Mill's Lake

"Mills Lake" 28" x 22" oil on canvas copyright 2010 Jake Gaedtke
One of my favorite lakes located in Rocky Mountain National Park is Mill's Lake. It's a good solid hour long hike. Sometimes longer, depending on the weather and season. It's one of the larger lakes in the Park. It is so pristine and with the backdrop of the cathedral-like mountains that surround it, it is simply spectacular. I make it up there at least a couple times a year. It's a place where I can paint and be alone and absorb all that's there. It's a popular destination for the average tourist, so I see quite a few people up there in the summer from all over the world. The one thing that strikes me is how universal this creation effects everyone the same way. Like music, we can all understand this beauty that is beyond us, no matter where we are from or what our life's experience may be. If you have the oportunity to witness this miracle........if you can experience the handiwork of God in this place first hand and not come away from it changed, or at the very least humbled, you have no soul. I recently made an attempt to express the reason I go to this place so often on canvas. It is a painting I intend to put in the upcoming Colorado Governor's Art Show. Like many artists, I am never completely satisfied with my work, and this one is no exception. I know it may be a "postcard" type scene of a magnificent place, but I really don't know how else to describe it. Besides what's wrong with telling the truth? It is a picture-postcard place.