Cougar Peak #334

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

I love the wild chaotic design that often comes with storms, and weather in general. I especially enjoy it during the winter months. Everything is affected by it, and the whole landscape shifts in color and value so dramatically that hardly nothing escapes it's grip.

Also this once again marks the end to another month........one more to go!

Cougar Peak #333

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

The mountain stands blanketed in more fresh snow, set against the backdrop of blue sky. For this painting I tried to be conscious letting the white of the paper show through for as many areas of snow as I could. Attacking it similar to a water color painting, I started out working in the the values for the trees and sides of the mountain, as well as the barn, tree, and sky. Finally I came in with just a bit of white adding a few touches here and there.

Cougar Peak #332

4.75" x 6.75" Pastel on Paper

Time to changes things up a bit and switch media. The mountain was dappled and sponged with a pile of fresh snow, and something about it just screamed out pastel! For this painting I built up my darker value to begin with lightening them up gradually until I was coming back in with highlights.

Cougar Peak #331

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Yesterday we had the calm before the storm, today we have the mountain being pummeled by falling projectiles of white. For this painting I started out working really fast and loose and ended up getting something that I was happy with really quickly. So from then on it was a challenge not to "overwork" the painting.

Cougar Peak #330

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

This image represents a nice calm before the storm, as large flurry of snow is on it's way to blanket the valley in white. Again for this image I tried to capture the mountain as the top half has this cold winter feeling, and the bottom half still maintains sort of a look of fall.

Cougar Peak #329

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

The snow on the mountain melts off a bit and then as little mini storms move through more will be added onto the top of the peak. For this image I tackeled it basically as I normally do, but then in the end I spent a bit more time adding in little bits of snow here and there to try and capture the look that was on the mountain.

Cougar Peak #328

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

For today's painting I started out the image doing a quick sketch with a fine point sharpie marker. After the sketch was completed I came in and blocked out all of my main shapes, starting first with the sky. I then came in back over the top with a smaller brush pushing and pulling my values a bit and organizing the clouds and final details.

Cougar Peak #327

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

A bit of the snow on the bottom of the valley has started to melt away, and there was a big patch of low hanging clouds keeping the other snow at bay. On this painting I started out with a bit of blue for the base trees, and then gradated it up a bit from there, bringing in some of the ochers of the dead grass. Finally I came back in over the top with some thick white paint and added in texture on the clouds and mountain.

Cougar Peak #326

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Happy Thanksgiving!......The mountain was rather beautiful as those first rays of sunlight danced across the snowy tip of the mountain top, lighting it up on hues of orange and pink. For this image tried to stay conscious of all of the subtle color changes from lavender, blue, orange, etc....

Cougar Peak #325

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

The mountain was rather beautiful today covered in cold hues of brilliant blue. I wanted to try and capture a bit of that cold and the wonderful chaos as the clouds drifted through leaving their icy chill. I decided to leave the mountain in blue and gray the clouds up a bit just to heighten the blue a bit more.

Cougar Peak #324

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

Mountain of white, painter's delight. It's nice once again to wake up and have snow covering the mountain. For this painting I came in with a diluted gouache and carved in all of the areas of the mountain that weren't covered by snow. Once that was completed I came in with a smaller brush and added in the details, also bringing in some opaque white gouache adding extra highlights and texture.

Cougar Peak #323

4.75" x 6.75" Watercolor on Paper

Snow......beautiful snow that once again blankets everything in a layer of white. It was rather nice waking up this morning to see snow covering the valley. For this painting I used a bit of watercolor on a smooth plate type of bristol board. I usually paint on the other side of the paper that has more of a cold press finish, but it was fun to play around letting the paint dance on top of the paper.

Cougar Peak #322

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Nilly Willy my it's chilly!......as you can tell another cold and rainy day with snow on the way.....we will see. I worked pretty much monochromatic for this piece, other than the foreground field which has just a touch of green in it. On this painting I concentrate basically on getting the values I wanted and trying to give the appearance of the mountain being attacked by sheets of rain.

Cougar Peak #321

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

On today's painting I started out by blocking in all of the mountain in a single value of color. After that was completed I came back in over the top with a value for the parts of the mountain that are bare on not covered by trees. Finally I added in the low hanging clouds, concentrating on giving them a stylized "sharp" look to give the painting just a slightly different look.

Cougar Peak #320

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

I busted out the gouache again this morning as the mountain was once again socked in by heavy wet rain clouds. For this painting I kept my paints real soupy and let the paint bleed and puddle across the paper. Later I came back in with a smaller detail brush and added in the tree, barn, final touches, etc......

