This is the view of Mount Shasta from Mount Ashland.

I’ve been working on this painting for a while now. I started it last year about this time on a plein air outing organized by artist Katy Cauker. Each year for the past several years she has organized a small group of artists to go out into the Cascade Siskiyou region to paint.

Mount Ashland is one of my favorite places to be - not just for painting. During the summer it’s an incredible place to cool off and see the best wildflower meadows around. In terms of painting, it is absolutely gorgeous, but has some challenges. One being that it can be a bit windy - mountain tops always seem to be a little windy. Another challenge is that it’s so big and broad. The views are incredible and huge. It’s not easily captured in a small sketch.

Last year I created this 12” x 16” plein air painting and took some photo references.

During the winter I worked the sketch into a very large (for me) studio landscape. (40” x 48”). I think it’s going fine, but I really want to get it up to Mount Ashland so I can assess color and dimensions in the flesh.

Oil on Linen, 40”x 48”, work in progress

So, next week I’m going to take this large piece up to the mountain with Katy and the group. I’m nervous - taking a large painting out to work in a potentially windy place is certainly a fool’s errand! It doesn’t fit on my easel, so I’ll turn it sideways in the back of my vehicle and just see how it goes… I may just have to make color studies, but it will be really useful to compare the two! I am excited to see how it goes! I’ll take pictures and give you an update. Stay tuned!