Tag: Wyoming

Somewhere in Wyoming

Last summer we spent a couple of weeks traveling around the western part of the US, visiting states such as Wyoming and Arizona and Utah.  Open space, loneliness, long drives through incredible country.  This is a photo I took out of the car window on the way from Laramie, WY, to Grand Teton National Park, where we stayed for several days.

I pushed the colors in post production, to pull out greens, reds, and blues.  The view of the house / barn was fascinating – and I expect the view from it is even better, rather than zipping by in a car.   Anyway, I’ve decided to do some sketches, in ink then color, and hopefully an unlined watercolor based on elements of this photo.  Below is this morning’s sketch.

Peaceful Morning

 

Today is Christmas morning.  It is easy to forget what truly lies behind Christmas – thoughts of peace and hope, the turning of the year as the solstice brings back the light of longer days, and the values that are at the core of most of us.  Community.  Family.  The world around us.

For me, much of what I truly love in this world is ephemeral.  My family, my friends – we all will vanish at some point.  How many of us will be remembered in 100 years?  There is one thing, though, that never ceases to amaze me, and that is the natural beauty of the world, its diversity of life (human, animal, plant), and the fact that it is even here at all.

With this in mind, I wandered through some of the myriad photos I took on our trip last summer.  Here, a view out of the car window on the way from Mesa Verde, Colorado, to the state of Wyoming.  Here, the American West – sparse, grand, barren, and filled with life.  Merry Christmas!

Between Thanksgivings

Yesterday, here in the U.S., was Thanksgiving.  We celebrated it with a few members of our family out of town.  Tomorrow, members are coming here for the big family gathering, from east and south and west.  So, Wednesday we made pies, and today we set up the tabbouleh, tzatziki, zhuk, and marinating chicken for tomorrow’s feast.  Lots of chopping and such, along with a fun grocery trip to a market that sells all sorts of foods not seen in the ordinary middle class market . . . this one caters to Middle Eastern, Indian, Asian, and Mexican tastes, so there is a lot of fun and strange food to be had.  On top of it all, it’s so reasonably priced!  If you enjoy cooking, nothing like an exciting market and a family which loves good food.

So, did I spend my entire day prepping?  No, I didn’t.  I did some napping, had some coffee, edited some photos, and then had an epiphany:  I can use my photos for subject matter, whether sketching, ink-and-color, or pure watercolor.  I went through a few photos from our summer on the road throughout the Southwest and Western U.S., to places like Mesa Verde, Ft. Laramie, Yellowstone, and Teton National Forest.  Lots of wonderful things to see.  Now, a lot of wonderful things to recall with a drawing . . .

Photo from Fort Laramie in Wyoming:

A quick ink-and-color sketch of the same:

They don’t really look like each other, but what the heck.  I liked the roof and chimneys against the blue of the sky.