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Kathleen Miller - A Free Spirit

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Kathleen I. Miller (July 18, 1944 ~ April 26, 2025) My mom was a warrior born and raised in Red Willow County, Nebraska. They tell me she was a free-spirit who rode on the back of a motorcycle, broke wild horses and shot blue rock for sport. After high school, she was drawn to the bright lights of the big city and got her degree in Nursing from Creighton University in Omaha. She had found her true calling, taking care of the sick. She married Bern Miller and along came her three sons: Dan, Doug and Dustin. We couldn’t have asked for a more loving, generous, inspiring person to have as the perfect role model for our journey to adulthood. When she wasn’t helping to cure the ill she was guiding us through life by sharing her knowledge and experience. She taught us how to endure difficult times and overcome any obstacles that stood in our way. She was an accomplished horsewoman who had the astonishing ability to communicate with all species of animals and birds. Her cherished yard was a lu...
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Woodland Realm - Colored Pencil Drawing

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"Woodland Realm" Colored Pencil The deep interior of a mountain forest is a mysterious ecosystem defined by a multitude of interconnected plants and animals. There is an exquisite harmony that exists between the different organisms that presents a challenge to the artist’s attempt at a truthful expression. In an isolated valley, a tributary of the South Platte tumbles down through the labyrinth of a rocky creek bed. The watery cascade purifies the woodland realm, cleansing the cluttered understory with a wash of pure, flat color. The solemn baptism occurs in a natural cathedral of dark, twisting pine where windows in the foliage act like panes of stained glass, allowing shafts of light to filter into the primeval forest. At first glance, this untamed wilderness appears completely chaotic but after further contemplation a sense of divine order begins to reveal itself. Composition, scheme, contrast, form and pattern improbably emerge. The design comes intuitively as the dispara...
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Shadow Burst - Colored Pencil Drawing

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"Shadow Burst" Colored Pencil It’s a bitterly cold, late-afternoon in the Front Range foothills where Evergreen Lake is completely covered by a glossy layer of fresh snow. The low, southern sun is clear and bright while illuminating the hushed landscape. A dense pine forest is a dark rampart that deflects the fleeting light and contributes to the startling effect of elongated shadows bursting across the pond’s pristine surface. It’s another example of Nature’s ability to spontaneously create an abstract design. The towering tree in front is backlit but its form is modeled by paler passages of snow that cling to limber branches. Subtle variations of dark green describe the heart of the coniferous sentry while slight tinges of yellow bleed through its transparent edges. The background is composed by tiers of soft mountains whose jeweled coloring shifts from true green through turquoise and into cobalt blue. The sky is an inverted reflection of the reservoir as tufts of white cl...
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Frozen Oasis - Colored Pencil Drawing

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"Frozen Oasis" Colored Pencil Secreted away in a secluded canyon, a frozen oasis provides solace in the midst of winter’s barren wilderness. An extraordinary shaft of audacious light pervades the dim forest, creating shadows of sparkling blue. After enduring the turmoil associated with a dramatic weather event, it’s uplifting to break trail and discover a setting that’s saturated with peace and tranquility. The snowy landscape is beautifully composed. Anchoring the foreground, a pile of snow-covered rocks exhibit unusual forms that are suggested by a patchwork of soft shading. The hidden creek, also camouflaged by snow, is barely discernible except for a sliver of icy water that reflects the surrounding scenery. Cascading from a broad ridge, the enchanted woodland is glittered with flecks of fresh snowfall. Drifts accumulate on the branches creating abstract patterns of light and dark that swirl through the forest like spirits. The near trees are shadowed with violet, gradate...
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An Approaching Storm - Colored Pencil Drawing

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"An Approaching Storm" Colored Pencil In the midst of an already grievous winter, an approaching storm gradually extinguishes the landscape’s last sliver of light. The inclement weather rushes in aggressively as it envelopes the magnificent range of rugged peaks. Extending across the page, a strip of turquoise sky is still visible above the embattled scenery. It won’t be long, though, before a cloak of cool-gray smothers the valley in a shroud of deep snow. The high mountains assume a defiant posture as their sharp edges tear through the soft atmosphere, creating patches of bare rock. The kaleidoscope of broken terrain sparkles in blue-violet before the impending storm’s onset. The forested foothills are distinguished by three different, overlapping tiers of conifers. As the woodland ramparts recede into the distance, the wintery colors gradually become several shades bluer. The wide, white meadow sweeps across the foreground, its smooth surface decorated with elongated shado...
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Touch the Clouds - Colored Pencil Drawing

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"Touch the Clouds" Colored Pencil An arching vault of powder-blue sky is reflected below on the surface of Evergreen Lake. The behemoth mountain known as Bergen Peak towers above, straining with all its might to touch the clouds. The pyramidal-shaped summit pierces the atmosphere but the ambitious endeavor falls far short of the billowy cluster of vapor. Magically linking heaven and earth, the wispy cloud floats overhead as its transient contour traces the shape of the mountain ridge. The solemn landscape delivers a spiritual message basking in the supernatural glow of divine light. The elements are conjured with mysterious edges that are softened by the vibrations generated from a kaleidoscope of stippled colors. The lower foothills are arranged in a simple pattern described by descending layers of woven color that cascade down to the water’s edge. Glittering white waves are represented by milky tones that are scrubbed softly across the reservoir’s textured surface. ...
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Dark Self-Portrait - Colored Pencil

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"Dark Self-Portrait" Colored Pencil Composed in a somber shadow of murkiness, the resulting work is a dark self-portrait. A sliver of illumination creates a streak of highlights that defines the firm structure of an antique face. The side sunk in deep shadow is described by a limited palette of gold, orange and dark brown. Soft shading is employed to graduate from one tone to another evoking an aura of still calm. The understated mood and stingy color scheme is inspired by the work of the masters of old. Another experiment in line, form, color and chiaroscuro and less a study in the psychology of the sitter. Thin, wavy hair tops a high forehead that has been wrinkled by time. Searching intensely for the essential features, black eyes are set into deep sockets below a sharp brow ridge. A broad nose casts the darkest shadow that blends seamlessly into the ochre cheek. The stern mouth is delineated by reddish lips that dissolve into a prominent jowl. The pinkish ear is more tran...
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