The Needles Highway in the Black Hills is a must for any traveler or climber. We visited this highway twice because the rock formations were intriguing. I am working to simplify forms and capture a good sense of design. Here is my study of the famous Eye of the Needle rock formation. This is done in watercolor and gouache with hot pink Opera as an underpainting. In some ways, it reminds me of Georgia O’Keeffe’s skull paintings. 
The Eye of the Needle
Billy Goat Not so Gruff
Along the Needles Highway, we stopped to watch five mountain goats grazing on what appeared to be Curly Burdock leaves. Here is my rendering of a Billy Goat Tender, the polar opposite of Billy Goat Gruff.
Black Hills Studies
I just returned from a hiking/painting vacation in the Black Hills of South Dakota, along with a little detour to Devil’s Tower, Wyoming. I am inspired by God’s beauty in this part of the country. While desolate and dry in many locations, it is uniquely beautiful in its quietude and simplicity. Waking up early in Wyoming and going out on the porch of Sawin’ Logs Bed and Breakfast, I was able to carve in my memory the delicate pink grapefruit sky above three deer grazing. It was so perfectly still and a reminder that we, too, as artists, need to be still, to truly appreciate and capture moments like these. On the Wildlife Loop, we came upon hundreds of bison in the fields and on the road. When we came upon this one, Paul had a name for him, but I can’t remember- it was so perfect. I’ll call him Wooly Bully until I remember.
Wooly Bully Study