View From Grand Targhee – Alta, Wyoming

“Always behave like a duck — keep calm and unruffled on the surface but paddle like the devil underneath.”
– Jacob Braude



View From Grand Targhee – Alta, Wyoming
4″ x 6″  Watercolor Plein Air

Yes…. I braved the ski lift to ride 15 minutes, up to the top of Grand Targhee with my watercolors.  My knees were shaking, yet I was gasping out loud at the beauty of what I was seeing from up there.    This little painting does not do it justice.

About Jacob Braude

American judge and author Jacob Braude was a fount of humorous and inspirational stories and quotations, which he used to regale the courtroom in Cook County, Illinois, where he presided for more that 35 years. His books of sayings, including Speaker’s Encyclopedia of Humor and Braude’s Treasury of Wit and Humor, have been mined by toastmasters and lecturers for decades. He was born in 1896 and died in 1970.


 

PHOTO NOTE:

The last one is the view, looking the other way, toward the Tetons.  Yes, that’s snow!  The Chamber of Commerce guy in Driggs told me that they had to clear 8 feet of snow away at the Targhee Resort (at the bottom of this mountain), to prepare for their 4th of July festival!  That’s the resort, at the bottom of the ski lift.

Click on any of the images to enlarge.

Near Jackson Hole, WY Airport – 2009 – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

“Kind words are a creative force, a power that concurs in the building up of all that is good, and energy that showers blessings upon the world.”
–Lawrence G. Lovasik



Near Jackson Hole, WY Airport – 2009 – 4″ x 6″ Watercolor

This was the last thing I painted before I left Jackson in 2009.  Tomorrow, I will be back there.  YAY!!  I’m going to spend a few days with family and a few days on a solo painting retreat.  I am so ready for that! 

I was born in Laramie, WY, then lived all over the place.   My parents were born and raised in Idaho.  My brother ended up back there first, then my mother followed.  She has been there 20 years.   It’s very beautiful.   Bonus:   Tomorrow, in Eufaula, OK, it is supposed to be 109 F.  In Idaho, I’m going to be enjoying 82 F.  YAY!!!!

In looking for a biography on Lovasik, I found the book he wrote, titled “The Hidden Power of Kindness”.  I found the book on Amazon.com and saw the greatest review.  Check it out….. 

“I was recently on a pilgrimage to Rome. My pilgrimage director was so atrocious, had I not taken this wonderful book with it’s simple guides on charity, patience, and kindness, I would certainly have killed her. The simple pledges, and easily applied steps, helped me not only hold my tongue, but led me to enjoy what could have been an otherwise unbearable experience(…even though the surroundings were spectacular!) If you’re serious about improving your daily relations with the people you deal with, you have to read this book!”

“Strength of character means the ability to overcome resentment against others, to hide hurt feelings, and to forgive quickly.”
— Lawrence G. Lovasik

Fr. Lawrence G. Lovasik (1913–1986) said that his life’s ideal was to “make God more known and loved through my writings.” Fr. Lovasik did missionary work in America’s coal and steel regions, founded the Sisters of the Divine Spirit, a missionary congregation, and wrote numerous books and pamphlets emphasizing prayer and the Holy Eucharist.

Jenny Lake Watercolor

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”
– Will Rogers



Jenny Lake – 7″ x 10″ Watercolor on Masa

Jenny Lake is in the Grand Teton National Park, in Wyoming.  I took this picture when I was there in 2009.  I also sat on the edge of that lake and did some watercolor plein air paintings.  It was not as clear and bright as usual, because they had some fires north of the park and the smoke was making the sky hazy and the mountain views a little muted.

This painting was fun to do on the masa paper.  I figured I better practice painting mountains, since I’ll be back in the Tetons in a couple weeks and I intend to do a lot of plein air.  It’s going to feel so good to get into the cooler mountain air.  It was 114 degrees here yesterday, not counting the heat index.  Whew!

I tried to find some photos of Jenny Lake on the web and this is probably the best.  Most of the links went to the lodge and you don’t want to see a bunch of photos of a motel, right?

About Will Rogers

American humorist Will Rogers was considered the Mark Twain of his generation. He was born in 1879 in Oklahoma, of Cherokee descent, and left school early to become a cowboy. In South Africa his showy roping skills won him a job in a traveling Wild West show, and he quickly switched over to vaudeville and film acting roles. He wrote six books and 4,000 syndicated columns. An avid flier, he died in a plane crash in 1935.

Aspens Aglow - Sptember 29, 2009

Miracles are not altogether made out of dreams. Often they are put together out of plain, everyday, nonglamorous facts.

Norman Vincent Peale
Positive Thinking Every Day

Aspens Aglow
W&N Watercolor in my 5" x 8" Moleskine Travel Journal

Those aspens were glowing all around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I was fortunate enough to be there late enough to see them turn yellow, yet early enough to miss the first snow and cold weather. I painted this on my way to the airport Saturday morning. I actually took two hours going that 11 miles to the airport. It was just too beautiful to rush.