Image of the Week: View from Buck Ridge Lookout
© Durga Yael Bernhard
Buck Ridge Lookout is the name of this rock outcropping on the summit of Westkill Mountain. At 3,880 feet, Westkill is the sixth highest peak in the Catskill Mountains here in upstate New York. It's a stunning view to the east and south, where I can barely glimpse the hollow where I live far in the distance. Westkill is one of my favorite hikes, and I've done it in every season. One year, I lugged my paints up there with a smallish piece of watercolor paper – too small to do justice to the spacious view before me, but better than nothing.
Painting these lush green mountains is all about building up textures. The scale of the texture must get smaller as the mountains recede, until it disappears in a blend of blue. It was a Saturday, and I was fortunate to have this rock to myself. I worked quickly, laying down just enough color and shape so that I could finish the painting at home.
What a pleasure, to work en plein air, breathing the pristine air! The tops of these mountains are a rarefied environment, with fragrant balsam fir that grows only at high altitudes; wild cherry trees with their curving, wind-resistant trunks; and eagles, hawks, and vultures soaring effortlessly on thermal air currents. Not a trace of human habitation was in sight. I felt like a tiny speck, far removed from my daily life far below.
It took one hour to block out the basics of the view and finish the first phase of the painting. Grateful for the undisturbed solitude, I packed up my paints and started the long hike down.
In less than five minutes, I came upon a group of hikers ascending the mountain. I counted the happy, sweaty faces as I passed: seventeen people. I smiled to myself as I left Buck Ridge Lookout behind, knowing it was now covered with hungry hikers and all their gear. Fortunately, no one owns the mountain.
A good week to all!
D Yael Bernhard