Day 88 of My 90 Day Painting Challenge

Denali Glacier Flow

A number of these pieces I know I’ll paint them again — only larger. This is one of them. The flow of the glacier rivulets are fascinating on a number of levels. Visually, they way they wind through the landscape is enjoyable and intriguing. But I also find fascinating the makeup of these glacier rivulets. The water from the glaciers is filled with silt from years of grinding the earth. When the rivulets and the glaciers form rivers and lakes, their is no life: no fish, no plants. The water is filled with finely-ground particles and makes the water heavy. When we were canoeing through one of the glacier lakes, the rain bounced and skipped off the surface — like throwing a rock and skipping it across the water. It was odd to boat across a body of water and know that it was a “dead” lake.

One of our guides pointed out that the cliche of bears pulling fish out of the water doesn’t exist in Denali because there are no fish. The bears (for the most part – see yesterday’s post) are vegetarian.

I don’t know… for some reason, this all fascinates me. We are so used to water being life that when it doesn’t have life, it’s a little odd.

So… I have two more days of daily paintings! I’m sure I’ll keep this up, but it will be nice to hang out with my better half at night instead of blogging!