• NEW PAINTING(S)
     • SPECIAL EVENTS

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

"LONESOME LINE" shows an abandoned railroad line in
Hartsel, Colorado.   My wife and I came upon this scene while vacationing in 2009.  

   Lonesome Line      "Lonesome Line"             18 x 24 inch oil on canvas             © Jim Mossman

The two structures were swapped so the larger one would be nearer, enhancing perspective.   This also made it a "target"
for the storm with a cloud shadow pointing down to it and background verga also leading the eye to it.   For the mountains and foreground innumerable small but important changes were made in object placement, color and value to better reflect the impression that this lonely scene made upon us.


   Reference Photo

Not much had to be done with the storm clouds.   Nature provided most of the needed majesty.   Notice that the darker clouds that loom over the hill on the right hint at the shape of a large winged thunderbird.   When we moved on we found out just how much lightening and thunder that bird held (along with hail and torrents
of rain).

This standard guage line was built by the Colorado Midland Railroad.   Incorporated in 1883, it was nicknamed "the stockmen's railroad".   Originally running from Colorado Springs to Leadville,
it was later expanded to Aspen and Grand Junction.   First regular train service through Hartsel started in 1887 and served farms
and ranches there.   The steep grades on this line meant it could not economically compete with other routes for service from the front range to the western slope and there was not sufficent local traffic to sustain it.   The line was abandoned in 1918.   The track was torn up, probably being used on other lines or scrapped for World War II needs.   To conquer the grades powerful 2-8-0 Consolidated steam engines were used.   Also referred to as "Consolidation" engines, these had a pair of wheels on one axle in front, four driving wheels on each side and no wheels under the cab).   Some lighter service 4-6-0 engines and 0-6-0 switchers were also utilized on the line.

Looking at the painting one can almost hear the sound of a train whistle echoing across the valley and the chuffing of a steam engine as it comes into the station.

   Lonesome Line    



"BEGINNING OF WINTER" revisits a favorite place in Wyoming's
Big Horn Mountains.   The site is located just east of the Medicine
Wheel turnoff and the pullout area a bit beyond it.

   The Ogre
     "Beginning Of Winter"         14 x 18 inch oil on canvas        © Jim Mossman

The two paintings and their reference photos can be compared below.   The photos were taken from different angles and with different zoom lens settings, but they do depict the same area.    

  Paintings
   Paintings: "Beginning Of Winter" and "Big Horn Evening"          © Jim Mossman

  Photos
                           Reference photographs for the above paintings


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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:

April 1 - April 30, 2011
Rocky Mountain Regional Juried Exhibition
Carbon County Arts Guild
Red Lodge, MT
Jim's painting "Clear and Cold" awarded First Place

Jim and Kate in front of the painting at the RMRJE Reception
           First Prize
                      Photo courtesy of Carbon County Arts Guild  

June 11 - July 15, 2011
46th Annual Show
Cody Country Art League
836 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming

                                 Clear And Cold  
                             "Clear and Cold" © Jim Mossman
                 Lonesome Line The Ogre
                 "Lonesome Line" and "The Ogre"  © Jim Mossman

June - December 2011
Rotating Community Artwork Display
West Park Hospital
707 Sheridan Avenue, Cody, Wyoming

                                  Crested Butte Summer
                          "Crested Butte Summer" © Jim Mossman

       Five additional paintings are included in this display.

                                  
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