Journal of Michael Baum / Travels of an Artist

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Palmer Land Trust Trips...continued

Neill property

Late Summer 0n the Ranch, oil, 12" x 16"
(print available)


Stone Ranch, watercolor, about 5" x 3.75"
(available, please inquire)

9/6/07
Went on another Palmer Land Trust outing to the Neill property in SW Colorado Springs. It is a 10 acre ranch completely surrounded by city neighborhoods. I got a couple of okay photos and did four overworked watercolors. I have to learn to put more pigment on at the outset and not go back and rework areas. It's not oil painting after all.

9/13/07
Palmer Land Trust trip to see Elephant Rock. Gary could not get a hold of the owners, but found a neighbor that has a good view. We have only one view, but it's a pretty good one. I paint 4 watercolors (better than last week's efforts) and get several photos.

9/20/07
Our last Palmer Land Trust trip. We drive to the Stone Ranch on Teller County 1 near Cripple Creek and explore the meadow and old ranch buildings, taking lots of photos. We walk about half a mile up Four Mile Creek. Gary, Chuck, and I return ahead of the others. I start a small watercolor. The others return sooner than I expected. I get less than 10 minuteson the painting. Interestingly, being rushed to finish, I get a crisp and concise painting. It's not overworked. Another piece of the puzzle falls into place.

This has been a productive set of field trips. I've had an opportunity to practice and improve my watercolor sketching. And I've painted some scenes that I wouldn't ordinarily choose, and found that I could get good paintings out of them. Counting the trip to the Paint Mines that Patrice and I undertook on our own (click to Paint Mines) and several walks in Red Rock Canyon (Red Rock Canyon, painting), I have finished six oils and several watercolors. Three will go into the show--a tough choice.

I've seen some great places that I would never have seen if it weren't for the Palmer Land Trust. And I've had a great time with friends and fellow artists exploring the landscape. The show is coming up on September 28 and 29, running for only two days. It will be short but sweet.

  
Elephant Rock                     Elephant Rock, watercolor, about
                                                  4" x 3" (available)

Elephant Rock, oil, 12" x 9" (available)

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