New Work, Finally

Not having a dedicated space really isn't an excuse not to paint. I just have to do some rearranging and a bit more clean up now that I live in an apartment. I hadn't painted at all in Montana yet and figured it was about time to do something creative, so yesterday I set out to paint a scene I photographed on a recent trip to Glacier National Park. The waterfall I painted is in Avalanche Gorge on the way up to Avalanche Lake, itself a spectacular site.

I set up in a corner of our living/dining room on a bench. As usual, I first taped the pastel surface to a board. In my situation, leaning the surface up against the wall was the best way of supporting the painting. I sat on the same supporting bench and spread out pastels all around me on whatever flat surfaces I could enlist for the task. The painting took about three hours to make and measures 19x27 inches.

This was a good reminder to me of how easily external constraints can be overcome or worked with. It's good to remember that to make any art requires sacrifice and as your conditions change so does the nature of the sacrifice. I'm glad now to live in such a beautiful state with its many natural wonders to inspire a new body of work.

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