Oak Creek is full of life! This Sunday, it was teaming with people escaping the summer heat and cooling off in the chilly waters of Oak Creek. I particularly like finding abstracts in nature here. I found myself picking out these abstracts because I have recently started teaching Photo 1 at Yavapai College, which means I am lecturing on principles …

The day was overcast, rain threatened but it only sprinked briefly. The trailhead is via Sunset Trail off of Schultz Pass Road northwest of Flagstaff. The trail looped to the left through a couple year old burnout area and back up a steep hillside to descend back down through a lush forest. We experienced a 1,200 ft elevation change for …

Hurricane Ridge is just over 5,000 ft in elevation, about the same as Prescott. Hurricane Ridge had 36 feet of snow last winter, Prescott had (I guess) 12 inches. The flowers were plentiful, the air clear and blue. We were lucky to be able to see the entire range of mountains without the usual cloud cover. After wandering on Hurricane Hill, …

After a beautiful afternoon hiking in the rainforest, we drove to Rialto Beach to barbeque hotdogs and hike to the “hole in the rock”. It was a longer walk on the beach than it looked. It must have been one mile each way from the parking lot. Too bad, the tide was too high to walk through the hole in …

The highlight of our trip up to the Northwest was visiting the Olympic National Park. We camped 2 nights on the beach at La Push and did quite a bit of hiking. The first day, we arrived at Ruby Beach late in the afternoon. Afterwards, we drove a bit more to La Push to set up camp and witnessed a …

On a whim, my wife and I detoured to Bryce Canyon on our way up to the Northwest. It was well worth it! The cloudy skies allowed the sun peak through and highlight the canyon features, creating an awe-inspiring display. We only stayed for 2 hours and saw most of the major sights as well as hiking inside for a …

“February Storm Study” 9×12 oil, palette knife. I painted this in my art booth during the annual Phippen Museum art show on May 27th. This piece is being re-worked into a larger painting, 34×46.

Hiking around Lynx Lake in the evening during sunset is tranquil. Show up around 7:00, hike around, and watch the as the light fades. This hike is part of our summer tradition; I reccomend you make it yours too!

Summer plus Saturday equals hiking and swimming. I added Plein Air painting to our typical hike to Beaver Creek with mixed results. Painting outdoors is tricky I am finding out. I will share my completed painting soon… Otherwise, it was a warm/hot day, perfect for cool swimming and relaxing in the sun. my audience, nephews and niece out swimming hole …

My first ever Phippen Museum Western Art Show and Sale went really well! Everyone who stopped in to see my work had positive comments. Backing up… this show was juried and I was accepted/notified sometime in February. I wanted new paintings to show and completed 10 oils just for the show. I set up Friday night, May 25th, with the …