Enchantments Larches

Enchantments Larches

Watercolor and Ink on Paper. 

22.5 x 30 inches.

This original painting is signed by the artist. 

I painted this over four days backpacking in the Enchantments of Washington. 

I carried this paper around for 4 days, 22 miles and 7000 ft.

On the second night we camped at Enchantment lake by McClellan Peak and I began to paint. I painted through sunset as the sky turned pink and dark purple. It was so cold my paint froze as I applied it to the painting. At the end of the night I had a thick layer of ice across my paper. I ran my fingers across it and it felt like a frozen pond. All the larches were golden yellow.

By morning the ice had melted and dried, leaving ice patterns in the paint of the sky. I strapped the finished painting to my pack to finish the hike out through Asgard Pass.

On the hike out, I took a fall between two icy boulders. This painting wedged me between two rocks, keeping me from slipping all the way down the slabby ramp. I was able to crawl out of my backpack onto sure footing, and remove the wedged pack and painting from the rocks where it was stuck. It left only a tiny wrinkle in the top left of the painting, but it probably saved me some serious scrapes! I never thought my art would double as climbing protection, but I sure do like that idea:)