Zion Park

One of our favorite places to visit is Zion National Park.  I still remember my first time there and how the amazing canyons and towering rocks took my breath away.  No matter how many times I visit the park, I still find myself filled with awe.  The rocks change right before your eyes.  One time they are dark and almost without color and a few minutes later, they glisten and sparkle with color.  If you wait and are lucky, you might have a gentle fog roll in or a few snow flurries, depending on the season.  All are beautiful and remind me to stop and just enjoy this place we call Zion National Park.

"Zion's Fog"

11x14 oil on panel

Zion National Park

I never get tired of visiting the beautiful national parks that are here in Utah.  Nor do I get tired of painting them.  This is of Zion National Park after a dusting of snow.  Like the season now, it is a taste of what is to come.

"Early Zion Canyon Snow"

11x14 oil on panel

It's good to be home

It is good to be home.  Our travels took us in search of warm weather and sunshine.  We spent almost a week visiting with friends outside of Phoenix.  They live half the year in Arizona and half here in the Cache Valley of Utah.  That lifestyle sounds so inviting especially when we are still living with snow.  While there we spent a day (of course) visiting galleries in Scottsdale and enjoying the Celebration of Fine Art 2010 show which is 100 artists busily making great art under big white tents.  20% of those 100 artists are from Utah and each of the galleries we visited in Scottsdale had painting from artists right here in the valley.

Each morning we would awake to fresh oranges and grapefruit from the trees of Barb and Bill.  I don't think I've ever tasted fruit more sweet.  We brought home two lemons to support our tales of how big and delicious the fruit is in Arizona.  This photo is of a sweet lemon NOT a grapefruit.

Our time in Tucson was divided between traveling down memory lane (Bob's parents used to live here), visiting the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum and exploring places to possibly retire or at least spend winters.

Sedona was another trip down memory lane.  The city of Sedona itself has grown into something I don't recognize any more but the red rock formations are as beautiful as ever.

A trip to Sedona wouldn't be complete without visiting Jerome an old mining town turned art town set on the side of a mountain.  The town is filled with art galleries and artist studios.  The old abandoned high school as been turned over to the art community for artist studios.  What a joy!

The Grand Canyon was even more beautiful under a blanket of snow.

Beware of the mountain lions!

Our time in St. George was equally filled with exploring the red rocks and canyons.  The trees were blooming with beautiful spring flowers and the daffodils were in bloom.  What a great time to see Zion we thought.   Once again we were greeted with changing weather - fog - snow and sunshine.  I had never seen Zion with snow and it was as beautiful as the Grand Canyon.  Maybe moving to a warm climate isn't what we are meant to do.  Snow is so pretty to look at.  Too bad it requires shoveling.

While gone our son Scott said it was sunny and warm at home.  Today as I write this it is snowing.  There is no escaping it.  

Be Willing to Ruin Your Painting

Storm Over Zion

oil on panel 12x16

I began this painting in mid-January and just got around to working on it last night.  I'm always amazed at how the colors on the rocks change with the lighting conditions.  The same view can be painted differently dozens of times.  

There comes a time in each painting where you like your painting but know it could be better or you hate it and really know it could be better.  In both situations you must be willing to go ahead and make the changes, taking a risk that you could ruin it totally.  Without that risk your paintings will always fall short of they way you picture it could be.

The painting below is one of those paintings.  I've posted it before but never felt that it was what I wanted.  The main problem is I changed paint brands and have struggled with adjusting to the new feel of the new tubes of paint.   Never the one to want to give up on anything, I got it out and began working it some more.  This is where I am with it right now.  The before and the after.  What do you think? 

Before

After

The before looked very raw and just didn't feel right.  The after is quite strikingly different.  Neither are an exact copy of the photo I worked from.  Photos, I believe, should be a jumping off spot - an inspiration.  The camera does a perfectly good job so I try not duplicate what the camera sees.  Here is the photo I worked from.  I'd like to do this some day in watercolor.  I'm really interested in hearing your comments on these paintings.  Feedback is very helpful.  Feel free to email me with your comments if you don't have a blogger account. My email address is  suenuhn@comcast.net

Little dab here - a little dab there

I haven't learned to leave my paintings alone so my usual routine after my breakfast is to look over the paintings I've done in the last few days or those that aren't finished yet.  A little dab here and a little dab there and I think I'm done but can never guarantee.  On yesterday's painting I know I needed to fix the sky and adjust some of the rocks and of course sign it.

Zion Canyon's Majestic Red Rocks

Earlier today I blogged that I love painting people.  That's true but what did I end up painting today?  The majestic red rocks of Kolob Canyon in Zion Canyon National Park.

Standing Tall

oil 7 x 14

Zion Canyon

Zion Canyon

oil on panel 11x14

I've finished the painting Zion Canyon.  My struggle is with getting good photographs.  My camera for some reason is not picking up the depth of the colors.  It's also toning down some of the reds. Clicking on the photo brings you to a larger size that is closer to the right colors.

Palette Knife Painting

Zion (still under construction)

This painting like the previous post is still under construction.  The difference between the two is this one is totally done with one palette knife.  The only other time I have used a palette knife is in the painting of Lake O'Hara that I've previously posted.  In that painting I used both a palette knife and a brush.  The above painting still needs to dry some before I put the final touches on it.  Obviously not all paintings can be accomplished in one day.  The glare on this painting is mainly due to the paint being wet.

Painting Utah

Under Construction

oil on panel 12x16

How can one live in Utah and not at least occasionally paint the beautiful rock formations that are all around.  Before seeing Utah for the first time I thought every thing would look like Arches National Park.  I was so wrong.  Arches, Canyonlands, Zion Nat'l Park, Bryce Canyon etc all are distinctly different and each beautiful.  One could spend their whole life painting the Utah deserts and canyons and not run out of material.  This is the initial stages of a painting I am doing from photos I took on a cloudy day in Zion National Park.  The same scene after a rain or in the sun would be totally different.

I spent most of the day replacing windshields on two of our cars but did get a little painting time in before breaking for dinner.  I can paint until I drop but need to fit a little family time in so this is probably it for today.