Wednesday, July 6, 2016

A Good Summer Day for a Hike.

I was on vacation for the 5th of July, I decided to take advantage and go for a hike without the usual masses of weekenders.  I decided to go to the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon and hike around Silver Lake and up to a little cutoff trail that takes you to an incredible overlook.

After walking the boardwalk around the north end of the lake I headed west on the trail to Lake Solitude.  This photo shows what this trail is like more or less.

mountain trail hike Big Cottonwood Canyon Utah nature

The trail is a bit steep for a while and has many rocky parts but overall is of moderate difficulty for someone healthier than me.  After maybe a quarter mile you get to the cutoff trail which heads diagonally approximately southeast back towards the Twin Lakes trail.  I love this little trail that wanders peacefully through a beautiful aspen grove.


Where the cutoff trail joins the Twin Lakes trail is a big rock slide that at some point in the past apparently took out a bunch of trees and makes it difficult for new trees to grow so we still have an amazing view looking down on Silver Lake from the rock slide.


nature view overlook Silver Lake Big Cottonwood Canyon Utah


It was only mid morning and still relatively cool and not another person visible on the trail so I just sat on a rock and soaked it all in for at least 10-15 minutes.  Could life get any better?

After enjoying the view I headed back down to Silver Lake via the Twin Lakes trail and then followed the path around the south end of the lake to make a loop out of the hike.  This is a photo of the south end of the lake from lake level.

nature mountain Silver Lake Big Cottonwood Canyon Utah


The walk around the lake is an easy one so by late morning there were plenty of people out around the lake making things more crowded and noisy than I like but it's a small price to pay to be out enjoying such natural beauty. 






Sunday, July 3, 2016

A New Painting Series Begins?

A few weeks ago I painted a small autumn scene using palette knives.  I decided I liked the composition enough to paint a spring version of the same scene;

art painting landscape spring nature palette knife

"Edge of Spring"

16" X 12", acrylic on panel

This is a simple scene but it says so much.  A fence marks the border of a farm or ranch field out in the open county.  The freshness of spring fills the air and the senses. Before too long this beautiful verdant green field will turn yellow and the green leaves of the tree will have turned darker and less vibrant. Spring is a relatively short, transient state in the landscape, the time between the frigid desolation of winter and the stifling heat of summer, a time of renewal and change.  I can't say I had all this in mind while painting this piece but it was probably there subconsciously.  I often wonder why I am so attracted to painting the landscape, maybe it is because of the many emotions and moods it can evoke.
So, now I have two paintings in the "Edge of" series, I guess I'll have to do summer and winter versions as well, stay tuned...