This is by far my largest watercolor to date, and it was such a rewarding challenge to work on. The piece was a commission, where the collector asked me to create an aspen scene. After presenting a few options, we settled on this direction, and I began to explore the idea in depth.

As I painted, I found myself reflecting on what makes nature so beautiful and how I could translate that beauty into a truly immersive experience for the viewer. Rather than focusing on a specific focal point or subject within the scene, I chose to center the piece on the sensation of being surrounded by the fall foliage of an Aspen grove.

Through careful attention to texture and color, my goal was to evoke the feeling of walking through the grove, allowing the viewer to imagine themselves enveloped in the vibrant colors and patterns of the trees. This approach is part of my ongoing exploration, and I plan to carry this idea further in a new series I’m calling The Space Between, which will focus on the emotional journey through the trees, rather than simply the final destination.

In this series, I simplify the skull shapes of endangered species into my signature stained glass window design. I overlay this window onto the creatures' natural habitats, obscuring the landscapes beyond. The perspective is imagined from within a man-made dwelling that has ironically displaced these beings from the land that was once their home.

I use my signature window design to reimagine the man-made ski lifts that obscure once-untouched landscapes. While these structures provide access to previously inaccessible terrain, they also detract from the natural beauty of the view.

This was my first solo show, and am very happy with how it turned out. It forced me to prep and curate a body of work to fill a relatively large space. I sold several original pieces as well as a few prints.

Mt. Olympus won 6th place in the professional category at the Utah State Fair. This piece was also given the merit award by the Utah Watercolor Society. Overall I was impressed with the quality of work that showed up at this competition, I think I'll step it up next year!