Young and Old Alike

young and old alike

Painting Details
Watercolor on 140 lb Arches archival paper
22 x 30 unframed
$1200 framed
 
Painted after hiking the Pacific Crest Trail at Harts Pass, in Washington's North Cascades. The Needle Creek fire burned both small-diameter young trees in even-aged stands and old giants like this gnarled, twisting and burled specimen. In many cases the fire burned them from the inside out, and their smooth white inner layers contrast with charcoal ribs.

As the climate warms, forest fires are becoming more frequent and catastrophic in the western United States. My deep anxiety with the impacts of climate change on wilderness are emerging in this series. Burned-over areas of forest are riveting. Unfamiliar tree forms are newly exposed. Formerly hidden terrain features become visible. Normal greens, blues and browns are transformed. All the worst fires of the last fifty years have occured in the last five years.

Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about any of my images. All represent original paintings, not reproductions. I have many more paintings than are shown on this site. And, since I frequently work in series, there may be additional views of the subjects shown here.