Wild Beauty at the Base of Mt. Elden

©ECDillingham, watercolor & watersoluble graphite on gray paper.

Every morning I wander the trails on Mt. Elden with our three dogs. The tangle of cliff rose, gambel oak, alligator juniper, and ponderosa pine, interspersed with yucca, prickly pear, and massive boulders, is a wild beauty unique to this location in the Coconino National Forest in Arizona. It is also mountain lion habitat, although I have never seen one. But I’m sure they’ve seen me.
I started this drawing with white china marker and 9B watersoluble graphite on gray Rives BFK paper. Then I added watercolor and a bit of carandache crayon.