Lone Mountain Cirque & the 1995 Tram Print
“1995”
2022
About this painting:
When I saw the summit and its tiny tramcar from this angle last year, I knew I had to paint it. I spent a week painting shadows and tediously carving out the rocks until the mountain I love so much had formed on my paper. I love the simplicity that snow brings to the mountains–covering the rocks and allowing shadows to stand out in blues, smoothed and dimensional. I tried to replicate that effect through painting in a singular indigo color. As I worked, I was frequently struck by the intimidating size of Lone Mountain, and the complicated, jagged, intricate beauty of the Cirque and West Wall. I wanted to capture that, and found that including the tramcar accentuated the mountain itself, with its tiny, hard-to-spot presence lending a sense of scale to the scene.
This painting is based on an afternoon view from the end of the 2022 season, a few months before construction began on the new tram. I remember looking across at the ‘bucket' working its way up the cable, elegantly stretched across the cirque, and feeling a wave of nostalgia. For a machine! The Lone Peak Tram has come to symbolize many things to many people.
For me, also born in Big Sky in 1995, I’ve grown up as the Tram has slid downhill. It’s been a constant in my life, providing access to the summit of Lone Mountain where I first fell in love with skiing in the alpine as a kid. The summit was a place where I could test my abilities, learn to face challenges and my nerves, find competence and confidence in myself, feel free and happy as my edges cut into windblown snow, and the wind cut into my face.
Today, it remains all that and more; I work on the mountain as a ski patroller, privileged to learn about avalanche mitigation on some of the mightiest in-bounds avalanche paths in the country. I ride the Tram most mornings, watching the sun illuminate the peak into a spectacular glowing golden pink around us, or, more often, in a white out, the wind blowing the cabin to unnerving angles, and frequent mechanical stops reminding us that it really is time for an upgrade, even if it’s bittersweet to let go.
I’m glad that this piece has resonated with you, maybe in the same ways it does for me, or different ones. Who knew we could be so sentimental about a chunk of metal? So here’s to last year the 1995 Lone Peak Tram.
Some notes on framing and packaging:
The image is 11x14 or 8.5x11. All my prints are made locally by another small business owner on what he states is “the best fine art printing paper on the market”—and I agree! Printed on textured, thick paper and with true to life colors, these prints look as good as the original. I have it packaged on a much larger backing and with a wide black mat (outer edge 16x20 or 11x14) primarily to keep the print safe during transport and shipping. If you choose to, you can definitely frame the print with this black mat and backing. However, my recommendation would be to frame this image with a 1-1.5 inch white mat. Damage to the backing and mat during shipping will not be covered—that’s what it’s there for!
Available in larger/different sizes on request.
“1995”
2022
About this painting:
When I saw the summit and its tiny tramcar from this angle last year, I knew I had to paint it. I spent a week painting shadows and tediously carving out the rocks until the mountain I love so much had formed on my paper. I love the simplicity that snow brings to the mountains–covering the rocks and allowing shadows to stand out in blues, smoothed and dimensional. I tried to replicate that effect through painting in a singular indigo color. As I worked, I was frequently struck by the intimidating size of Lone Mountain, and the complicated, jagged, intricate beauty of the Cirque and West Wall. I wanted to capture that, and found that including the tramcar accentuated the mountain itself, with its tiny, hard-to-spot presence lending a sense of scale to the scene.
This painting is based on an afternoon view from the end of the 2022 season, a few months before construction began on the new tram. I remember looking across at the ‘bucket' working its way up the cable, elegantly stretched across the cirque, and feeling a wave of nostalgia. For a machine! The Lone Peak Tram has come to symbolize many things to many people.
For me, also born in Big Sky in 1995, I’ve grown up as the Tram has slid downhill. It’s been a constant in my life, providing access to the summit of Lone Mountain where I first fell in love with skiing in the alpine as a kid. The summit was a place where I could test my abilities, learn to face challenges and my nerves, find competence and confidence in myself, feel free and happy as my edges cut into windblown snow, and the wind cut into my face.
