Hayden Valley Winter
Watercolor on Arches 140-lb CP paper
11" x 15" (28 x 38 cm)
©2010 Steve Penberthy
Some friends were telling me today about a vacation cabin in Montana that can be rented, and we started talking a little about perhaps going there in the summer. It made me think about Montana, specifically Montana in winter; I revisited a sketch I had done a couple of years ago of the Hayden Valley in Yellowstone, and painted it here as I imagined it might look in this cold time of year in the northern hemisphere.
I used a fairly limited palette on this one: ultramarine blue, perm. alizarin crimson, raw sienna, and burnt sienna. The greens for the trees were created from Payne's Gray mixed with New Gamboge (this makes a really nice earthy that works great for landscapes).
Hope you enjoy the painting!
