Nifty Piks – Photos and Art

Boulder is the type of place, that whenever I leave... I'm always happy to return. No matter if it was a day trip to the mountains, or an overseas adventure for weeks, the Flatirons are always a sight for sore eyes. This is my rendition of the Flatirons from Marshall Mesa, looking Northwest...(of course there's some super-psychedelic butterflies and hairy purple flowers thrown into the mix for kicks) This piece completes the compass for me, so-to-speak. I have drawn the Flatirons from the west, north, east, and now, the south... it all tends to come full-circle as I find myself diggin this place as much as I did the day I first moved here...

Despite being named after one of the most famous wizards, my dog Merlin doesn't know many magic tricks or spells... although he can make a piece of pizza disappear right before your eyes! He's got an amazing life for a dog, and really only cares about three things, chasing rabbits, squirrels, tennis balls, sticks...(basically anything that's running or being thrown), eating, and sleeping. I tried to incorporate some of those things into this portrait...except for the eating, but you can imagine that he just finished his biscuits, and now he's sleeping it off... This is the first painting I have done in almost 8 years, so it was challenging to get back into it, but really rewarding. I am stoked on how it turned out, and I'm excited to see where it goes from here...

The Boulder Creek Festival is the biggest event of the year in Boulder. Thousands of people gather to celebrate the beginning of summer along the creek. What is normally a peaceful creek-side path great for walking the dog or just chillin out becomes an all-out circus for three full days over Memorial Day Weekend...with hundreds of artists, vendors, dancers, musicians, carnival rides, turkey legs, and beer tents, it's a spectacle not to be missed. The culmination of the festival is it's main attraction... The Great Duck Race. I have always thought this was a ridiculous, but awesome idea. We are talking about thousands of rubber ducks dumped off the 9th St. bridge, which are then cheered on by their respective (sponsor) parents as they float down the creek. The whole event is for charity with the proceeds being donated to the Boulder EXPAND Program. They have race course officials and finish line judges to monitor the whole shebang.. it's kind of a big deal. So I thought, what better way to celebrate my first year contributing to the festival than a crazy drawing of the rubber ducks?... "Over the Falls" is my tribute to the Boulder Creek Festival, The Great Duck Race, and the amazing summers in Boulder.

As you drive west from Boulder into the canyon, there are two turnoffs about halfway up. To the north is Sugarloaf Rd., where I lived for the past two years, and to the south is Magnolia Rd. Us Sugarloafians used to jokingly refer to Magnolia as "The Dark Side". The road is steeper, the turns are sharper, the cliffs are more vertical, and the ice in the winter is beyond treacherous. Overall, Magnolia is just burly, but always worth the voyage when you reached the top. Just as the road levels off, some friends of mine had a house overlooking the Twin Sisters and Forsythe Mountain. They used to host mini festivals with bands, beer, and all-around good times for all. I can remember several nights watching the moon rise from the east with the gentle glow of Boulder far below... always a soothing sight.

All aboard the Psychedelic Safari! It was only a matter of time really, first giraffes, then camels, zebras, and now the grand-daddy of them all...the elephant.

I started drawing this piece on December 21st... the winter solstice, and the longest night of the year. This year, it happened to be a full-moon. I have also always been intrigued by owls, they are so mysterious and elusive. Living in a relatively secluded spot in the mountains, I have been lucky enough to see a couple this winter. So here we have the longest night, the fullest moon, and the some super-sneaky night owls...

Sometimes it's hard to explain imagination. There's no limits or boundaries Characters and situations often occur without rhyme or reason...it's a lot like dreaming. I'm not exactly sure what compelled me to draw these blue jays and their birdhouse, but the image was very clear in my head, and I didn't stop to challenge or question it. Plus I'd only be arguing with myself, and who's going to win that one?

