The morning light show included some fantastic rainbows at sunrise. This one against the Sawtooth Range of LaBonte Creek.

While in Douglas this past weekend for my show I did a little early morning trip towards Laramie Peak where I worked for the Forest Service summers during college and used to fish as a teenager. It was an incredible morning with spectacular storms, clouds and Light effects on the mountains. Here I caught the sun in all its glory catching the hills in light with Laramie Peak in the background.

My finished Quick-Draw painting.

http://www.silversagegallery.com

I have spent the better part of last week in Douglas, Wyoming at the Pioneer Museum Western Invitational Art Show that kicks off the Wyoming State Fair. It is a great little show put on by the Museum that I have been involved with since it first began about 30 years ago. They are a marvelous group of people that really know how to do an art show. Here I am doing the saturday afternoon Quick-draw which I took top money in. It was purchased by the Andersons. Mr Anderson is the speaker of the House in the Wyoming Legislature. I think my Laramie Peak Painting has found a good home.

Just had to post this phenomenal rainbow from behind our gallery this evening. About as spectacular as they come. My camera lens on wide angle was still unable to capture the enormous bow that stretched completely from ground to ground in a beautiful arc. A second rainbow just above was nearly as well defined but had disapated by the time I got my camera and got out the back door.

I have been spending quite a bit of time in the mountains the past week with a little bit of guiding thrown in along with a very busy gallery I have not had a lot of time at the easle but I have begun several oil paintings including this 18"x24" Oil on Canvas. I began with an acrylic underpainting as I have been doing recently and now am using oil and beginning my detasil work. It is from several photographs of Bear Creek NE of Dubois that I took last fall. Such a beautiful ara in the fall with cottonwoods, Spruce and Pine.

I have been trying to get a descent photograph of this monster Mule Deer Buck for about a week and this morning I succeeded by getting some 20 shots. After watching him and several other bucks that were dwarfed standing nearby I continued on down the road turning off on Brent Creek Road. Turning a bend in the one lane dirt road I jumped a large Black Bear but he[she]was off faster than I could even think to grab my camera. I watched him for several seconds going seemingly straight up through the timber and dissapearing. Boy was he fast. What a great morning. All this and home for breakfast by 7:30 A M

Couldn't resist posting another picture from the Ring Lake bridge looking on the opposite side towards the Absaroka Mountains.

This was my completed quick-draw Gouache Watercolor Painting

Trail Lake

14"x17"

It is the view of the lake from the Dining Room that sits on a rock face looking out over the lake, Arrow and Middle Mountain and several glaciers that can be seen on the horizon. It is a view to die for. The base of the cliff contains numerous Indian Petroglyphs nearly a thousand years old. The ranch has quite a horse program and many were sitting a little gingerly watching the quick-draw as they had just arrived from the saddle into the cabin for my 45 minute painting. What fun we had. The painting after a scrumptious dinner acutioned off for $500.00. I give the ranch half.

SOLD

Ring Lake Ranch is an Ecumenical wilderness Retreat Center that is st in a beautiful place. Surrounded by high peaks of the Wind River Range it sits between two mountain glacial Lakes seperated by Torrey Creek . This photo is from the bridge crossing the creek and by just crossing this stream you know you are entering a most special place. I served on the Board of Directors of the ranch for 21 years and as president for 7 years. I still have a place in my heart for the ranch. My oldest Grand daughter worked summers in highschool and college here.
Our weather has turned cold again and I was sure wishing for a fire in the cabin we held our event in. At 49 degrees everyone was dressed pretty warm. Snow will be falling in the higher country tonight. Chances of rain snow mix in town. Ahh. Life in the high country.

I had to do a quick-draw painting late this afternoon at Ring Lake Ranch SE of Dubois and being as 3 of our grandkids came up for a few days visit, Bryce went along to help pack gear to the community cabin for our little event.

We left a little early and checked up on some of the Indian Petroglyphs in the area. Guess to really get the creative juices going.

I had started this gouache watercolor painting at the Museum this past weekend when I was doing a painting demo for the annualk Museum Days. I finished it off yesterday. It is from Double Cabins north of Dubois. Is 12"x20" and I call it Double Cabins Afternoon. http://www.silversagegallery.com/

SOLD

I had started this Oil Painting several months ago and dug it out to finish it off the last few days after taking several days off to go wander around in the mountains. It is 16"x20" and I call it Converse County Thunder.

I think I have pretty well finished this painting. After photographing it I can see a few bugs to iron out but it is essentially done. Horse Creek 16"x20" Oil Painting

Tom's finished oil painting one hour later. An Indian knife in a beaded scabbard. 9"x12" Oil Paintingwww.silversagegallery.com

My setup with the demo painting blocked in on the floor and the finished watercolor on the easle. www.silversagegallery.com

My painting 1 hour later. It is a gouache watercolor painting 16"x20".

Yesterday was the annual Open House at the Wind River Historical Center here in Dubois. The event features frontier skills, as well as showcasing a variety of talents of the area. It is quite an event and looked forward to by many locals and visitors alike. The cookout features a phenomenal stew and Fry Bread that is to die for. My pardner and I do a quick draw for the event every year as a fund raiser. We actully set up in the morning and I do a demonstration painting while Tom does flint napping and talks about how to build a Bighorn Sheep Bow the way the indians did it. He is considered the worlds master at doing this. The Quick-Draw is from noon to 1:00 and a silent auction on the pieces runs from completion to 3:00. Here I am working away at my quick-draw

I have put a little more time into my Horse Creek Painting. I did quite a bit of it in Acrylic and then switched to Oils to finish it up. A ways to go but it is coming along. 16"x20" on canvas.

