meadow through a large swale surrounded by timber. It was just after commenting on the wolf tracks we had been seeing on the way down through this area. We cut through the bottom of the draw, disappearing beneath a larger hill to our right. A couple hundred yards later I turned my head back around to look at the landscape from the other direction and to my surprise a very large wolf was trotting away from us.
Baffled, I tried to process what just happened. The wolf was barely a hundred yards behind, leaving up the path we just walked down. I eventually realized that it had came from over the larger hill to our right and down to our tracks. What's funny is that I could see everything beyond that hill right before we dropped below it and nothing was there but the wide open, matted down meadow with a distant treeline a half mile off.
That wolf had seen us somewhere, got up to the hill above us to get a look, and then dropped down to our path before deciding to leave. What gets me is we would have never known had I not looked back at that instant for no apparent reason. And how close did it get to us? It was running away by the time we saw it.
I think about this constantly. We are never alone in the wild and our presence, I would be willing to bet, never goes unnoticed. I wonder how often I'm being watched and by whom when I'm out exploring the countryside. That curiosity is in part what drives me to create.
Fast forward to this past winter and the second part of this painting came to be. I was driving up over a pass right after sunset when the sky began to glow bright pink.
The combination of the air, clouds, and sunlight was just right that evening to create one of the most colorful landscapes I can ever recall. The snow on the ground then reflected it all back up, creating a spectacular sight.
I pulled up to the top of the pass and quickly grabbed my skis. I ventured out along the top of the ridgeline to photograph as much as I could.
As the darkness began to fall over the mountains and the color lingered only above in the clouds, it became so still and quiet I felt like my ears would start to ring. I realized while standing up on the top of the ridge on that open hillside that I must be the most obvious thing on the landscape. I wondered what could hear me or perhaps what was watching me. Suddenly the idea of this painting hit me and I instantly knew what I wanted to create.
This painting pushes the boundaries of what is believable and captures the fascination for what I know is possible through God's creations.
If you have any questions about this painting please don't hesitate to reach out.
30x40" Oil on cradled canvas board (2.5" depth)
$8,000 - free shipping
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"Perfect Waters"
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"A Different Beauty"
$8,000 - free shipping
The wilderness is unkind, unforgiving, sometimes demoralizing, but yet can find a way to reach so far into your heart and soul that you become addicted to the relationship you build with it. Many warn to not venture into these wild places alone, but I cannot help it. The mountains, the forests, or wherever it may be is where I find my true self and my understanding for what's most important.
Most times when I leave the gravel or the trailhead to venture out alone I get a pit in the bottom of my stomach. I don't know whether that's the fear of the unknown or from the excitement of what's to come, I just crave the outcome and nothing can keep me from finding out what that will be.
I would say that the emotions and thoughts I have when I'm far back in the wilderness or venturing into it come from past experiences. The moment I take that first step off-trail is when life seemingly becomes more real and suddenly I realize how small we really are. It's hard not to think about difficult moments of my past rather than the good ones. Maybe it's natural instinct kicking in to remind me to move forward with caution, but those moments I've had around fear always seem to come back to me.
When it comes to the other animals that roam the landscape, there's not many other than the grizzly bear that I'm concerned about. I've only had one incident with a bear behaving predatorial, thankfully for my case it was a black bear and I was able to diffuse the situation. However for that one brief moment as we peered into each others eyes from several feet apart, I saw life for the first time in a completely different light.
Despite all of my inner thoughts I always find myself pushing on. Perhaps the addicting appeal of the wilderness is the fact that hardship and hard work never goes unrewarded. Mother Nature will always provide for those with the desire to learn and discover.
This painting captures what I fear and at the same time what I love so dearly. Our connection with the wild is no different than with any animal that roams it; I feel it every time when I'm out. The enriching experience that the wilderness and all its beauty provides never comes without some costs. Time spent in these magnificent areas can be life changing however, and without this struggle perhaps there wouldn't be so much beauty to be discovered. 30x40" Oil on cradled canvas board.
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"Nothing Like It"
Larger View
When I moved further West to the Rockies, I knew I'd miss not being able to experience the abundance of wetlands that the upper Midwest harbors. To my surprise however, I discovered just how rich the Western landscape was of these marshlands. In fact through all the exploring I did in the years to follow, I found these Western wetlands to be even more inspiring. I found that many of these places were sometimes even less disturbed than some of the premier places back East, examples of true hidden gems.
I'll never forget stumbling across what I now consider my favorite place to experience the marsh and observe the wildlife that inhabits it. With miles and miles of potholes, creeks, marshes, lakes and stunning backdrops, this area captures everything I love about the wild. During the spring the sounds of amphibians, insects and birds are so abundant that it creates a constant hum in the air which seems almost deafening. Add to all of that the sounds of wing beats in the air, the subtle sounds of the water, the surrounding views of the mountains and this place truly becomes a model of perfection in the eyes of Mother Nature.
These places of sheer beauty exist throughout all waterfowl migratory paths. To witness these birds in such abundance while in such a beautiful place is an extraordinary sight to behold and there really is nothing else like it.
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"Savoring What's Left"
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"Beyond Wild"
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"Moonlit Basin"
8x10" Original painting, framed
$950, free shipping
Capturing a moment in time while alone in the wilderness, this painting represents the beauty of the night and attempts to capture a sense of peace and stillness. This is a one of a kind oil on handmade panel, no prints will be made.
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"Summer Haze"
8x10" Original plein air painting, framed
$950, free shipping
Painted on location and finished in my studio, this painting captures a hazy day high in the mountains. This piece is a one of a kind oil on handmade panel, no prints will be made.
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