I received a ceramic cheshire cat as a gift a few years ago. It lives in my studio and I have always liked it's energy. Alice in Wonderland is a favorite story of mine, and a huge influence on my artwork. I also have "Six Bird Hunters in Full Camouflage" by James Christensen hanging in my house which certainly played a part in the direction of this piece. I felt the time had come to tie these influences together. I wanted to give a different spin to the Cheshire Cat character. In Alice in Wonderland, he is mischievous, almost menacing... this one is a little more friendly and forgiving. I also really enjoy the classic dichotomy between a cat and a goldfish. The fish always seems so helpless against the huge cat, but cats usually hate water, and therefore can't really get after the fish. It's a peculiar relationship. I wanted to create a delicate tension between the cat and fish that accentuates this situation, yet remains in a perfect balance. The cat looks so harmless with it's sheepish grin, like it couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a fish...yet, is he really? or is it all just for show? And the goldfish, he should be terrified in his position, but he has this arrogant, sort of cocky grin like he has nothing to fear and is on top of the world. Are these two friends? Or enemies? I'll let you be the judge...

In my last 5 or 6 drawings, I have noticed a serious progression of swirls and circles. Pretty much every line I draw, somehow ends up in a swirl or a circle. Even the lines that are somewhat straight...eventually go round in the end. Every time I start a new drawing, I try and expand on what I did in the one before, and with this piece I wanted to push the swirls and circles as far as they could go. What could be swirlier than an octopus? For a step-by-step explanation on how I created this piece, please visit my blog... http://www.phillewisart.com

There is something about Giraffes that I find facinating. They are such huge animals, yet they are so mellow. Not out to cause a scene, they just hang out in the shade and munch leaves all day. What is a giraffe really? Part horse, part Koala Bear? Long necks, big ears, horns??? Whatever the case, I find them interesting. I also have these African giraffe sculptures I often find myself staring at. They have moved with me everywhere I have lived in the past few years, and they always make the place feel like home. The Giraffe Project is a tribute to my giraffe sculptures, and giraffe lovers everywhere.

I have lived in many amazing places throughout my life, most of which have been very inspiring visually. Usually after about a year I get this urgent feeling to create a piece of artwork that captures my daily surroundings. For the past year I have been living in the mountains just west of Boulder, CO below Sugarloaf Mountain. The Sugarloaf Community is nestled beneath the mountain and has a fairy tale quality that is very much the "Quintessential-Colorado". Most days come to a close with huge dramatic sunsets that explode over the mountains...peaceful, inspiring, unreal... So here we have a sunset over Sugarloaf Mountain...as I see it...

When I initially started working on this piece, my plan was to draw something entirely black and white. A zebra seemed like an excellent choice, and along the same lines as the Giraffes and Camels, so away I went with it. Lately I have been concentrating heavily on negative space. Especially when working with black and white. If there is no color, then the areas that don't get filled in with the black ink, have just as much impact as those that do. With that in mind, I wanted to give the black stripes of the zebra more detail and depth, which lead me to developing extremely intricate patterns within the black sections. Well, when I finished the black ink, my original idea got shot right out the window...me, not use color? Yea right. So here we have a zebra in full-color against a Serengeti sunset. I doubt you would find a real-life zebra that looks like this in the real-life Serengeti, but that's the beauty of art right? It doesn't always have to make sense! Enjoy!

The winter of 2007 was one of the biggest snowfalls in Boulder history. During one of the blizzards I was trapped in my house for three days straight. I went a little crazy...to put it mildly, and this drawing was the end result. About 30 hours of drawing in three days...

One winter I took a road trip up to Vancouver, Canada. We stopped to walk around Stanley Park one afternoon. We started the hike in some really deep woods and the trees were so thick that you could barely see the sky though the branches. The first clearing we came to was on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean and mountains in the distance. There was this dead tree right in the center of our view. Out on the last branch there were two bald eagles looking out over the ocean. They were less than 100 feet from us. It was a very peacefull and amazing experience. It is one of those images that was so inspirational, it is burned in my memory and I will never forget that moment.

