Mountain Vista

Although aspens grow here in Iowa it's out west in the mountain states where you see vast stretches of bright gold, in autumn. In fact a miles-long stand of aspens in Utah is known to be a single organism--each tree stem is a clone of the original. This painting isn't based on that stand of trees but on another at Estes Park, in Colorado. Although we've visited various locales in the Rockies over the years, Estes Park is not one of them. In this case I used a friend's snapshot for reference material, with her kind permission. 

"Estes Park," oil on panel, 11x14, available.

The Rockies provide dramatic vistas that tax the painter's skills in representing three dimensions--especially great distance--on a flat surface. The wide variation in yellows was another challenge.