Waldo Canyon Fire Painting

"...I've always had a special place in my heart for fire fighters."  Delta Burke
                                                                                          

Waldo Canyon Fire
Acrylic on panel, 15x9 1/2", memento box lid
Rita Salazar Dickerson

Completed Painting/ Final stage: I reworked the clouds and sky, adding more contrast and color overall plus thicker paint on the light yellow clouds. I also brushed a light purple glaze over the clouds on the right

A community rally will be held this Saturday to recognize and show appreciation for the firefighters, police and forest service personnel who valiantly fought the Waldo Canyon Fire. It will be another step in the healing process for our city that is still trying to regroup and adjust to the changes and the sadness of this tragedy. This will be a great opportunity to focus on the heroes of the fire. 

Stage 1: Brushing in the sketch with a thin wash of gray.

Not long after the proclimation I received an invitation to paint.

Stage 2: Painting in the sky and mountains working in blues, greens and purple.

A wooden box, that will be used at the rally, has been made to hold special mementos from the fire. (The wood used for this box came from a previous fire in California.)

Stage 3: The beginning of the clouds. I used Naples Yellow and Raw Sienna mixed with Titanium white.

The request was for a painting to be done on the lid of this special box.

Stage 4: Working in more blue and yellow.

 This was a great opportunity to be involved in the rally, the healing, the celebration of our heroes. I was happy to say yes. It felt good to contribute in a creative way.

Stage 5: Filling in the rest of the sky.

For inspiration, I decided to approach this painting as the depiction of a significant time in the history of Colorado Springs. A story that needs to be told with heroes that must always to be remembered; they boldly faced a flaming giant and refused to back down. We will always be grateful.

Waldo Canyon Fire painting: Side view with painting inserted as the lid of the custom made wood box.

Waldo Canyon Fire painting: Top view of the lid of the box.