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.
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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.

I had a little more time today to do my art and tackled my Mule Deer painting. I think it is pretty well finished.
JAKEYS FORK MULIES
15"x30" Oil Painting
http://gkeimig@dteworld.com

Ever now and then we all have one of those days when the paintbrush and colors and canvass seems to hold magic. Today was one of those days for me.
I spent a good portion of the morning visiting with gallery visitors who were in the mood of asking endless questions and explaining how Aunt Martha paints. I was able to put down a fast acrylic underpainting on this gessoed masonite with a quick color scheme that I wanted. This was done in about 15 minutes and I was happy with what I had done. Finally about mid afternoon I was able to get to my oils and get to work. It seemed like the paint flowed without any fighting on my part for values and adjustments. Everything seemed to work effortlessly. In an hour I set it in front of Tom my pardner for critiquing and he suggested the lighter light just behind the trees. Five more minutes it was done.
We have been having some incredible cloud displays the last few days and nights and this is the inspiration for that. Besides I love doing clouds.
It is a 11"x15" Oil Painting on 1/8" gessoed untempered masonite that I gesso myself.
Several posts ago a question was put to me about wheather I liked putting down an Acrylic underpainting. I was not sure when I did that painting[The Mule Deer in the snow on canvas]but I sure liked how it workd with this painting.
SOLD
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Today turned out to be the nicest day of the season and we at Silversage Gallery decided to have a barbeque out our back door next to the town Parking lot. We had picked up a brand new barbequer and I put it together and must have done a pretty good job as there were no parts left over. Some cooked chicken breasts and hotdogs and good friends and we were off. From left myself, Tom Lucas, Dan Miller peaking around the corner, my wife, Vicki, Tammy Lucas in the chair, Les LeFevre, and Chris Phelps. Les wife, Cathy was kind enough to take our picture.
Tom had a really great sales day but balked when I tried to change the menu from chicken to lobster.
We did shortly have to retire inside as we soon noticed a Mountain Bluebird pair were trying to build a nest in a hole in the cinderblock wall of the building just above the Barbequer. They were having a hard time trying to put up with our activity.

As I

drove up into my yard this evening I was greeted by several deer. They merely looked me over and only this little fawn from last year even bothered to get up and nonchalantely checked out the ground for spring morsels. They are pretty rugged looking at this time of year.

I ended up the first part of the week doing picture framing for a rancher out east of town so it really feels good to get back behind the easle in the gallery. Things are beginning to get busy and there are a lot of interruptions but it is fun meeting and visiting with folks from all over the world. Especially today where we had a great sales day.

I have started this large sheet watercolor 22"x28" as my deer painting is still not dry enough to work on and I got a little excited about starting this instead of the Owl I had started[see posting somewhere down my blog]and should be trying to finish up. And it is keeping me from working on a commission I should be doing but can't seem to get started on.

My river this morning is running a little high and angry. We are in the middle of Spring runoff and it is up to my yard. A natural occurance that would have most folks a little apprehensive but we have a saving grace here. The elevation. It gets cold at night and that acts as a natural control on the flow. This morning it is 30 degrees and with the rain yesterday afternoon my yard is ice covered. Even the rains here are cold rains and you can be assured that it is snow in the mountains which also acts as a great control. As the snow melts higher and higher during the season it is controlled even further as it gets colder and colder at those elevations.

Notice the line of leaves along the left side of the picture. You can tell the high water mark from the night befor as the highest occurs about 2-3:00 A M That is the time it takes for the snow melt from the previous day to reach us.

Spring is here though as within the last few days the leaves have come out on the trees and bushes and I even saw some tulips yesterday in some folks yards. The town deer will love that.

Horses are even lead off into the cottonwoods here in the town park to further cool down. After a set time of rest at the start of the gun everything is again loaded up and the same process starts again only this time as they return they have to set up Wall tents and the gear distributed in a certain pattern such as would make a neat camp. At times during this event with all the speed and commotion going on it is not uncommon for riders to loose a horse or two and across the hills can be found a riderless horse racing along. Sometimes with saddle or even pack saddle and possibly gear scattered to the sagebrush. Even in the mountains this can happen as we have had horses roll and break pack saddles, buck them off. You just have to be prepared for anything. It is certainly a place to have as gentle a horse as you can find.

