A Morning in the Mountains

 It's been a long time since I've visited the mountains, over a year I think, I decided it was about time to make another visit and I took my sketchbook.

I went up Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains. One of the nicest things about living in the Salt Lake Valley is the mountains are a short drive away no matter where you live in the valley. There's a downside however, it means these mountains are very heavily visited.  Really the only good time to go to the canyon is early in the morning on a weekday.  I left home shortly after 7:00 and arrived at the Mill B trailhead about 7:45 and already the parking lot was 3/4 full. I wasn't planning on hiking the trail, I just wanted to get up to an interesting section of the creek and sketch it.

I don't think you could call this a waterfall but rather just an especially fast and rocky section of the creek.  I decided to go with charcoal for my sketches today.  I used my Stonehenge sketchbook which turned out to be difficult to erase so my usual techniques didn't work as well.

After the creek sketch I decided to got to the top of the canyon and take a walk around Silver Lake. I got to the parking lot before 9:00 and there was plenty of parking and I saw few people on the trail.

I changed my process slightly for this sketch.  I started by applying a large amount of vine charcoal since it's easy to erase and then used an eraser to create the lighter areas and then went back in with compressed charcoal to reinforce the darks.

After finishing my walk around the lake I sat at a picnic table and sketched the bottom part of a large evergreen tree that was next to the trail and close to the picnic tables.  It was now after 10:00 and the parking lot was full and there was many more people, so take note, make sure you visit Silver Lake before 10:00 in the morning.

I don't know why I've stayed away from the mountains this year, there's just no excuse.  This was a very enjoyable morning, I need to make sure I make it up again at least a couple more times before the snow flies.  Here are a couple more photos for your viewing pleasure.

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.

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.

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.

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. 







A Sketchy Morning in the Mountains

I decided I need to get back into some form of hiking shape, for two reasons; 1. for my health, 2. to spend more time in nature.  So, the plan is to go hiking once/week weather permitting and get in plenty of walking time in during the week.  Maybe by the end of the season I'll be able to hike uphill for more than 100 yards without running out of breath. Of course if I'm going to be out in the mountains sketching must happen, as a bonus carrying a backpack full of sketching supplies and equipment (16 lbs worth!) adds to the work out.  The Wasatch Mountain canyons are just a 10-15 minute drive from my house, of course this easy accessibility to the mountains from a heavily populated valley means you've got to get up early to get a parking spot at the trailhead. I arrived at the "Mill B" trailhead parking lot by 7:00 am and the primary parking lot was already mostly full.  It was a little cool for comfort that early in the morning but bearable, I knew the hiking would get me warm soon enough.

My first sketch was by where a tributary creek empties into Big Cottonwood Creek, this sketch is of a small waterfall in Big Cottonwood Creek and was done in charcoal in a Stillman and Birn Beta 9x12 sketchbook;

I'm not sure I care for the paper in the Beta sketchbook for charcoal drawing, or maybe it was just my lack of experience with working with charcoal on location, I may have to adjust my technique.

Next, all I had to do was turn around walk a couple steps, sit on a rock and sketch this scene by the tributary creek with a large pine tree leaning over the creek.  The tree seemed to have sprouted out of a pile of rock.  I used a 7" X 10" Stillman and Birn Zeta sketchbook and pen for this sketch.

The paper in the Zeta sketchbook is thinner and much smoother than the Beta, it was great for pen work, the pen flowed very smoothly, very little resistance which helped to sketch a very complicated scene quickly.

Finally I got to hiking up the actual "Mill B" trail.  Previous to this I'd just walked up a paved pathway, it was uphill but nothing too strenuous.  The "Mill B" trail is very rocky in spots and can be challenging to climb, especially for a heavy, old guy with bad knees but I made it easy enough to my next stop, another small waterfall.

Even though the paper in the Zeta sketchbook is fairly light it takes watercolor very well, I didn't experience any buckling, however I didn't put down any large, heavy and wet washes.  The watercolor seems to more sit on top of the paper than be absorbed by like it would be real watercolor paper but it worked just fine. I combined the watercolor with some pen work.  I held the sketchbook and watercolor palette with one hand and used a waterbrush to paint with the other.  However this sketchbook is larger and heavier than the sketchbook I used to use for this and my left hand tired easily.  I'll have to use my homemade stand next time.

I managed to hike up the trail quite a ways but I didn't want to overdo it on my first outing of the year.  I could tell I was reaching what should be my limit for the day when I spotted the perfect rock to sit on and sketch just off the trail so I walked up to it and looked back to see if there was anything worth sketching, I decided the view back down the trail was good, though would be a challenge to simplify.

I decided to use charcoal again in the large Beta sketchbook.  I was also smart enough to get out the sketchbook stand this time.  The stand is just a platform I made that attaches to a small tripod which I also carry.  I've been carrying this stuff around the whole time I might as well use it right?  There is a trail in that sketch, can you see it?  Probably not for all the rocks!  Yes, you have to scramble over the rocks as part of the trail, it can get a bit challenging at times, especially on the way back down. 

Well, it was a good first "hike and sketch" outing for the year.  I hiked further than any day I did last year and it wore me out pretty good but I didn't push it too hard.  Hopefully I'll make a weekly habit of this and actually lose some weight and be in some semblance of hiking shape by fall.

Painting Spring in the Mountains

Okay, the calendar says officially that it's the first day of summer, but in the mountains it definitely still feels and looks like spring.  I spent the morning painting near the bottom of Cardiff Fork in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains and it was simply glorious.  I usually paint 9" x 12" and smaller for outdoors but I plan on participating in a plein air event next week that requires 11" X 14" be the minimum painting size so I have to step up my plein air game size wise and so took some larger panels out.

 

"Perfect Day for a Hike"

Acrylic, 14" X 11"

Original - $160

"Cardiff Spring"

Acrylic, 16" X 12"

Original - $200

Many artists are afraid of green, especially the "acidic" greens of spring.  Not me, I love spring greens!



Hiker's Delight

I just finished another small studio painting, this one based on a photo I took while hiking in the Wasatch Mountains in Northern Utah, Big Cottonwood Canyon to be more exact.  I love the trails we have that fall the run off creeks somewhat closely because I really enjoy encountering scenes like this one, hence the title.

"Hiker's Delight"

8" X 10", Acrylic on panel

Original - $100