Outside Joliet

Outside Joliet

10x10

As I drove north into Montana, the mountains became more and more a part of the landscape. Snow covered their peaks, and you could tell these mountains are massive, muscular, tough. The ranges were not huge - Crazy Mountains in one direction, Pioneer Mountains in another, Tobacco Range in a third - so these were separate ranges, with different topography, different origins, probably different geography.

Even though they were far away, they began to surround the landscape, and it gave me the feeling of being very high up, very close to the sky. 

Joliet was a small, quiet town in southern Montana, the kind of place that makes you wonder what people do who live there. It was pleasant and a little old, and in the middle just spectacular scenery and incredible, clear light. 

***

Above, the Absaroka Range. I wanted to go and see these mountains, and paint them, and one of my sponsors had suggested it, but storms were blowing in at the high elevations, and I just couldn't see my way clear to go. 

Here are more mountains, this time near Livingston, Montana. I painted these on my return trip.

I began to see the Yellowstone River, running alongside the highway. 

*** 

Dog of the Day

This time, the DOD is a couple of chickens! And I'm very proud of this. One sponsors asked me to look for a painting of chickens, and I promised I would, but wondered if I'd really be able to locate a chicken or two out west. Lo and behold, chickens! The full photo is below. 

Autumn Trees, and Near Red Lodge

Autumn Trees

Oil on canvas, 10x20

As I'm writing this, I am heading home, and it looks like I will probably get home in time for Halloween. It's a little confusing to be posting paintings that I was making as I was heading to Wisdom, but it's OK. So for at least a couple days, I'm going to send more than one painting in each newsletter. 

I made this painting on Tongue River Canyon Road, the day after I painted "Red Afternoon." That day, the "Red Afternoon Day," I had been planning on leaving Sheridan, Wyoming and heading to Montana. But I had such an amazing painting day, the colors were so beautiful and exciting, the landscape so inspiring, I stayed another night in Sheridan. That night. I saw this painting in my mind. I understood what I wanted to paint, how I wanted to see it, how I could make the trees look like flames, how the painting would feel. I went back the next morning, found a perfect spot to pull over, and painted, fast and sure of myself, before the rain came. 

***

Near Red Lodge

10x10

I drove to Red Lodge, Montana, and as I mentioned in a previous newsletter, didn't find it particularly compelling. It was nice enough, but not what I wanted to see or paint. The road to the town, however, was lovely, and vibrant and alive in the brilliant afternoon sun. 

It's often difficult to find a good, safe place to pull off the road and paint. In New England, and the East in general, there are ditches along nearly every road. There are ditches in the West, too, but there are also regular pull-in spots, designed, I think, for farm and ranch equipment. These are just long enough to get my van into safely, and I've used them whenever I've found them. 

Near Red Lodge, I found a huge flat space belonging to the state Department of Transportation, I think. My guess is that they store sand there, perhaps, and park snowplows and big pieces of equipment there in the winter. But when I was there, it was empty, and lined with beautiful, bright yellow trees. 

***

Yes, where there are trees in Wyoming and Montana, they are brilliant yellow, with tints of orange and green, shimmering and shining in the fall sun. The rest of the land is beautifully colored this October, if more subtle, less brash than the tamaracks and cottonwoods. 

***

Dog of the Day

It's Tuffy, whom I met at a hotel near Red Lodge. His human had come to Montana from Oregon, and brought Tuffy along. The dog had belonged to the man's mother, who had died. Tuffy was missing an eye when the mother got him from the shelter, but it didn't seem to faze the dog in the least. 

Red Afternoon

Red Afternoon

10x10

When I set out for the West in October, I really didn't know what to expect in terms of color, scene, foliage. I knew that, no matter what, there would be amazing landscapes to see and paint - the mountains, hills and sky out here have always been enough for me, no matter what the season. 

Even though we lived in Idaho for a few years, I either didn't notice or didn't remember the colors being as rich and mesmerizing as I am finding on this trip. People I've asked say this is a good autumn for color, but not out of the ordinary. Maybe Boise was different? Maybe I just wasn't paying attention. I was working nights then, and honestly, didn't spend much time outside. 

How is autumn where you are? Are the colors brighter than usual this year? Are you noticing them more? I'd love to hear - or see photos if you feel like sending them. 

***

Saw this house on the way to Red Lodge, Montana. I will surely paint this in upcoming weeks! 

Tongue River Canyon Road again. 

Here's downtown Red Lodge. It's a small, wealthy-looking town, with the feeling of a ski town. It was very pretty, very upscale, but had that pheeling of phoniness, so I phled less phabricated places. 

Home of Wile E. Coyote? 

This what, gas factory? is just outside of Billings, Montana. Really jars the eye. 

The hanging wall in my van, early in the trip. I'll post a more current photo soon. Pretty much every available inch in my van is covered with paintings right now. I had contemplated bringing Koko, my dog, and I am so very glad I didn't! 

***

Dog of the Day

As I was packing up after making my final painting on the Tongue River Canyon Road, I saw another dog running along beside another car. By now, I understood that this was the way the people exercised their dog. I was on one side of the van, and the dog apparently stopped its run to investigate the van, but it was on the other side. By the time I came around, the car had stopped and the dog had taken off. I began to take photos, at which point, a passenger got out of the van and started posing for me!