I was unable to stay for the continuation of this part of the race. Combined times for the series of events determines the winner along with penalty points factored in.

The next day the race involves womens teams which can be pretty wild.

Panniers[boxes built of wood and covered by rawhide or the modern ones made of fiberglass]that hold gear are unloaded from both sides of the pack saddle. After all the gear is neatly piled and covered by the manti the horses are unsaddled and let cool.

Unpacking. One rider is jsut removing the manti[the brown canvas tarp]while the other is stacking gear.

Memorial Day in Dubois. Typically cool rainey and even snowey at times. Today is no exception. It is raining pretty good this morning and about 40 degrees. I thought it might be of interest to post this series of pictures of one of our summer events. I have had to work in the Gallery over the weekend but escaped for a few minutes to catch the first leg of the Packhorse Races. This event some 15 years ago was pretty popular around the state of Wyoming but as far as I know Dubois is the only town still holding them.

The event begins with a 2 man team and three horses. At the sound of the starting gun each team[there were 8 teams this year]must take down a preset tent pack it and all other gear that one might find in the mountains at an outfitters camp and pack the pack horse. Judges are watching everything and the diamond hitch can get you points deducted if not done properly- then they are off for [I'm guessing]a 3-4 mile ride. One man pulling the pack horse and an outrider who cannot pass the rider with the packhorse. They also cannot break out of a trot or are penalized by judges who are stationed along the route. In this picture they are just riding back into "camp" where they must unpack and unsaddle their horses and neatly stack their gear

I dug this painting out from my "Fire starter" pile with hopes of resurrecting it. It looks a whole lot better than it did. I have even put it in a frame and hung it in the gallery with a price tag on it. It is a 9"x12" Oil Painting, ALPINE MEADOW
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I got back to work on my Mule Deer painting and have taken out the deer in the opening and put in the forground Buck. It is reading a lot better now.

I am letting the oil of the Deer dry for a few days and in the meantime I dug out this painting that had an unfinished sky and no landscape and spent the day working on it. I painted on it at the gallery and it was a chore as we are suddenly busy with the tourist season seemingly in full swing. A lot of interuptions and talking with a lot of folks from all over the country. Had one gentleman and his wife who were wildlife photographers fromn Florida who were kind enough to leave some money at the gallery. They were showing us on our gallery computer some of their photography and it was amazing. Any wildlife artist would be crazy not to drool over some of their material.
By this evening I am declaring this painting finished. It is an 18"x24" Oil and depicts the country just east of Encampment, Wyoming on the Wyoming-Colorado border. Guess I must have done pretty well as we had another couple in the Gallery talking with my pardner, Tom Lucas about filming him for an upcoming film on indian archeology and wanted Tom to demonstrate some of his indian artifact skills. Anyway they are from Encampment and she was delighted to recognize the scene as being about a mile east of their place. I call it PLATTE VALLEY SKIES
SOLD

View from the other side. This is approximately 6"x6"

Clay himself is a very talented artist. This is a recently completed Rainbow Trout busting out from Pond Lilies. Clay has a technique of using transparent colors on his patinas that he developed and works pretty nicely on a number of pieces. He had a Rodeo Clown series each with a different color scheme using those tranparent colors that made a pretty awesome presentation.

Our youngest daughter is a R N in the Lovell, Wyoming Hospital about 20 miles from where they live on the Wyoming-Montana border. She is in charge of the Emergency room. Her husband, Clay Ward runs a finishing studio where he does welding and patina work on bronzes mostly for J Michael Thomas who is one of the premier western bronze artists in America today. This is a monument that Clay is currently working on. The missing arm will be holding a hat with water dripping out for a drink. The smaller versions has a pond of water with the water then running out from the hat. I'm sure this will too. It will be installed in the town of Buffalo, Wyoming. Check out Michaels bronzes through Silver Sage Gallery blog or our web site, www.silversagegallery.com. He is an amzzing artist.

