Walter Taylor
Some watercolor paintings 2004.
Except as noted,
all paintings done plein-air, with
occasional studio touch-up. With one exception --
the fantasy on the Chama River --
they are half-sheet size (longer dimension of
painted area is about 20"). Thanks to Bill Lampe
for making the original digital photographs.
Click on each small image to bring up a larger version.
Mesa below Shadow Canyon, Late March
I have done this scene many times, but no two paintings
ever look the same. It was great to
open up spring.
Quince blossoms, April 4
Iris, Late May
The iris on the right was given me by Matt, from
his garden. Name unknown. This one features quinacridone
pigments (as do Chama and BV, below).
Rio Chama, New Mexico, June and September
At a place called Willow Creek. As the merganser flies, this
is about four miles downstream from Chris's house.
In June, there was a merganser family conducting their
business on the far side of the river (first painting).
The second painting
is a fantasy painted at home in Boulder after I returned in June.
The third was on-site in September. Notice that the water
level is much lower in September.
The river is not dammed upstream of this place, but it does
have disruptions such as field run-off and a
gravel mine.
Arkansas River, Buena Vista, Colorado, July
I spent four days at one spot on the side of this gorge,
right in the municipal River Park of BV (almost downtown). The
scene was so complex (to my eye) that I got no finished
painting on site. This is a studio work composed at
home from notes, photographs and sketches made on site.
I think I am finally understanding the scene and would
like to go back next year for another try.
Oregon Coast, near Yachats, July-August
Most of these were done from a lawn chair on the cliff
fifty or a hundred feet above the beach. If one descends
to the beach here (there is a steep stairway), one enters
a different world of sand, sea and cliff-vegetation, where
there is little discernible sign of human habitation.
The last one shows where the Yachats river enters the
sea near the town of Yachats.
Red Rocks Lake, August
It was so cool and wet this summer, that I did not reach
this spot until late August. It is about an hour's drive
from my house.