
Rich, an award winning documentary film maker for
National Geographic, completed some final silent footage while I painted a stand of aspens against a clear blue sky. As he captured the shots he needed I explained that pink was one of the colors under the blue sky. It’s not just blue, that would be flat. And the sky is not flat.
The sky was a big part of my focus while I was in
Deer Valley. At over 8000 feet altitude the sky takes up a considerable proportion of the landscape. I found myself glancing upward constantly, hoping that the sky would remain clear. I was wishing for sun to shape color and cast long defining shadows. When my wish wasn’t granted a welcoming staff provided me with my own private studio inside an unfinished residence.
I’m so excited to get back to my Pacific Beach
San Francisco studio to further develop my studies of and around
Montage Deer Valley. The snow, clouds, color palette, and perspective all grant me an exciting creative challenge.
A perfect way to part ways was a final snow shoeing trek above
Montage with my guide Shannon. I soaked in as much of the visual field as I could, taking one last gulp of the majestic
Deer Valley landscape.
As we were snow shoeing it occurred to me again that I hadn't been in the snow for many years. This was such a treat. I remembered as a kid celebrating the first clean white snows with snow angels. I was determined that I could not leave
Deer Valley without making a snow angel. Thankfully Shannon agreed to join me.