Impression Evergreen

"Sacred Refuge" Colored Pencil The landscape is not merely something I see; it is a means of revealing an inner, spiritual reality. I begin with nature, but I do not attempt to reproduce it literally. Instead, I use the landscape as raw material for constructing a world shaped by memory, symbolism, color, and emotion. In this drawing, the sacred refuge appears set apart as a place of worship - a creation of the spirit characterized by holiness, peace, and purity of heart. My approach is influenced by Les Nabis , who understood a work of art not simply as an imitation of the visible world but as a composed surface of color, pattern, and feeling. Like them, I am interested in flattening space, intensifying color, and allowing decorative design to carry emotional and religious meaning. The example of Sérusier’s The Talisman reinforces my belief that an artist need not imitate the landscape exactly. Nature can become the starting point for a personal language of color, pattern, ...

"Mountain Wilderness Utah" Colored Pencil The Timpanogos Wilderness in Utah is a beautiful place to visit during the late fall because of the extraordinary range of vibrant hues. Even the darkest shadows are saturated with greens, blues and violets. The area’s rugged terrain is as varied as the landscape’s color spectrum. The giant peaks are composed of sheer rock and textured with patches of pine trees while the deep valley is a sea of dense underbrush. The scene is a study in startling contrasts because the flaming, wavy grasses are absolutely opposed to the somber, solid mountains. The peaks have a certain architectural structure whereas the field flows. This drawing is not about capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere, it is searching for something more eternal and monumental. There is no aerial perspective here as the space is intentionally compressed. As the expanse of sky descends, it gradually becomes more yellow because particles from the earth below m...

"Mountain Lake Wyoming" Colored Pencil The first snow hasn’t fallen yet at Wyoming’s majestic Snowy Range but the annual, weather event feels imminent. A strong wind blows in from the west bringing cold air and the hint of moisture along with it. Trying to truthfully express the magnificent occasion unfolding before us requires the arrangement of simplified forms combined with a limited palette. Black paper unifies the composition and brightens the colors. Just like stained-glass windows in a church, the different elements are outlined in black and filled with unbroken color. The abstract shapes are flattened thus rejecting objective realism in favor of subjective expressionism. The incoming storm asserts itself with a violet cloud cover that unfurls gradually across the vulnerable sky. It’s just a matter of time before the snow squall releases an inundation of heavy, wet snowfall. Contrasting with the lilac-colored atmosphere, the golden peaks are absolutely glowing as they ...

"Christmas Day" Colored Pencil It’s a melancholy Christmas Day morning and the sullen mood is intensified by the murky atmosphere. The winter weather is chilly and bleak with a sharp breeze blowing cold air, stinging my face. Moving at a sluggish pace, I trudge along the water’s purple edge as the shallow, green creek snakes its way through the desolate pasture. There’s no snow on the ground which is unusual for this time of the year. The desolate, golden grassland is dusted with a layer of dirty brown and smudged over a rugged texture typical of this hard land. Like a pink mirage, a reclusive range of sand hills sulks silently in the distance. The barren plain supports the skeletal frames of a few gnarled trees whose red coloring is shaded with orange and blue. The eerie woodland is dark and soulless invoking a heightened sense of loneliness. Reflecting on the pain of loss, I stare upwards where a bulky, gray cloud obscures the brooding, blue sky. In that moment I be...

"Red Cloud Buttes" Colored Pencil Rising out of Nebraska’s northwest corner, Red Cloud Buttes is a noble promontory bordering the desolate northern plains. The rugged pine ridge is named after the legendary, Lakota chieftain - Red Cloud. The string of bluffs overlooks the White River Valley and historic Fort Robinson, an old military post that featured prominently in the annals of the “Wild West”. Today, the remote wilderness is known for its extreme solitude. Native Americans still revere this sacred rampart and during a sunrise trek, its interior is imbued with an arcane spirituality. The mystical experience is enhanced by birdsong, bison and extraordinary light. A central theme is the profusion of big-blue sagebrush that’s scattered across the burnt-orange grassland. The landscape’s natural color scheme is expressed with a startling combination of complementary colors. A brief shower of summer rain has just passed so the breaking clouds filter the soft morning light. Viewe...