Today, it remains all that and more; I work on the mountain as a ski patroller, privileged to learn about avalanche mitigation on some of the mightiest in-bounds avalanche paths in the country. I ride the Tram most mornings, watching the sun illuminate the peak into a spectacular glowing golden pink around us, or, more often, in a white out, the wind blowing the cabin to unnerving angles, and frequent mechanical stops reminding us that it really is time for an upgrade, even if it’s bittersweet to let go.
I’m glad that this piece has resonated with you, maybe in the same ways it does for me, or different ones. Who knew we could be so sentimental about a chunk of metal? So here’s to last year the 1995 Lone Peak Tram.
Some notes on framing and packaging:
The image is 11x14 or 8.5x11. All my prints are made locally by another small business owner on what he states is “the best fine art printing paper on the market”—and I agree! Printed on textured, thick paper and with true to life colors, these prints look as good as the original. I have it packaged on a much larger backing and with a wide black mat (outer edge 16x20 or 11x14) primarily to keep the print safe during transport and shipping. If you choose to, you can definitely frame the print with this black mat and backing. However, my recommendation would be to frame this image with a 1-1.5 inch white mat. Damage to the backing and mat during shipping will not be covered—that’s what it’s there for!
Available in larger/different sizes on request.
“1995”
2022
About this painting:
When I saw the summit and its tiny tramcar from this angle last year, I knew I had to paint it. I spent a week painting shadows and tediously carving out the rocks until the mountain I love so much had formed on my paper. I love the simplicity that snow brings to the mountains–covering the rocks and allowing shadows to stand out in blues, smoothed and dimensional. I tried to replicate that effect through painting in a singular indigo color. As I worked, I was frequently struck by the intimidating size of Lone Mountain, and the complicated, jagged, intricate beauty of the Cirque and West Wall. I wanted to capture that, and found that including the tramcar accentuated the mountain itself, with its tiny, hard-to-spot presence lending a sense of scale to the scene.
This painting is based on an afternoon view from the end of the 2022 season, a few months before construction began on the new tram. I remember looking across at the ‘bucket' working its way up the cable, elegantly stretched across the cirque, and feeling a wave of nostalgia. For a machine! The Lone Peak Tram has come to symbolize many things to many people.
For me, also born in Big Sky in 1995, I’ve grown up as the Tram has slid downhill. It’s been a constant in my life, providing access to the summit of Lone Mountain where I first fell in love with skiing in the alpine as a kid. The summit was a place where I could test my abilities, learn to face challenges and my nerves, find competence and confidence in myself, feel free and happy as my edges cut into windblown snow, and the wind cut into my face.
Today, it remains all that and more; I work on the mountain as a ski patroller, privileged to learn about avalanche mitigation on some of the mightiest in-bounds avalanche paths in the country. I ride the Tram most mornings, watching the sun illuminate the peak into a spectacular glowing golden pink around us, or, more often, in a white out, the wind blowing the cabin to unnerving angles, and frequent mechanical stops reminding us that it really is time for an upgrade, even if it’s bittersweet to let go.
I’m glad that this piece has resonated with you, maybe in the same ways it does for me, or different ones. Who knew we could be so sentimental about a chunk of metal? So here’s to last year the 1995 Lone Peak Tram.
Some notes on framing and packaging:
The image is 11x14 or 8.5x11. All my prints are made locally by another small business owner on what he states is “the best fine art printing paper on the market”—and I agree! Printed on textured, thick paper and with true to life colors, these prints look as good as the original. I have it packaged on a much larger backing and with a wide black mat (outer edge 16x20 or 11x14) primarily to keep the print safe during transport and shipping. If you choose to, you can definitely frame the print with this black mat and backing. However, my recommendation would be to frame this image with a 1-1.5 inch white mat. Damage to the backing and mat during shipping will not be covered—that’s what it’s there for!
Available in larger/different sizes on request.
