For Sheila who asked me to post a picture of the painting I did for the last Jackson Hole Fall Art Festival quick-draw held every year in the town square in Jackson, Wyoming. It was a Gouache Watercolor painting of the Grand Tetons from Schwabachers Landing on the Snake River. The matting on the painting is not textured but rather caught the reflection of the tree leaves on the glass. Interesting anyway.

Another pretty good day on this painting. It is slowly coming together.
24"x30" Gouache Watercolor.

Just had to post this because of my remarks to Jill Berry on the recently posted photograph of Crawfish Creek from trip to Yellowstone the other day.
Moose falls is often painted by artists familiar with it. I have seen paintings of it a number of times in art magazines.
http://www.blogger.com/www.silversagegallery.com

My painting aftr a long day of working pretty diligently at it.

Another painting I am working on this week is this 12"x24" Oil painting and I got a lot of work done on it today. It is a scene from north of town on Brent Creek. Just off Horse Creek it is full of Aspen, Pine and mountain parks. A lot of wildlife utilize the area and is close to town for hikes when one only has a short time to do so.

I put the final touches to my oil painting, Wild Phlox. It is 11"x15"

My wife, Vicki and pardner Chris Phelps each have their Birthdays on June 21 and for the second year in a row we had a cake at the reception for them. Chocolate and Strawberry. Good and sweet.
After a hectic weekend and running the gallery the first part of the week Vicki and I took off wednesday and went to Jackson, the Tetons, and late afternoon up to Yellowstone where we hiked around the Snake River at the south entrance and then on up to Crawfish Creek and Moose Falls where we hiked about a 1/2 mile upstream. It is one of my favorite streams in the country and so overlooked by anyone. Most folks don't even know about the falls and it is amusing to watch a steady stream of people drive by the parking lot oblivious to what they are passing. I just never see any tracks along the stream from folks walking up there. It is pretty rough with a lot of downfall but I guess that keeps it off limits for a lot of folks. We stopped at Flagg Ranch at the south entrance to use the facilities and I overheard a couple pouring over a Yellowstone map. The fellows wife was informing him "We are here and here is where we want to be by 7:00." What a way to spend a trip. If they only knew what they were missing by having to be "there"
By evening we stopped at Colter Bay on the way back home for supper and I had one of the best Buffalo Burgers I have had in some time. That really surprised me.
After Supper we are on the road again and climbing toward Togwottee Pass when at nearly dark we find a large Grizzly Boar strolling through the Sagebrush and timber about 150 feet off the road. I try to get a few pictures but they don't turn out. Just too dark. We watch him for a good 10-15 minutes and finally loose sight of him in the darkness and timber. What an animal. On up and over the pass we have to really watch it as there are a lot of elk on the hiway. We brake numerous times for them. Quite an eventful day.

Ken Stitley and his wife with Chris Phelps on the left and Jane Skaar who is a wonderful watercolorist and a member of Women Artist of the West

Here are some of the folks who seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Last saturday night we had our yearly Open House at Silver Sage Gallery and it was well attended with pretty good sales. It is quite a feed we put on. Here my wife, Vicki is putting out the goodies assisted by Gary and Rita Felton from Torrington, Wyoming who spent a few days in Dubois and were a great help to us. Thank you Gary and Rita.

this is the photo I took while visiting my daughter in Frannie, Wyoming several winters ago. Her husband Clay Ward has a finishing studio where he does welding and Patina work on Bronzes. 99% for D Michael Thomas of Buffalo, Wyoming and one of the premier western Sculptors of today. Clay and Janets place is right on the Wyoming, Montana border NE of Cody, Wyoming and at the foot of the Pryor Mountains which is home to the last surviving true blood Wild Spanish Mustangs. [quite a horse]Anyway we did a little trip up the mountainside where I got this picture with the idea in mind of putting a Buck lying along the log. You will notice I dropped the landscape in favor of simplifying and used a flat sky instead. I like so much of the rest of it though I am staying pretty close to what there is.

I had started this painting yesterday and worked on it today with a lot of interruptions from gallery visitors. I am still into the blocking in stage but as I go I have been inserting some detail into it.

I am getting a little backlogged on my art with about 4 or 5 pieces in the works but I wanted to get this painting of A Mule Deer Buck lying behind a log with a light covering of snow on the ground started. I had entered the idea [title]in a show that is fast approaching and so I am off and running on it. I am using gouache watercolor on Number1 Illustration board. It is 24"x30".

I finally received my WESTERN ART COLLECTOR magazine and the photograph of myself doing the quick-draw at the Jackson Hole Fall Art Festival in Jackson, Wyoming at the town square. This event is held every September and it is usually snowing or a cold rain falling. Makes for a really fun event though as the auction is lively and prices are outstanding. My piece in this picture went for $2,750.00. A new record for me in a quick-draw. We are given 1 hour to complete our paintings and 15 minutes to frame them up. [I think they should hold it every day]
This has been a pretty cool Birthday as I received both the Peaks and Plains magazine with my article and this magazine today. Along with the T V event last weekend. Makes being 68 almost tolerable even though I am sure I am now over the hill and sliding so fast I can't grab the trees going by.

The article can be read by clicking onto the image.

