28 of 75

|

canvas prints tree canvas prints mountain canvas prints landscape canvas prints rocks canvas prints flames canvas prints smoke canvas prints fire canvas prints wildfire canvas prints wildland fire canvas prints firefighter canvas prints firefighting canvas prints burning canvas prints burned canvas prints ecosystems canvas prints disturbance canvas prints

paintings tree paintings mountain paintings landscape paintings rocks paintings flames paintings smoke paintings fire paintings wildfire paintings wildland fire paintings firefighter paintings firefighting paintings burning paintings burned paintings ecosystems paintings disturbance paintings

Add This Artwork to Your Favorites Collection

Comment

Add This Artwork to Your Favorites Collection

Comment

This was inspired by a distant photo of a fire running up a ridge in a “stringer” of trees next to a
scree slope, high in the western mountains. I started with a bright mix of colors in the rocks,
and then created texture with watercolor pencils. There is a lot of texture overall in this painting
because the undercoating of gesso was purposely applied to paper, creating ridges and bumps.

I love making art, but my day job is wildland firefighting. I fell backwards into fire management after earning a degree in Forestry. Most of the summer, I travel to fire assignments, predicting fire spread and behavior one day or several weeks in advance with the goal of helping managers make good decisions about ongoing wildfires. I've held positions in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, the Bitterroot National Forest in Montana, in Christchurch New Zealand, and Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Fire behavior prediction involves fire science, knowing the 'art' of fire, and some computer wizardry. Wildfire can indeed be destructive, but in the natural environment, fire means renewal, regrowth, and a diverse landscape patchwork. My...