I had posted this image of my miniature painting. Grand Summer in my painting-a-day blog but have reintered it here as well to announce that it won first place in the miniature category at the National WRVAG Show. Out of about 40 entries I felt pretty good about that.

My Gallery pardner, Tom Lucas, won first place in the Oil Division and that painting also won the purchase award.

SOLD

In the past several months I have received a lot of publicity which is sure a blessing for a poor starving artist such as myself. Last week I received a call from the Casper Star Tribune which is considered to be the state of Wyomings newspaper. They had picked up my blog and wanted to do a story on the concept of doing a painting-a-day or at least close to doing one. I was interviewed and the story was printed in the sunday paper this past weekend. How fun is that? I have gotten a lot of calls from the story so it was well worth it.
I realize it is hard to read from this posting until one clicks on the post and thus enlarging it.
gkeimig@dteworld.com

Having had to work the gallery the last 4 days I have begun this oil painting of Horse Creek from a location north of Dubois. It is 16"x20" and is into the detailing stage.

My final entry in the WRVAG Show is this gouache watercolor painting that I call Grand Glory. It is 18"x24" and is painted on #1 Illustration Board

http://www.blogger.com/gkeimig@dteworld.com

SOLD

The gallery has become very busy and as my pardner is busy this week being in charge of the Big Mountain Man Rendezvous in Pinedale, Wyoming I have been putting in a lot of hours at the gallery and not getting as much painting time as I would like. However I have finished this Oil of a scene from above my house looking north across the green meadows, Badlands and the Ramshorn Peak with early morning Thundershowers forming over the northern sky. This is from some photos I took the other morning. It is a 12"x15" Oil Painting I call WIND RIVER THUNDER and it is the last painting of the 6 I will be entering in the WRVAG Show which has an entry delivery deadline by next tuesday.

A single wild Rose

This fragile little blossom is reminescent of the watercolors so masterfully done by Jaqueline Gnott. Check out her blog and see if you don't agree with me.

The indians refered to this time of the calendar as the month of Wild Roses. It is aptly named as the river bottoms are alive with the beauty and scent of these thorny but beautiful flowers. My yard is certainly adorned with these beauties.
My river has dropped the last few days and I can now even see underwater my favorite rock for sitting on as I watch river life flow by and happen. By now that is possible but gonna be a while yet this year.
gkeimig@dteworld.com

I think I have pretty well finished this painting, HIDDEN BUCK 24"x30" Gouache Watercolor and in time for the National WRVAG Show coming up in a few weeks.

After a busy 4th and befor the fireworks begin at dark I drove up the hill west and above town to get a look at the hail that had fallen across the Badlands and on NE of Dubois where we heard [later confirmed] that the whole East Fork road system is no more. Quite a cloudburst. Dubois was just on the edge of the storm and I heard from several folks who say hail is still piled up east of Dubois along the hiway 2-3" deep this afternoon.

My pardner, Tom Lucas looking over the bronzes and the sculture gardens. Quite and addition to the fast growing art mecca of Dubois.

Buds bronze, the old time Cowboy depicting a late 1800's cowboy looking over an indian spearpoint he has dismonted to pick up and get a closer look at. As I mentioned it is the face of Butch Cassidy who had a small ranch here in Dubois befor hitting the Outlaw Trail. Bud's grand father actually rode with him and ran a horse ranch east of here for outlaw get aways.

In the first day after the 4th and the unveiling it is amazing to see how many folks are wandering through the flower garden and looking over these bronzes.

After a fantastic parade as only a small out of the way little western town can do. Only one horse wreck and fast ending because of a sudden down pour, my pardner, Tom Lucas and I walked across the street for a better look at the bronzes and to get some good pictures of them.

John Phelps bronze. John is best known world wide as the father of Chance Phelps from the recently filmed HBO movie, TAKING CHANCE. An awful way to be remembered. This is a great piece. The cowgirl is actually holding an apple in the one hand behind her back. The bronze is designed in such a way as the public[children]is encouraged to sit on the colt and have their picture taken.

Silver Sage Gallery pardner, Bud Boller is presenting his Bronze depicting the old Time Cowboy who has dismonted and looking over a Spearpoint he has found. All depicting first time residents to the Wind River valley confronting the ancient culture so prevalent in our area.

Yesterday being the 4th of July in Dubois it was very busy for the gallery and town. At noon was the unveiling of the 2 bronzes in the town sculture gardens across from the Silver Sage Gallery.

After several speeches from several folks on the town history and the meaning of the ronzes, John Phelps bronze was unveiled and here he poses with Leota Didier who was so instrumental in seeing this project accomplished.

John's bronze was depicting women and their western heritage and contribution to the area history. A 1930's cowgirl is feeding a colt an apple.

Just had to post this picture of my daughter, Kim with her husband Harry Leseberg. Yep. He is 6foot 7 and Kim is 5foot 3. They surprised us by coming to Dubois from Pine Haven[near Devils Tower area of Wyoming]the other evening and stayed into the 4th of July.

We were blessed yesterday by a group of gals who have gotten together doing music and they set up and played in the gallery for a good 2 1/2 hours. They call themselves the Celtic Cowgirls and they are pretty good. It certainly created a lively atmosphere for 4th of July festivities. We'll be hearing more from them. They recently played down in Browns Park, Colorado and were a hit down there.
They got my gallery pardner, Tom Lucas to join in on a number of songs with his harmonica which he is really great on. What fun it was. They are certainly welcome at anything we do.

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.
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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.