8×10” oil on hardbord

Early this year I snagged a backcountry permit for the Glacier Gorge site in Rocky Mountain National Park with the intention of making this plein air painting of Black Lake. At dawn, as I was drinking my coffee, my campsite was visited by a family of elk. The big bull, velvet hanging in strips off his antlers, was entirely too close for comfort but he didn’t seem so mind my presence.

I hiked up to Black Lake to catch the beautiful morning light as the waxing moon set over Chief’s Head Peak. I couldn’t get this painting to a place I liked before I had to leave, so I finished it up in the studio.