paintandsimple

  
I have met a lot of CDT hikers this summer, thru-hikers are fun people to share an afternoon and a beer with.  They gain strength and wisdom on the trail that is awesome to be a part of.

 This is a friend I met at the ranch, hiking the AT, and a bit from his journal.

“I know the memories will fade. The trip will be defined in our favorite photographs and a cool slide show. The texture and nuance of what the AT has been will fade. But what will never fade is the relationships that have been forged over 2,000 miles of hiking. The AT is about people. It is about a shared struggle. When it’s all said and done, that’s what life is when it is at its best. A shared struggle with people you love.”

-Gumby & Coyotebec

To see what they have been up to since their return home, go to http://www.packandpaddle.blogspot.com

 
5″x7″ pastel on sanded paper 

  
7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper  

  
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper
“The days you work are the best days.”

-Georgia O’Keeffe

  
10″x8″ oil, song, and cottonwood blossom on panel

I painted this plein air.  Just inside the window where I was seated, was the Ghost Ranch choral performing a wonderful concert, masterfully arranged by David Poole.  My painting was filled with beautiful music and interesting history about the land.

  
7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper.  Plein air, Ghost Ranch, chimney rock

“SPLENDOR of ended day, floating and filling me! 

Hour prophetic–hour resuming the past! 

Inflating my throat–you, divine average! 

You, Earth and Life, till the last ray gleams, I sing. ”

-Walt Witman

SPLENDOR of ended day, floating and filling me! Hour prophetic–hour resuming the past! 

Inflating my throat–you, divine average! 

You, Earth and Life, till the last ray gleams, I sing. 

-Walt Witman

 
7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper

 “The thing to do, it seems to me, is to prepare yourself so you can be a rainbow in somebody else’s cloud…be a blessing to somebody.”

-Maya Angelou

 
10″x8″ pastel on sanded paper

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
J. R. R. Tolkien

 7″x5″ pastel on sanded paper

 “Sunset is still my favorite color, and rainbow is second.”

-Mattie Stepanek