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Note from the Atelier July 25, 2026 Hi There Reader... I just returned from an incredible week exploring Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks with my adult daughter. As I sorted through more than 2,200 photos, I realized something: whether I'm traveling or painting, I'm always trying to do the same thing... notice. Sometimes it's noticing a bison sneaking up on us as we were waiting to use a bathroom in a pullout on the side of the road. Sometimes it's the way the early morning light dances across the Lamar Valley. And sometimes it's noticing the myriad shades of green in the trees. The more I pay attention, the more I see. And the more I see, the more inspired I become. I arrived home and couldn't wait to head into my studio (sans luggage, but that's another story...). I hope this week's newsletter encourages you to slow down, look a little closer and discover something you might otherwise have missed. Happy travels and happy painting!

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National Parks: Yellowstone and Grand Teton

It's hard to believe I'd never been to Yellowstone National Park until last week.

I spent nearly a week exploring both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, from the iconic Roosevelt Arch in Gardiner, Montana to Schwabacher Landing and Mormon Row just outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Along the way I photographed bison, elk, moose, bears, geysers, waterfalls, alpine lakes and mountains so beautiful they hardly seemed real. By the time I returned home, I had taken 2,203 photos between my iPhone and my OG Nikon. (Yes... I counted!)

Yellowstone became the first national park in 1872, and after seeing it firsthand, it's easy to understand why. Everywhere you turn, there's something extraordinary. Old Faithful may be the park's celebrity, but it was the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring that left me breathless (due in part to the hike up to the overlook in the mid-day scorching sun). Watching a herd of bison enjoy an early morning breakfast up close and personal in Lamar Valley was a definite highlight. Equally unforgettable was Artist's Point at the edge of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

One thing I would highly recommend is spending at least a night or two inside one of the national parks. Yes, it's often more expensive and the accommodations tend to be, let's say, simpler, but the experience is entirely different. After the crowds head home, the parks grow wonderfully quiet. We enjoyed dinner at Jackson Lake Lodge while watching a summer storm roll across the Tetons, shared pizza and huckleberry ice cream at Leek's Pizzeria overlooking Jackson Lake, and ended our evenings in a cozy cabin with no air conditioning and no television. With the windows open, all we could hear were the sounds of nature.

I also became the proud owner of an America the Beautiful Senior Pass before the trip. (Apparently getting older has its perks... and its parks.) For $80, the lifetime pass grants access to our national parks for the rest of my life, making it one of the best travel investments I've made. I have a feeling it's going to get a lot of use.

If you've been thinking about visiting Yellowstone, stop thinking and start planning. Photos simply can't capture the scale, the wildlife or the feeling of being there. It's one of those rare places that actually exceeds the hype. I'll continue to share more thoughts and pics, and of course, there may be some related paintings...

But bar none, the best part of the trip was spending all that time with my grown daughter. That never gets old.

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Value Is Relative

When artists talk about value, we're not talking about price. We're talking about how light or dark a color is. In fact, value is often more important than color itself. Two completely different colors can have exactly the same value, and if they do, they'll blend together visually.

Think about a black-and-white photograph. Without any color at all, you can still recognize faces, landscapes and objects because of the pattern of light and dark values. Value is actually more important to your composition than the color; it's what gives a painting structure. Think of it as value providing the architecture and color providing the personality. This is why you can paint something in a wrong color and it still works - as long as the value is correct.

One of the biggest mistakes beginning artists make is trying to use every value from pure white to pure black. Simplicity is almost always stronger. Instead, aim for three to five distinct values in your composition. You don't need every possible step in between. Grouping your lights, mid-tones and darks creates a painting that's easier to read and often much more visually appealing.

Here's another interesting thing about value: it's relative. A color doesn't exist in isolation. It changes depending on the colors around it. You can paint an entire high-key painting using mostly light values, or an entire low-key painting using mostly dark values. The individual colors may all be considered "light" or "dark," but our eyes still perceive differences because each value is judged relative to its neighbors. That's why a subtle shift in value can create depth and contrast, even when the overall painting stays bright or moody.

If value is something you'd like to better understand, I created the Artful Traveler Académie 30-Day Value Challenge just for that purpose. Through a series of short, approachable exercises, you'll explore notan studies, three-value compositions and five-value studies while training your eye to see the light and dark patterns that give paintings structure, depth and mood. It's one of the best investments you can make in your artistic journey because value improves every painting you create, regardless of your subject or style.

Always remember: Value provides the architecture; color provides the personality.

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