I’ve had fun painting the Boulder flatirons from the large open area of Chautauqua park. In 2021 I painted a few flatiron paintings en plein air in gouache.

I’m using the paintings I made en plein air to create oil paintings in the studio of the flatirons. I also go up to the flatirons every now and then to catch the sunset. It’s the most colorful part of winter.

It’s been fun to do this as a way to get back in to oil. My usual mountain subject is Mt. Elbert over Leadville, and I’m enjoying figuring out the flatirons as painting subjects as well, they are very fun to figure out.

I’ve also painted higher up in Chautauqua park, it can be challenging to hike up with an easel, and it is fun to paint the sunset there, especially in June and July, when large rainclouds appear across the front range.

What is great about this area is that in the summer and the winter, there are many layers to paint. Even the area in front of the rock formations is interesting and full of waves and lines.

Here are a few of my photos of the flatirons in the summer also, it’s fun to see the poppies and various other flowers around Chautauqua.

What I personally like to do with the flatirons is paint them a bit plein air, then take the plein air paintings back to the studio to rework and add details. This way I get the energy of plein air and also the focus I need to really nail down the trees, grass, and edges of everything.