Cougar Peak #319

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

The drizzles were back today, bringing more clouds and rain, rain, rain. On this painting I mixed the base of the mountain in a slightly green tint, and then gradated it up into more blue and finally gray instead of a more monochromatic piece. It ends up making a nice separation between the trees and the onslaught of the storm.

Cougar Peak #318

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

A beautiful crisp November morning, as the temperature dipped down below 20 degrees. I was able to catch the mountain just as the first few rays of direct sunlight laid upon the mountain peak. On this painting I blocked out the silhouette of the mountain with a quick value wash and then proceeded to add in the form changes, highlights, fog, etc.

Cougar Peak #317

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Things cleared up a bit today bringing an even colder chill to the air. After the wind and rain last night, the mountain presented itself with a bit of fresh snow. For this painting I wanted to capture some of that freshness that the snow presented. I purposefully kept my strokes quick, hardly letting my brush pick up from the paper, so as to not give my self an opportunity to think.....but to just paint by instinct.

Cougar Peak #316

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

A rather rainy and wet day with a chill wind blowing in an oncoming furry of snow. I started this image out with a quick loose sketch in pencil and then came back over the top of it with paint, keeping my strokes loose and random until the cloud shapes took on a character of their own.

Cougar Peak #315

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

It is nice to have a bit of fresh snow on the mountain peak.....something about having snow on a mountain always makes it seem a little bit more grand or awe inspiring. In a way it is sort of like a proper crown on a king. Hopefully the weather will persist to allow the mountain to be clothed in a garment of white.

Cougar Peak #314

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

The mountain was rather spectacular this evening as the sun went down. The sky finally cleared just enough to let a bit of sunlight shine through and lay upon the mountain in a fiery magenta, showing off a bit fresh snow that is starting to take hold.

Cougar Peak #313

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Down low hung the fog today, pushing on the mountain with a weight of water. On this image I immediatly started blocking in my darker values on the parts of the mountain that were showing. After that was done I laid in the clouds and fog and then proceeded to soften the transition between the two. Finally I came in and added in all the little details, barn, tree, etc....

Cougar Peak #312

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

Again today the mountain took on a rather blue look as the clouds and the rain worked their way in blotting out the sun. For this painting I quickly blocked in the mountain keeping my strokes fast and loose. After that was done I came back in over the top with a darker value adding in a lot of the detail. Finally I came in adding the sky, tree and barn, as well as a bit of the fall colors that were showing through.

Cougar Peak #311

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Paper

There was a bit of rain today moving through the valley and it covered the mountain in blankets of fog and water.....or water and fog.....or just water. This painting I kept my strokes real loose, concentrating on trying to get the feel of the all of that cloud cover and falling rain.

Cougar Peak #310

4.75" x 6.75" Digital

There was a thick layer of fog today that covered the valley leaving the mountain totally obliterated by it's opaque screen. For this image I decided to work digitally in Photoshop and capture a bit of that blanket of white. I started the painting out by working on my tree and barn first and then coming back in over the top building up my layers of fog.

Cougar Peak #309

4.75" x 6.75" Digital

I decided to trade in my gouache today for a bit of digital paint. I started the image working on a medium value blue and proceeded to sketch out and then block in my main shapes. After this was done I added in the sky and concentrated on bringing out the different forms and fall colors.

Cougar Peak #308

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

The mountain had a slightly colder look to it today, partly I think because of some of the overcast clouds. Also it tends to bring out a bit more of the fall colors that are hiding in the mountain as they contrast against those blues.

Cougar Peak #307

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

For this painting I again wanted to concentrate on capturing those fall colors, especially some of the Western Larch which are so beautiful this time of the year. Also I enjoy playing off the ochres with a bit of blue for the shadow of the canyon, transitioning it with some of warmer greens and grays.

Cougar Peak #306

4.75" x 6.75" Gouache on Paper

As we get deeper and deeper into fall, the oranges and yellows continue to blaze like tongues of fire. I grabbed a bit of gouache, mixing in within it a bit of watercolor. I first worked up a quick sketch, then coming in over the top laying in some of the bigger shapes, finally adding details and working in some of those fall hues.

Cougar Peak #305

4.75" x 6.75" Acrylic on Illustration Board

Today's painting tries to capture that beautiful morning light as it crested up over the distant mountains and cut through the layers of clouds. The mountain had this cold dark feeling to it, and I contrasted it against the sunlight as it starts to cover the peak in it's warm rays.