This was by far the fastest drawing I have ever done. I finished it in just two sittings over about 10 hours. Just like the aspen trees are one continues system of branches and roots, the lines seemed to just follow each other across the page until it was finished. In all of my work I start with only the black ink, draw the basic layout, and then go back with color. Reminiscent of the Dr. Suess coloring book days as a little kid.

This is a selection from the Patchwork Quilt album graphics. I created this section by combining different elements from some of my other pieces, and adjusting the hues and color balances to match the retro-western vibe of the cover artwork. It was a lot of cut-and-paste with the different sections, and then sewing them together in the negative spaces. There is a ton more artwork that goes along with this piece, but this was one of my favorites that looks great when removed. I titled it Northern Exposure because, for the life of me, all I can see in this, is a giant smiling moose face, which makes me think of the old TV series, and makes me laugh every time.

Anyone who has ever been to Boulder, whether you live here, or you’re just passing through, chances are, somewhere you have a photograph of the Flatirons. They are an amazing natural landmark that can be seen for miles. Around town, they are an ever-present reminder of how beautiful and unique a place Boulder is. As you hike up the Chautauqua trail, most often with multiple dogs (and if they’re not yours, they probably live nearby) the rock faces tower high above and bring a sense of peace to even the most pre-occupied. Within minutes you’re immersed in Pine trees and in a world of your own. The faces of the Flatirons have many different faces themselves. At dawn they can be drenched in sunlight, and in the evening, all that’s left are their silhouettes, jet-black against the fading light. Some mornings they will be engulfed in fog, other days there’s not a cloud in the sky. However it is you find yourself amongst them, their natural beauty and power with undoubtedly spark inspiration.

I grew up on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and this is the image I have in my mind of what the lake looks like from the North. More specifically from a spot known as "Trippy Rock" up in the mountains above the town. The Eastern shore of Tahoe is mostly National Forest land and there are not many buildings or houses. There are countless small coves and secluded beaches perfect for camping and wakeboarding. The shore is lined with huge granite boulders and pine trees right down to the water. Tahoe is very temperamental and in the morning the water will be smooth as butter, only to become 4 foot waves crashing into the shoreline by mid-afternoon as the wind picks up. At night however, the lake is almost always calm and reflective. The view here as the moon rises over the Eastern rim is always an amazing sight and easily my most vivid vision of Tahoe...one of the most unique and magical places in the world.

The Great Sand Dunes National Monument in Southern Colorado is one of the most amazing geological occurrences I have ever witnessed. What could be crazier than giant sand dunes hundreds of feet tall stretching out for miles right at the foot of snowcapped fourteen-ers? When you are hiking into the dunes it seriously feels like you are in the middle of the desert, something right out of Star Wars, only to summit the great dune to an unobstructed view of the Sangre de Cristos. I have hiked the dunes in many different climates, from blistering heat, to raging blizzards, it is always a crazy adventure. I have even taken my snowboard up in the middle of the summer. Whatever the conditions, the dunes never fail to provide an unforgettable hiking experience through one of the most stunning natural playgrounds in the world.

This is my rendition of the Mt. Sanitas Valley trail in Boulder, CO. I used to live on 4h St. in Boulder and went hiking on this trail with my dogs every single day. The trail started two blocks from my house and I have been up there in just about every weather condition you can imagine. Through the seasons the views of this part of the mountains change dramaticaly...they are all beautiful, but I have found Fall to be my favorite. For about two weeks towards the end of October, the trees seem to be on fire with radical hues of yellow and orange. The Front Range is an amazing part of the country where the rolling plains meet the Rocky Mountains. I feel it is important to see where you live from a vantage point. It gives me a sense of scale to visualize just exactly where my daily life takes place. Every time I look at this piece, I am reminded of where I am in the world and of the beauty that lies in my own backyard.