• NEW PAINTING(S)
     • SPECIAL EVENTS

NEW PAINTING(S) - Along with Jim's comments about them:

"THE OGRE" is another painting of a Yellowstone National Park
scene.   It pictures Electric Mountain from the Loop Road near
Swan Lake.   While I didn't set out to make this mountain into

   The Ogre
     "Uneasy Spring"          10 x 14 inch oil on canvas panel        © Jim Mossman

an ogre, it was my intent to add drama to the scene.   As the
painting progressed, the mountain seemed to evolve into a
mis-shapen, white-cloaked ogre rising before the storm, some-
thing I did not at first see in the photograph of the scene.  

   Source Photo  The Painting
          November 2009 Photograph and July 2010 Painting © Jim Mossman

The photo tends to have similar values and similar colors from
the near foreground to the middle distance, flattening out the
scene.   I wanted to enhance the looming closeness of the
mountain and clouds, so it was important to introduce depth
from the foreground through the middle distance via changes
to value and color.   In the photo the foreground sagebrush
and hill tend to act as a stop to eye travel.   Therefore, a few
foreground objects were changed to provide visual guides into
the painting.   This view lies just a short distance north of that
shown in the painting "Uneasy Spring".

"UNEASY SPRING" is a story of change.   (Note: to see how this
story was painted, click here.)   Has spring really arrived, or
does the sky portend the return of winter?   But there is more
than just seasonal change portrayed here.   Young evergreens

   Uneasy Spring
     "Uneasy Spring"          16 x 24 inch oil on canvas panel        © Jim Mossman

are shown coming up among those destoyed by fire.   In turn,
they will succumb to fire and/or bark beetles, as in the infected
trees appearing behind them to the left.  

The elk are changing their behavior and the reproductive rate
for that portion of the northern elk herd that still migrates has
fallen significantly.   Is it just because of the reintroduction of
wolves?   Is the increase in the grizzly population throughout
the Greater Yellowstone Area responsible, or are the bears
just changing their behavior because of the effect of fire and
disease on their food supply?   Have the years of drought
finally taken their toll?  

How do all these things interact?   We are uneasy as we really
just begin to cope with identifying natural change and a role for
ourselves in it that does not endanger our natural way of life.  
For us it is indeed an uneasy spring.

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SPECIAL EVENTS - Here are the current and upcoming
exhibitions and auctions where Jim's work is or will soon
be on display:

Sunday, September 5, 2010 (Labor Day Weekend)
Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction - 15th Anniversary
Rist Canyon, County Road Rte 52E
West of Bellvue, Colorado

                               Montana Spring
                           "Montana Spring" © Jim Mossman

       Jim is very pleased to be included in this fun event again.
       The preview opens at 10:00 a.m. and the Live and Silent
       Auctions start at 1:00 p.m. (benefit of the Rist Canyon
       Volunteer Fire Department).   A Mountain Festival during
       the day will feature live music and entertainment from
       11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.   For directions click here.

September 11 - December 19, 2010
Impressions of New England
Bennington Center for the Arts
West Road at Gypsy Lane, Bennington, Vermont

                                 Clear And Cold  
                             "Clear and Cold" © Jim Mossman

       This is the second Vermont landscape of Jim's to be shown
       back in that state.   The reference photo was taken some
       decades ago.   Hopefully the farm and fields still exist.

August - September 2010
Rotating Community Artwork Display
West Park Hospital
707 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming

                                  Southfork Storm Front
                          "Southfork Storm Front" © Jim Mossman

       Also included in this display are "County Road Eighteen",
      "Pelican View" , "Late Day In A Northfork Fall", "Remnants
      Of A Storm"
and "Old Ones' Trace".

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