The basic sketch using oil pastels – Clarissa Rizal
I first heard about the beautiful Blanco River Basin from my friend, Nancy Vidal who has lived in Juneau, Alaska for nearly 40 years. When I moved to Pagosa Springs, Colorado 21 years ago, she said her family had a home in the Upper Blanco Basin. In fact, we met a a few folks who still live in the basin who grew up with Nancy and her family. A couple of days ago, I spent an afternoon with Dan in the Basin during a sunny, early Springtime day. Dan enjoyed his time photographing this awesome landscape while I did my very first landscape drawing. Such a fine day!
According to one of the few resident’s perspective of Square Top Mountain in the Blanco Basin, “…this is the front side of the mountain…”
I felt right at home here in the Basin with big mountains, some scarred with barren slopes of glacial markings and others covered with evergreens; the Blanco River ran clear and steady sparkling in the sun like Alaska on a rare sunny day.
The Upper Blanco River; Pagosa Springs, Colorado – when we compare the size of our rivers in Alaska to the size of the rivers here in the Southwest, we are reminded about how big everything is in Alaska.
In 99% of my photographs in my blog entries I do not use Photoshop to enhance colors or change my photographs. I am making note of this herein because the intensity of the blue skies in these photos indeed capture the nature intensity in these photos.
The Hare Ranch, Upper Blanco Basin, Pagosa Springs, Colorado – and yes, folks (especially those of us in the North Country), the sky is really that blue here in the Southwest…!
Supplies for on-site drawing: Nice folding wooden chair, drawing pad, oil pastels, water bottle and chips with a hand-woven basket to stash it all.
I totally forgot I have a portable easel that I could have used; oh well, there will be a next time because I have every intention of doing more “plen-air” landscapes this year! I love being outdoors in beautiful country in great weather, either gathering foods for winter, gathering supplies for weaving and now the bug of creating art images outdoors has gotten under my skin!