It was also fun to have our daughter from Pine Haven, Wyoming[near Devils Tower] to come and bring our Great grand daughter, Evie Anna. She is a real charmer and all girl so it was fun to lift her over into the sheep pen and catch her reaction to getting a little do do on her shoe. She thought it was all great though.

We are pretty proud of Calli. She graduated salutorian of her class. Missing straight A's by receiving a B in Art class one semester. Seems she was in a disagreement with the teacher over some art project.??
She of course had to address the audience and did a great job. She also has 3 scholarships under her belt and plans on going into Radiology.

I have now gone to oil and worked on this this afternoon. I changed several of the deer on the right hand side and moved a buck out in the open. After I shot this pix I decided the deer back in the opening was in a terrible place as it commanded too much attention and messed up my size look for the three deer way back on the left side.
I had to put away my paints for a few days as Vicki and I drove up to Frannie, Wyoming NE of Cody, Wyoming where our daughter lives to attend our granddaughters high school graduation. A very worthwhile endeavor.

I have continued painting with acrylic blocking in my painting. I'm a little undecided yet if I like using acrylic for this stage of the painting and found myself continually wanting to get out my oils. The tranparency of the acrylics are hard to get used to. But I think tomorrow I will go to the oils. I will be running the gallery myself and will probably be interupted quit a bit but I'll see how far I can get on it.

I had planned to get back to work on my Owl painting that I had started several weeks ago but was hopeing for one more snow for research on my spruce boughs. Just when I needed that one more snow of course it has quit snowing. The trees are even budding out now. The river is a little higher and with over 8 feet of snow in the mountains it might be an exciting runoff particularly as I live along that river. We have one saving grace though in this area. With the high elevation it freezes every night and that puts a natural control on run off[famous last words??]
Any way I had taken several photos of the Jakeys ForkCreek area east of Dubois this past winter and have been wanting to do a couple of long narrow paintings of them. I am also exsperimenting with acrylic as an underpainting befor finishing off with oil. I don't know how far I will take it with the acrylic befor doing that so we will see where that will go. The painting is on linen canvas and is 15"x30". I am doing this in my gallery and it is interesting how the comments from folks coming in go. It is sure a great way of meeting folks. Last night a bear specialist and his wife came in on their way to Yellowstone where he works with gizzly bears to begin the summer season. They were fun people to visit with.
I will be including Mule Deer into the landscape as they slowly traverse the scene-browsing as they go.

It is amazing the ingenuity and imagination artists employ in creating. It is amazing to see the vast array of antlers and horns that have been collected. Nature has done her part in producing some pretty amazing anomolies and natural characteristics in growth patterns for the artists to bring out the best in them.

This is the second day of 4 days of the Antler Sales and display in Dubois and is the forerunner of the big Antler auction in Jackson this coming weekend when antlers are auctioned off from collections done on the National Elk Refuge by the Boy Scouts. Proceeds go towards buying feed for winter feeding. About 30 vendors are in Dubois currently selling antlers, art work done with antlers as well as furniture. Artisans from miles around come to this event to stock up on all types and kinds of antlers and horns which are then used in their various artistic forms. Dustin Stephenson who is our potter at the Silver Sage Gallery was here yesterday and claims he spent too much money. His young son who was with him said he was in big trouble with mom when they returned home.

Kurt and Lynn who have a gallery featuring Curts antler work are one of the vendors and was showing off the elk he crafted this winter made from Deer and Elk antlers. Several hundred of them. Lynn showing off the crafted elk here is also an amazing potter and does some unbelievable abstract work with her photography which she has received national attention for.

She was explaining to me that song birds at their gallery have taken to building nests within the cavity of the elk. That is pretty cool.

Both going to and returning from Jackson and dinner there we watched thousands of elk. They are moving across the 40 miles of Jackson Hole on their spring migration into the high country. It is a fun event to witness. Not seen by many.

Intense in spite of the cold and wind. Dinner at Bubbas[barbeque]in Jackson is my reward.