Old Stagecoach Road Stream

24x36, acrylic on canvas, © 1989
Collection of the Artist

This subject was taken on a trip to Colorado Springs to see my brother. Our family went up to Pikes Peak and on one road—Old Stagecoach Road—we saw this scene. It was just right—the light I mean. This was the last one that I painted at Halsey with Tim Saska. He demonstrated some of the foliage in the middle ground. A principle that he taught here was that you have to have areas of darkness so that the viewer has somewhere to go in the painting. He also added some of the colors from the foreground into the trees to harmonize the painting. I also remember finishing it at home after the workshop.

A fellow who came to our house for dinner was talking to me about what I did. I told him, and I said that I painted also. He said, "Oh, what do you paint?" I said, "Well, I painted this one." He got up and took a closer look at the brush work. He said that he had wondered why I had a "cardboard" painting in the home. I took that as a compliment.