August 22nd, 2026
Finished Dream Lake plein air painting
Day trips to Rocky Mountain National Park have started to feel like a bit of a delicacy to me with the chaos of life right now, and as soon as I knew I had a day off, every spare second was planned around 2 paintings and a 3 AM wakeup call. I got ready in the downstairs bathroom so as to not wake up my husband, and packed all of my gear the night before to allow myself as much travel time and peace of mind as possible.
My gear included my homemade wet painting carrier and Guerrilla Painter (R) tripod and pochade box.
Funny enough, I set a goal this summer of painting all 5 lakes and 1 waterfall at RMNP. But every time I come up to dream lake, my heart stops and the only thing I want to do is try and capture its beauty as I’m seeing it. So, I completed my second plein air painting of Dream Leak instead of pursuing Nymph, Bear, or Emerald.
Dancing shadows across the west rock face
One of the most difficult characteristics about Dream Lake is also what makes it so breathtaking - the massive mountain peaks in front and around. As the sun progresses across the sky, the shadows on the south side of the rock face travel further and further towards the center. As you can see in the attached photo, there was almost no shadow to work with when I first arrived. If you follow me on Instagram, I made a reel showing a bit of the behind-the-scenes, and you can see me continually edit and drag the shadow as time progresses.
There’s something about being out in nature at one of the most beautiful spots in the world that makes everyone I interact with genuinely kind. I talked with so many wonderful hikers, artists, kiddos… and was able to explain the value of the plein air process.
Though I was grateful for my windbreaker on the way up, about an hour into painting I was pulling it off and resorting to a sunburn instead. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and it’s seriously one of the most peaceful experiences where I can completely lose myself in the majesty of God’s creation.
