Watercolor Sketches from Colorado

5x7" Aspen in Light
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Here are four watercolors from a recent stay in Crystola, Colorado on our return from Montana. The lime-tinted aspens are magnificent...shaking and shimmering in the light and cool mountain breezes...sounding like reminiscent tones of an indian paint stick. Enchanting and mystical!  

5x7" Tool Shed
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This watercolor features a tiny tool shed emerging from shadows, perched in the morning light and surrounded by majestic pines. It beckons to be painted. I am sure it's buried in snow most of the winter, but for now it surfaces to bask in the the sun like a tired turtle resting on a warm rock. 

I think it was smiling?  

7x5" Crystola I
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This was one of the views from the house where we were staying. It overlooks the rolling highway that leads to Manitou and Colorado Springs. What a joy to simply stand with the feel of wind and sun on my face. 

For watercolors, I like to do a light pencil sketch of the scene before I begin applying paint. I used a limited palette which required a lot of mixing to obtain all the different greens. To convey a feeling of depth and distance, I used soft and cool colors, saving the warmest hues for the foreground/center of interest. 

7x5" Crystola II
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All of our evenings at the Crystola house culminated outdoors before a roaring fire, sipping wine, and listening to music under the blanket of Milky Way. Here is how the area appears during the light of day. Unfortunately, one evening we had to conduct a funeral for an unfortunate hummer who had flown into the house the night before. Poor little thing never found its way back out the door to the freedom of sky, but rather collapsed from exhaustion into a sconce. During the cremation ceremony, we all stood with hands over hearts singing "You Got a Friend in Me" until at last the tiny shrouded body flew up in embers to light up the night sky. So sad!


So that's all of the watercolors I wanted to share. I'll start post a few oil painting I also completed on our trip, so stay tuned as we Head on Down the Highway of life. 

Thanks for viewing.
—nancy

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