A friend and I went out a couple days ago to sketch some scenes in Yellowstone. Our first stop was among the tourists to paint the lower falls of the Yellowstone River. All these scenes are done in a sketchbook. I decided on a line and wash approach to this one. We spent about 90 minutes here in 5 degree C temperatures. Interrupted a few times by folks, but most were enthusiastic we were painting. We froze, so off to a visitor center to get coffee.

Next, off to Yellowstone Lake. Here, we faced 30 mph winds coming off the lake directly into our faces. We were lucky to have a picnic table to sit at. This is a two page spread to try and capture some of the vastness of the view.

Things dried immediately in the wind. I tried to capture a cloudy sky and white capped lake.

Having dealt with the wind, we were determined to get out of the wind. As it turned out, maybe not our best choice. We found a small stream in the woods that was protected from the wind. However, we were assaulted by hordes of mosquitos looking for our blood.

I decided to do a very small study of a few objects along the shoreline. Not my best work, as I struggled to get values dark enough in the shadows.

All in all, it was fun. I will be going out again in the near future.