Deerfly Diaries

Nothing like a puff on cigarrette gets young ladies going in the mountains

LUCKY STRIKE, GIRL WITH SNOWSHOES
Originally uploaded by George Eastman House

Can't say that it ever worked for me to smoke cigarettes before or after a workout. Regardless of the unhealthy message that this Lucky Strike advertisement sent thousands of unsuspecting young women back in 1936, it is a darn cool photograph. They nailed the "sexy sells" concept. You gotta love the vintage mountain look.

We got a fresh dump of snow over the weekend. The mountains came alive again today and finally winter is in the air. 

Roaring Fork Rainbow Trout Watercolor

Here's an update from my art studio, a.k.a. the other side of my desk.

Roaring Fork Rainbow Trout

Original watercolor

Arches 140 lb. cold press paper

10" x 14" 

More fish watercolor painting

There is a fish obsession going on in our household.  Glenn ties flies all night in preparation for his next day on the water.  Meanwhile, I play with water and pigment in an attempt to capture these beautiful creatures on paper. 

Here's an experiment with color, inspired by the bluegills I used to catch as a kid on Cazenovia Lake, NY with my mom, dad and sister.  We'd head to the north end of the lake and all pack into our aluminum canoe. Us kids would have little spinning rods. Dad usually threw flies. We used fat night crawlers we'd pick in the backyard which I now realize gave us a distinct advantage.  But back then I thought it was pretty cool when we'd catch more fish than dad.

Next week I'll be taking a five day watercolor class at Colorado Mountain College in Aspen.  The instructor is Lee Shapiro.  I can't remember the last time I made art all day every day.

Images of spring in Carbondale, Colorado

The recent snowfall has blanketed the slopes in fresh white sheets, but there is no denying that spring is in the air.  Take a walk and it fills your senses.  Go closer to the local calving pastures and it fills one sense more than the others. 

Here are some images I captured over the last week.  Enjoy.

Prior to the snowfall, it seemed like summer was just around the corner.

A red-winged blackbird finds a meal in the cattails.

The muskrat takes a morning swim.

Mountain bluebirds flock in the hawthorn trees.

Wild turkeys scavenge for insects and seeds in the duff.

A Canada goose flushes from the snowy brush.

My Fish Art

I enjoy painting trout from our local waters.  Here are a few watercolors I recently painted.

 Roaring Fork Rainbow, watercolor

Brown Trout, Colorado River, watercolor

Happy Brookie, watercolor