Painting In Little Cottonwood Canyon

This morning I spent a couple of hours painting up Little Cottonwood Canyon about twenty minutes from my house. I should definitely get out and paint here more often since it is so close to home. I met up with a couple other artist friends Jesse Draper and David McClellan and settled in to see if I could make something happen.

It's always fun to observe and respond in paint to the subject in front of you. This one ended up being a challenge with a couple of misfires on the way to sorting out a decent composition. I particularly like the cloud shape I came up with and the shadow pattern on the peaks. The clouds were moving through so fast, I could hardly even snap a picture before they had blown past.

I ran out of time before I could fully resolve the foreground, but I like where things are going and will certainly be able to salvage a decent painting from it in the studio. I am sure I'll be looking at some good old Edgar Payne and Carl Rungius as I finish this one up.

As I was cleaning up to get home and back to the commercial projects, I saw a young bull moose about twenty yards off in the woods. His nubbin antlers were just beginning to form. By the time I reached the edge of the parking area, he had wandered up to say hello. I didn't get too close, but he could have cared less as he foraged his way along. I love getting out in nature to paint!