I did this pen-and-ink drawing with watercolor at a restaurant in Wengen, Switzerland, in 1980. I was 16 years old, and just figuring out how to do pleinair on location, with a pen. 

The Range, pen-and-ink drawing direct, 1983

I did this drawing after coming home from a long bike ride. When I put the bike against the side of the house, I noticed the juxtaposition of the seat with the flowers and decided on the spot to do a pen-and-ink drawing. I was…

I was 20 when I did this drawing, having used my bike to get to Chautauqua Park in Boulder, where I did this pleinair drawing, direct in pen-and-ink. 

Another example of direct pen-and-ink while on a wilderness excursion; I was 20. This time I had ridden my bike from my parents’ house in Los Alamos to a trailhead far below, and then hiked up to these cliffs that rise above the main hill…

In August of 1986, I was 22, heading back up to the University of Colorado in Boulder for another semester of school. I needed a break when I got to Poncha Pass, about 4 hours north of Los Alamos. I realized that my Volkswagen with…

This drawing of rocks was a pleinair experiment, and it took months to complete. I was living in Oakland, California at the time, following my around-the-world trip. Every morning before my job landscape gardening, I would make small additions to this still-life using stipple, directly…

In 1988, when I was 24, I went on an around-the-world trip, bringing my paper, pencils and Rapidigraph pen with me. Since I was backpacking around, my art materials needed to be as lightweight as possible. Thereforem my paper was 8″X5″. While exploring the south…

I did this drawing when I was 26 years old. I was on a backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada range, in Matterhorn Canyon. At the time, my backpacking art gear consisted of small paper about 9″X6″, and a pencil. This made carrying it all…

This is one of my early forays into pleinair painting. In the early 90’s, I lived on 17th street in Boulder, directly across from this structure. I believe I did a quick pencil sketch first, and then worked out the color scheme in acrylic. At…

In the mid-90’s I was still carrying around a small sketchbook and pencils wherever I went.  One day in March of that year I was skiing in Crested Butte, CO; It was towards the end of the day, and I found myself alone, as my…

This drawing, done on location in No Thoroughfare Canyon in Colorado National Monument, is an example of doing pleinair art while on a backpacking trip in a remote location.  I was on a trip in this beautiful area of Colorado with my two friends Dave…