"Escalante Valley - Colored Pencil Drawing" The Escalante Valley in Utah is a lonely arroyo hewn by a serpentine river that in the late fall can be easily forded in order to gain access to a labyrinth of arches, grottos and hidden glades. Unfamiliar with such a preternatural territory, it is a strange and mystical wilderness. Rising from a field of fiery grasses, the ancient rock formations tower above the desert floor, carving out a rugged skyline. The primordial beauty is enhanced by an explosion of autumn hues that can only be expressed with color from across the entire palette. The reddish buttes are sculpted from a progression of steep tiers and scarred by vertical striations. While defining the extraordinary shapes, the distinct shadows stay warm except for the deepest that trend towards purple. The desert ramparts are an exceptionally rugged borderland concealing the remote river chasm. Running along the base of the sheer walls, raw galleries preserve magnificent petro...

"Shadow Burst" Colored Pencil It’s a bitterly cold, late-afternoon in the Front Range foothills where Evergreen Lake is completely covered by a glossy layer of fresh snow. The low, southern sun is clear and bright while illuminating the hushed landscape. A dense pine forest is a dark rampart that deflects the fleeting light and contributes to the startling effect of elongated shadows bursting across the pond’s pristine surface. It’s another example of Nature’s ability to spontaneously create an abstract design. The towering tree in front is backlit but its form is modeled by paler passages of snow that cling to limber branches. Subtle variations of dark green describe the heart of the coniferous sentry while slight tinges of yellow bleed through its transparent edges. The background is composed by tiers of soft mountains whose jeweled coloring shifts from true green through turquoise and into cobalt blue. The sky is an inverted reflection of the reservoir as tufts of white cl...

"An Approaching Storm" Colored Pencil In the midst of an already grievous winter, an approaching storm gradually extinguishes the landscape’s last sliver of light. The inclement weather rushes in aggressively as it envelopes the magnificent range of rugged peaks. Extending across the page, a strip of turquoise sky is still visible above the embattled scenery. It won’t be long, though, before a cloak of cool-gray smothers the valley in a shroud of deep snow. The high mountains assume a defiant posture as their sharp edges tear through the soft atmosphere, creating patches of bare rock. The kaleidoscope of broken terrain sparkles in blue-violet before the impending storm’s onset. The forested foothills are distinguished by three different, overlapping tiers of conifers. As the woodland ramparts recede into the distance, the wintery colors gradually become several shades bluer. The wide, white meadow sweeps across the foreground, its smooth surface decorated with elongated shado...

"Touch the Clouds" Colored Pencil An arching vault of powder-blue sky is reflected below on the surface of Evergreen Lake. The behemoth mountain known as Bergen Peak towers above, straining with all its might to touch the clouds. The pyramidal-shaped summit pierces the atmosphere but the ambitious endeavor falls far short of the billowy cluster of vapor. Magically linking heaven and earth, the wispy cloud floats overhead as its transient contour traces the shape of the mountain ridge. The solemn landscape delivers a spiritual message basking in the supernatural glow of divine light. The elements are conjured with mysterious edges that are softened by the vibrations generated from a kaleidoscope of stippled colors. The lower foothills are arranged in a simple pattern described by descending layers of woven color that cascade down to the water’s edge. Glittering white waves are represented by milky tones that are scrubbed softly across the reservoir’s textured surface. ...

"Cult of the Sun" Colored Pencil Warm, autumnal sunshine permeates the interior of Poudre Canyon, illuminating a kaleidoscope of dazzling colors. The splendid scene is set ablaze with an array of fiery tones that are barely balanced by the rolling, blue river. Sturdy stands of yellow cottonwood brace both sides of the composition as patches of gray-green define their leafy profile. A line of bushes arcs into the middle ground, graduating in size, shape and color where its termination is reflected on the creek’s surface. The rugged shallows are littered with polished stones of slate and orange while some of the bigger boulders, protruding from the deeper channel, create whitewater waves. Across the way, a pile of rubble cascades down to the far shoreline. The steep slope is covered by an astonishing blanket of interwoven flecks of pure color that are blended by the observer’s eye. Clinging to this incredible hillside tapestry are scattered clusters of burning brush and roc...

"The Great Blue" Colored Pencil It’s late summer in the foothills and a great blue heron is hunting quietly along the shoreline of Evergreen Lake. The chaos generated by the passing storm from just minutes ago has receded and a peaceful calm has overtaken the watery habitat. The bird’s image is mirrored on the surface of the smooth reservoir just as the undulating landscape is a reflection of the billowy sky overhead. Above, a churning wave of bulbous clouds streams across the troubled firmament while below, a sea of tussled grasses rushes into the lower marshland. The meadow, lake, mountains, forest and sky are described similarly so as to unify these elements into a coherent whole. The shared color and soft shading transcends the harsh reality into a more pleasing aesthetic. The dim light knows no boundary so a certain murkiness pervades the entire atmosphere, narrowing the range of hue and contrast. The somber palette is relieved by a few flecks and passages of pure o...