In Shoshone Cabin at The YMCA of the Rockies, I left a painting above the fireplace.
I wonder if it’s still there.
Colorado is one of my all-time favorite places in America. Growing up in the flatlands of Iowa, I was always super excited when our parents would take me and my brother on a family vacation to the Rocky Mountains. After my sophomore year in college, a friend and I drove 17 hours from Eastern Iowa to Dillon, Colorado, to work at the only McDonald’s restaurant in Summit County. (During that ‘working vacation’ in the summer of 1985, I once subsisted for an entire week on nothing but McDonald’s food, predating the movie “Super-Size Me” by almost 20 years!) By the end of that week, I became violently ill—I’ve yet to fully recover from that experience. But that’s a story for another time.
View from Shoshone Cabin, YMCA of the Rockies. 2019. Oil on canvas. 16 x 20 in.
The reflective shine on the far right of the painting shows a very wet canvas.
In June, 2019, the Marlow family spent a week just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park, at the iconic YMCA of the Rockies resort near Estes Park, Colorado. I brought along my French easel, with the hope of doing some ‘plein air’ painting. Plein air painting, which is the French expression for “in the open air” is all about getting out of the studio to paint or draw in the landscape.
My brother Pat flew in from Missouri to join us, and Betsy invited her friend Delaney, an accomplished painter herself and someone who had never been to the mountains before our western expedition. We stayed so busy that I did not break out the oil paints until the last day of our adventure. I started painting a few hours before sunset. Working quickly, I painted the view from the front window of our cabin. The changing light and sky made it difficult, but I was able to rough-in the basic composition.
Our view from Shoshone Cabin, June 14, 2019.
Rarely do I get the opportunity to paint ‘alla prima’ (Italian, meaning ‘first attempt’). Alla prima is a one-layer painting technique in which the painting is completed in one sitting or while the paint is still wet. Painting plein air or alla prima can be a challenge, because the light is constantly changing. It’s also difficult to keep the oil colors from turning to mud. It’s not a technique I prefer, however it was a good artistic exercise for me. My style of painting often involves applying paint in multiple layers, allowing time for the layers to dry. When painting alla prima with oils, you do not have that luxury of time.
I finished the painting around midnight. We planned to leave for Iowa at 6:00 am the next day. The painting would never be dry enough to travel, so I made a decision. I signed the painting and hung it above the fireplace in our cabin. In the cabin guestbook, I made the following inscription:
“June 18, 2019— Greetings from the Marlow Family! The painting you see above the fireplace was painted by me for all to enjoy. It features a view towards Long’s Peak, as seen from the picture window of this cabin, looking south. We are leaving this painting here as a gift, so that future visitors may appreciate it and this beautiful place.
It is my hope that one day we will return to this cabin and see this painting again.
—All the best, Paul Marlow”
It was an interesting experience to paint something, and give it up, without thought of compensation. It reminded me that whenever we create something, we give it up to the world and hope that it is appreciated, admired and loved. Even things we create for ourselves, we cannot keep forever. It is a liberating thought.
Though not my greatest work, that little canvas will always remind me of our carefree time in the mountains—like hiking around Bear Lake and Lily Lake, white-knuckle driving on Trail Ridge Road at 12,183 ft, listening to John Denver and Enya while driving through Big Thompson River canyon, playing miniature golf in the dark and pitching horseshoes by the cabin.
If you’re planning to vacation in Colorado, I highly recommend YMCA of the Rockies. If you stay in the Shoshone Cabin, take a selfie with the painting and send it my way.
It will be interesting to see if it’s still hanging above the fireplace.
Brother Pat relaxes on the deck, while Delaney and Betsy look on.