Oct 19, 2022, Wed — Day three on the trail, as in Aspen Trail. Looking good! I had the interesting experience in my ultra focus on this scene, which is a 50-foot section of the trail to the base of Capitol Mountain, of noticing that the trunks are actually orange in places. It was so weird how I didn’t identify this color right away. I saw it was warm, but it hit me today that it is actually orange. Which makes sense as it’s from the reflection of the trail, which is through a deposit of red rock, and so the powdery soil of the trail itself is also reddish.
It is so interesting how aspen look so different depending on their environment because the white bark picks up the colors around it. Because this trail is cutting through a copse, it’s mostly shady. The shaded bark has so many colors! Green, blue, yellow, and purple (and as you get closer to the ground) there are warm orange highlights. The leaves are still green, so this warm tone is definitely from light bouncing off the trail itself. Interesting that I chose a bright warm orange for the underprint probably due to this subliminal highlight.
I have some photos from deep in aspen forests during foliage season, where the trunks are a glowing fluorescent green gold, separated by bands of equally fluorescent yellow. Stunning! All the eye can see are vertical bands of color, green gold, yellow, green gold, yellow. With “eyes” everywhere. It’s already abstract art!
The “eyes” are so weird to paint. They seem natural in the woods, but on the canvas, there’s nuance involved to reduce creep factor. It can even be creepy painting them. Are they watching me paint? Judging me? Haha, just kidding. But it’s true about the creepiness. I touch them up right away if one of them is too human looking.
Alright, getting off the DayThree on the Trail. Setting up my tent for the night. I wish. Goodnight Moon, goodnight readers. If you’ve already signed up yourself, please sign up a friend for the Art Giveaway! More aspen there!
