With winter on the horizon, not many people look forward to the months of snow-covered ground that lie ahead. That’s not true of landscapist Karen Vance, however. She revels in the fact that the mountains surrounding her home in Winter Park, Colorado, often are engulfed in the white stuff for eight to nine months each year.

Karen Vance (Colorado)

Another Spring
Oil
28″ By 36″
This is the Murphy Ranch in Granby, Colorado. These two barns are more than 100 years old and still standing. The Murphys homesteaded this land and still raise cattle and put up hay with a team of horses and a beaver tail slide. I wanted to capture the strength of this ranching family in the beautiful setting below the Continental Divide.

Karen Vance (Colorado)

From The Top Of The Divide
Oil
20″ By 30″
This was one of the paintings I created for the Winter Park Resort annual poster/print. It’s a view from snowmobiling on the Continental Divide, looking west across the old Moffat Railroad tunnel and trestle, with the ski resort and the Gore Range beyond.