I had posted this pix in my Painting-A-Day blog but wanted to post the article as it appeared in Peaks And Plains magazine just out. It is always a great deal when someone thinks enough of your work to want to do a story on you so for the story or my own ego-Here it is.
I have also had several e-mails from artist friends who say my picture painting at the Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival is in the current issue of the Western Art Collector magazine. Somehow my subscription to this magazine has expired and I missed it. It is one of my favorites so will have to rectify that as soon as possible.

I spent the day working on my Oil Painting of Wild Phlox. Another good day on it and I should have it.

I got back to work on my Great Horned Owl[Oil Painting]where I am tediously painting in the snow laden branches

I have begun this painting 12"x16" on gessoed Masonite based on some photographs I recently took of Wild Phlox, one of our first wildflowers of the season now blooming on prairie and mountainslopes. Still determined to figure out acrylic painting I began this with an underpainting of acrylic and am now working oil into it. After two days of working while sitting at the gallery with interuptions from visitors this is where I stand.
I did take off sunday about noon for Riverton to do the promised painting for the state PBS Television fund raiser. Didn't really know what to expect but it tunrned out to be a blast. We left in a blinding snow storm. Yep. Snow. And it was pretty heavy snow for about 30 miles then heavy rain rest of the way [75 miles]The event began at 5:00 pm and I began a 15"x20" Gouache watercolor painting using a #1 illustration board as a surface. One of the T V people started the auction at $225.00 to get things going. After about an hour of painting a few bids were being phoned in and was up to $500.00. Mostly by folks I knew from around Wyoming. Several hours into the program it picked up a litle and by 9:00 pm I put the mat and frame around it so folks would know what they were getting into. Bidding really jumped then and finally went for $1125.00. A lady from Powell, Wyoming was the high bidder. The painting was of a summer Aspen Grove with early morning light hitting the main focus aspens. During an interesting program being aired on the Overland Trail they would periodically break and give a speil on their fund raising and show me painting and interviewing me as we went.[got a few plugs in on our gallery]The interviewer made a comment that There should be some deer in the painting but they were scared off so by next break I had put in a doe and fawn. I think that helped in the bidding too. They were happy and I had a great time. We even got a paid for room at the Holiday Inn so it was even more fun playing tourist. Heading for home on monday morning we once again ran into snow in Dubois. Will it ever quit?

Woke this morning to the sound of light rain on the roof which is a pleasant sound not often enough heard in this dry country. The temperature was 40 degrees and has been steadily dropping throughout the morning. Is now 32 and big snow flakes falling. Is even getting white out. This bedraggled wet Mule Deer Doe came slowly walking down my road browsing away as she went. She is taking this June weather in stride. Is to snow during the day today and snow at night the next 4-5 days with rain during the day. even with all the rain the river continues to slowly drop. Still high but looking a lot better than a few days ago.
Well it snowed just enough to get the grass and cars white but I see some vehicles coming off the pass with 3-4 inches on top.

I am back to work on my Great Horned Owl. 18"x24" Oil Painting. Working now on the Spruce boughs.

I have been away from my blog a few days and contrary to what some believe. I have not been swept away nor is my house now a house boat floating on its way to Boysen Reservoir 100 miles downstream. There are a number of my blogger friends including my own mother who are inquiring about that. Guess I had better give her a call today.
The gallery has kept me busy and another framing project and a day for a trip to Lander and the dentist[ouch]That is a 150 mile round trip but affords and opportunity to get groceries and such.
I have to make another trip this time to Riverton, Wyoming tomorrow where I will do a painting in a several hour period for PBS [Public Broadcasting T V]who are running a fund raising event and will be featuring me and my painting. The painting I will be doing will be offered for bid during the evening. We get a room at the Holiday Inn for our endeavors so won't have to return to Dubois late at night.
I also will be in Casper, Wyoming on July 7, for a ribbon cutting ceremony to dedicate a new building at the Central Wyoming Rodeo and Fair grounds. It is a wing built for 4-H kids and they are featuring my art work on a large sign at the building. Guess the event will include putting me in a cherry picker and hoisting me up to the sign to sign my name and of course some recognition for the art endeavors. Will be fun anyway.
Got news yesterday that a grizzly had been strolling the hill above my house. Word was they live trapped it and he now lives just south of Yellowstone. Last time we heard that kind of story was when a Grizz had gotten into the neighbors cat food down the river and suposedly trapped it on a certain night that my sister was staying with us and sleeping out in her camper shell. That proved to be eronious as it was not trapped untill several nights later. At that same neighbors house.

My pardner, Tom Lucas who lives in Lander 75 miles east of here parks his trailer in my yard to use when he is up doing his gallery sitting chores. His wife might be a litttle concerned this morning to see the water nearly up to the rear wheels of their trailer.

I do the weather measuring for the U S Weather Bureau. A volunteer job but I find it quite interesting. I recorded 0.99 inches of rainfall last night which is an awful lot of rain for this country. Along with the high flows from snowmelt it really is high now. Have had several calls from Weather Bureau this morning to check things out and they tell me this is now in the top 10 for runoffs since records have been kept. Thank goodness a lot of what is falling in the mountains is snow which will keep things slowed down now. It is only 40 degrees here this morning and will be cold the next few days. I was to take the weather tape out of that machine that is right at the edge of the water but I think I will wait another day.

The inevitable has happened. We received 0.99 inches of rain last night and it has not helped with the high water from snow melt still going on. This picture is from the side of my house looking across my fence to Cowboy Robs picknic area. Cowboy Rob is receiving a real Baptism this morning.