JOSEPH BURROUGH
© Copyright 2005, Joseph E. Burrough, III Fine Art
"Willow Flats Study"
Oil on Canvas Panel
12" X 16"
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“Willow Flats Study” Grand Teton National Park, May 24, 2005
This was a spectacular view -- the one I think of whenever the Tetons are mentioned. It’s 8 miles from where I stood to the base of Mount Moran (10-1/2 to the peak). There’s a deceptively huge distance across Willow Flats to the edge of Jackson Lake. Lots of sagebrush and Willow Trees. To give you a sense of scale, I saw two tiny distant animals in the light-green grassy meadow half-way up the foreground of the painting. I was told by others with me (who live in Wyoming) that this was a coyote chasing an elk. So I painted them in my little study. You can't really see them in the image above, so I've enlarged them below. They look like two faint specks about a quarter-inch apart!
Detail of Coyote Stalking an Elk.
The wind was strong and steady all day. (I can see where nearby Gros Ventre got its name–early French trappers named it so, translation: “Great Wind”.) I’m standing here amidst waist-high sagebrush on a bank that’s about 30’ high overlooking the plain of Willow Flats. The wind would rush up the bank and hit my french easel all day bouncing the canvas panel so hard I had to hold it steady with my free hand! I think it was well worth all the hassle as this was probably my favorite painting of the whole week.