Hiking in Zion National park

The weather is so beautiful that I had to slip away this morning and go to my favorite spot -- Zion National Park. Because of the lower elevation the Cottonwoods are still rich with golden yellow leaves down in Zion Canyon. So I spent most of my tiime hiking along the North fork of the Virgin River sketching in my sketchbook and shooting a few photos. the weather was crisp early this morning but really warmed up once the sun rose over the canyon walls. I was surprised to see so many people in the Park today, but it was fun to see how each person discovers the canyon for themselves. There were the usual serious amateur pohtographers with their tripods and gear vests setting up in the usual locations trying to get the lighting just right. And of course there were the foreign tourists, all decked out in European hiking wear and shooting pictures of everything. Then there were the little families, kids scuffling their feet through the piles of leaves and dragging sticks along the river banks, while parents smiled at their wonder. Of course, the mule deer just go about their business, pretty much oblivious to the human traffic. I think the funnest thing is to listen to the chatter of the hikers just coming down from the rigorous and sometimes frightening hike up Angel's Landing. After that hike everyone feels like they've done something wonderful. I'm back in the studio now in the early afternoon, tired and energized by my time spent in another amazing part of God's creations.

New Lake Powell Painting

I just finished this painting today. I enjoyed the contrast of warms and cools in the rocks and water.

Art Books Presented at Southern Utah Watercolor Society Meeting

At the monthly meeting of the Southern Utah Watercolor Society tonight we enjoyed a presentation by Sue Cotter on methods of making "Art Books." I was amazed at the many methods of constructing these one-of-a-kind wonders. It looks like a fun way to prepare sketch books and travel journals. Pictured is Sue's handmade book called "Fossil Ridge." You can see more of her work at http://www.woodhengepress.com/

Snow, Jensen, and Reese Law Firm Purchases Roland Lee Painting

The Law Firm of Snow, Jensen, and Reese selected one of my largest watercolor paintings for their new offices in the Tonaquint area of St. George. They chose "Sagebrush Serenade" a watercolor painting of the red rock area near Snow Canyon in southern Utah. Jane Juber, the owner of The Mission Gallery, which handles my work, completed the sale today.

Watercolor Painting Workshop

We had a great group of artists at our November Watercolor Landscape Painting Workshop held at Passion for Painting Gallery the past two days. It's always fun to rub shoulders with those who have an interest in painting the landscape. This was an especially solid group of artists who picked right up on the techniques of Negative Painting or what I call Back-painting. Photo above: Back row - Mary Hardy, Glen Bessonette, Edith Austin, Roland Lee, Tina Scott, Betty Barnhart. Front - Glenda Caskey, Kami Taylor, and Shirley Pyper.

Watercolor Painting of Duck Creek

I did this little 8 x 12 painting last Friday just before leaving for a quick trip to northern Utah. The subject is a pastoral fishing lake on Cedar Mountain called "Duck Creek."

I used the painting as an example in a two-day workshop I'm teaching right now. I used my usual approach, beginning with a rough sketch, then working on 140 lb. Arches watercolor paper. I began with a simple sky with just enough interest to set the mood, but not overpower the foreground. Then I began simple washes on the background Aspens and the water.

I chose to darken the foreground in shadow to contrast with the glowing Aspens. The dark green Spruces helped to set off the golden leaves as well.

Click here for purchasing information on this painting of Duck Creek

Halloween Night Visitor

On Halloween night we had a scary experience. I left our front door open to watch for Halloween spooks, and we soon found a really scary visitor in our living room--a 3-foot long King Snake! Yikes! At first we thought it was a Halloween prank, but we soon realized it was real when it started to slither across the carpet with its tongue darting in and out. Well, we ushered him out the door, and I transferred him out to the desert behind our house where I thought he (and we) would be much happier. Desert creatures are commonplace around our home but this is our first snake encounter. I guess I won't leave the front door wide open for tricker-treaters again!

Painting of Southern Utah Cliffs

The weather has been so beautiful here the last few days, I have been dying to get out in the desert. So today I did the next best thing. I painted our wonderful southern Utah cliffs. This view is near the mouth of Snow Canyon. I love the way the sun lights up the cliffs and casts long purple shadows across the desert.

Click here for information on purchasing this Roland Lee painting of Southern Utah cliffs

Demonstration Painting of Desert Dance

This is the painting I started on Tuesday as a demonstration for the elementary school kids at the art museum. I really only got the sky and the sand laid in during the time I had with them, and pretty much painted the rest from my imagination. Of course I spend so much time in the red sands around St. George that a painting like this comes naturally to me. I especially like the soft colors in the sky which was created by letting the pigments mingle through a single wet in wet wash. The whole sky took about 5 minutes.

Museum Talk to High School Leadership Students

I was invited to speak to three groups of high school students at the St. George Art Museum today. The students were part of a special Leadership Program sponsored by Pine View High School. Earlier in the day they had participated in a downtown historical tour of St. George to learn about the pioneers who had come before them. They ended the tour at the St. George Art Museum which was built from an old Sugar Beet Warehouse adjacent to the newly restored Pioneer Opera House. I explained to them that we owed a great debt to those who had gone before us, and we can learn from the past as we prepare to be leaders in the future. I showed them a painting of the old St. George Pioneer Opera House that I had done, showing how the scene may have looked in the late 1800's. I also showed my travel sketchbooks, explaining how important it is to record our own thoughts and feelings about our experiences. They were fascinated by the sketchbooks. As they left I gave each student a box of Art Cards featuring my paintings. It was a good group of intelligent and well-behaved students.