Light and Shadow, Tongue River Road

Light and Shadow, Tongue River Road

10x10

It's hard to describe the feeling that began to possess me at about this point in the trip. It was as if painting had unlocked itself to me, and what had opened was a door that I'd suspected was there, but had never seen. Suddenly, not only did I see the door, but it opened for me, and I was invited to step in to a place where painting freedom surrounded me. 

At the same time, I began to feel that my physical self was even farther from the process than ever. I understand that this sounds a little crazy, but in my relatively short painting life, the best paintings I've made have been the ones in which I have felt like a vessel or a faucet, like a thing that art flows through, rather than a physical being who is thinking and planning and plotting with every stroke. 

This has been absolutely exhilarating, totally thrilling, and also frightening. Every morning, I've gone to the van, wondering if I'd look at the previous day's paintings and realized that I'd been duping myself, that they really weren't as good as I'd thought. I've been thankful, every morning, that the paintings have stood up. I've been frightened, every day, that I wouldn't be able to paint like this again, and again, I've been thankful, every day, that I've been able to sustain it. 

Above, my painting in the landscape. Below, the scene itself. 

*** 

 More from the Tongue River Canyon Road

THE TONGUE RIVER runs from the Yellowstone River through Wyoming and Montana. It starts in the Big Horn Mountains, and empties into the Yellowstone at Miles City, Montana. 

According to Wikipedia, the river runs through land where bison once ruled. The watershed includes parts of the Cheyenne and Crow reservations, and the Big Horn and Custer National Forests. The river's name derives from its name in Cheyenne. 

Winter snow pack from the Big Horn Mountains feeds the river in the spring, and groundwater from springs in the drainage basin feed it in the early summer; it generally dries up in late summer. People I spoke with said that this year, rainfall has been scarce, and many of the smaller rivers and creeks have dried up. The Tongue River seemed to be flowing well, though it was not high. Fishermen I talked to said that recent rainstorms have made a big difference in river levels. 

The Tongue River figures in the history of several Native American tribes, fur traders and mining operations. It's considered a good fishing river, in many spots. 

WHILE I WAS READING about the Tongue River, I came across a list of "woman rivers" in Wyoming and Montana. 

• Hanging Woman Creek is a tributary of the Tongue River, joining at Birney, Montana.
• Crazy Woman Creek is a tributary of the Powder River - and ran alongside the road where I painted in Crazy Woman Canyon. 
• Swimming Woman Creek runs from the Snowy Mountains in Montana, into Careless Creek. 
• Dirty Woman Creek starts east of Rock Springs, Montana, and ends east of Angela, Montana. 
• Kill Woman Creek runs from Fort Peck Reservoir, draining into the Missouri River, just east of Herman Point. 

Maybe on some painting trip, I will visit all the "woman rivers" I can find!

***

Dog of the Day

I met this hound, Henry, one morning outside a hotel. He was pretty interested 

in sniffing me, and all my dog and paint smells. 

Tongue River Autumn

Tongue River Autumn

10x10

On this trip, whenever I've asked people where I should paint, what I might miss that they, as residents of the area treasure, I've been sent to beautiful places, stunning places, places that take my breath away. Believe me, this isn't always the case! 

A woman I talked with in the Cowboy Cafe in Sheridan sent me to the Tongue River Canyon, and what a delight that was! I painted there one afternoon, and went back to paint there again the next day. 

It's just outside Sheridan,  near the metropolis of Dayton. You turn just before the town, and drive down a dirt road. Beautiful meadows line one side of the road, and the Tongue River runs along the other side. Again, I didn't go all the way in to the canyon, but stopped where the road narrowed - there was already so much to paint, I was overwhelmed. 

In addition to the beautiful homes, lovely horses, expansive fields and meadows, the autumn light caught a bright, chaotic tangle of trees and underbrush and brought out their colors, copper and brass and the shimmering orange-green-yellow of the tamarack and cottonwood trees. 

It was breath-taking, and it brought me this painting, which is a true breakthrough piece in my painting life. It's hard for me to describe what makes this piece so special, but I can say that I held the knife loosely and I saw the colors and the bits and splashed of light more clearly than I ever have. I painted this small piece with a rush of energy and abandon that I've never known, and it is still thrilling to me. I hope you like it! 

**

Tongue River Canyon

I'll post some more photos of the area in the next post! 

***

Cowboy Cafe

The Cowboy Cafe was a really fun place for breakfast! And the breakfast was big enough that I had it for lunch, too, which is always a nice bonus. Pleasant wait staff, happy customers, good food at reasonable prices - a pleasant place to eat in downtown Sheridan, Wyoming. 

***

Dog of the Day 

You might have to click on this to see it larger... Best Halloween yard yet! 

*** 

A Thought about the West

"Those roads provided breath-taking views. There's something special about an empty road going on and on and on to the horizon where the sun burns the world away into a dancing, shimmering heat haze that reflects the crystal blue sky, literally blurring the line between heaven and earth." 

- Dave Gorman