My father owns property on Mount Roosevelt, outside of Deadwood.  This mountain  named after Teddy Roosevelt, and has a monument to him, dedicated by Roosevelt’s good friend, Seth Bullock.  It is a quaint little castle tower, reminiscent of a European trip the two friends took together.  Who says South Dakota doesn’t have castles!  Read more about this monument, called Friendship Tower on this great site of things to do in the Black Hills:

On the drive to the summit, on a clear day, you can see over a large expanse.  I saw Bear Butte rising from the fog, and it was the inspiration for this small watercolor painting.  I love the properties of watercolor: the way colors run and fuse together.  It captured the foggy landscape I observed.

Watercolor has to happen quickly, for it to have the magic that it is capable of.  That is why I love it… there is an element of the unexpected and uncontrollable!