Main Gallery

Majestic Pikes Peak at Sunrise

Pikes Peak stands tall as one of Colorado’s most iconic landmarks—a rugged 14,115-foot granite giant in the Front Range near Colorado Springs. Its story stretches from deep time to the dreams of westward explorers and the birth of an American anthem.

Long before it had an English name, the Ute people called it *Tava* or “Mountain of the Sun,” a sacred beacon guiding their seasonal journeys across the plains and peaks. Spanish explorers in the 1700s knew it as *El Capitán*, “The Leader.” Geologically, the mountain’s distinctive pinkish granite formed over a billion years ago from slowly cooling magma, later sculpted by glaciers and erosion into the dramatic summit we see today.

In 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike spotted the peak during his expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. He tried climbing it but turned back in harsh winter conditions, convinced no one could ever reach the top. Fourteen years later, in 1820, botanist Edwin James made the first recorded summit with Stephen Long’s expedition—yet the mountain ultimately took Pike’s name.

The real boom came with the **Pikes Peak Gold Rush** of 1858–59. Though major gold strikes happened elsewhere, the mountain served as a towering, unmistakable signpost for tens of thousands of hopeful prospectors streaming west under the rallying cry “Pikes Peak or Bust!” Their arrival transformed the region, sparking new towns, the Colorado Territory in 1861, and the state’s rapid growth.

What truly cemented Pikes Peak in American culture happened in 1893. Poet and professor **Katharine Lee Bates** visited the summit during a trip to teach at Colorado College. Overwhelmed by the sweeping panorama—purple mountain majesties stretching to the horizon, amber waves of grain on the plains below, and the vast sky—she jotted down the opening lines of what became “America the Beautiful.”

Originally written as a poem for a local newspaper, the verses captured her awe at the country’s natural splendor and called for a deeper national unity and brotherhood. Set to music (most famously Samuel Ward’s “Materna”), it evolved into one of America’s most beloved patriotic songs, often sung as a heartfelt alternative to the national anthem. Bates later said the view from Pikes Peak filled her with “the glory of the scene” and a profound sense of America’s promise.

Today, you can reach the summit by car on the historic Pikes Peak Highway, via the Cog Railway, or on foot—following in the tracks of explorers, gold seekers, and that inspired poet. Whether you’re chasing views, history, or a bit of patriotic inspiration, Pikes Peak remains “America’s Mountain,” a timeless symbol of resilience, beauty, and discovery.

2nd Lieutenant William M. Kasper

Colonel William Myers Kasper was the kind of steady, battle-tested infantry leader the U.S. Army relied on from the muddy forests of Europe to the frozen ridges of Korea.

A 1940 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Kasper entered the Infantry with a foundation of rigorous training and leadership experience. By late 1944 he was commanding the 2nd Battalion, 411th Infantry Regiment, 103rd “Cactus” Division. His battalion first saw combat on 16 November 1944 in the bitter Vosges Mountains west of St. Dié, France. Over the next six months they fought through savage mountain assaults, the German counteroffensive in Alsace, and the final lightning drive across southern Germany.

On 21 April 1945, near Kirchheim unter Teck east of Stuttgart, Kasper’s cool-headed heroism shone brightest. While relieving the 10th Armored Division and pushing south, his task force was suddenly hammered by 88mm artillery, machine guns, and mortars. Kasper and eight men took cover in a roadside culvert. Rather than wait to be overrun, he quickly organized a tight defense and repelled a much larger German attack. That night, when an eight-man enemy patrol approached under darkness, Kasper waited until they were within ten yards before ordering a devastating close-range volley that killed all eight. His leadership and personal courage that day earned him the Silver Star and helped keep the American advance rolling in the war’s final weeks. The 2nd Battalion went on to help liberate concentration camp sub-camps, cross the Danube, seize the Brenner Pass, and link up with Fifth Army troops from Italy.

After World War II, Kasper continued his career as a professional soldier. In 1952–1953, now a seasoned colonel, he took command of the 5th Regimental Combat Team (“Hawaii’s Own”) during the final, grueling phase of the Korean War. Operating as an independent combined-arms force under IX Corps (and later possibly X Corps), the 5th RCT included the 5th Infantry, artillery, engineers, tanks, and heavy mortars. Kasper led the regiment through static trench warfare, bitter outpost fighting, and massive artillery duels along the stalemated front—particularly in the mountainous Punchbowl and Iron Triangle/Chorwon sectors.

His command faced some of the war’s most intense late-period actions. In June 1953, elements of the 5th RCT rotated through the desperate defense of Outpost Harry, holding the vital position against repeated night assaults and crushing Chinese barrages. Under Kasper’s leadership, the regiment coordinated fire support, maintained combat effectiveness, and minimized casualties where possible while armistice talks dragged on. They also supported broader corps operations in the Kumsong Salient right up to the final days before the ceasefire. For his exceptionally meritorious service commanding the 5th RCT in Korea, Kasper was awarded the Legion of Merit.

Kasper’s postwar career continued with distinction. He earned additional Legions of Merit (including a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster) for service through 1965 before retiring as a full colonel. From the snow-covered Vosges in 1944 to the shell-pocked hills of Korea in 1953, Colonel William Myers Kasper embodied the quiet professionalism, tactical skill, and raw courage that defined a generation of American infantry leaders. His Silver Star in Germany and Legion of Merit in Korea stand as lasting testaments to a career spent leading men in some of the 20th century’s hardest fights.

10"x8" oil on framed canvas

The Last Assault of Corporal Leo Hill

Leo John Hill was born in Estes Park, CO in 1895. His family moved to Steamboat Springs when he was 13 years old. His father worked for a while as a blacksmith in Steamboat before homesteading a ranch in the Foidel Canyon area 15 miles southwest of town. After Leo's mother died, his father, Charles, sold the homestead and moved his family back to Steamboat. When Leo turned 18, he decided to move to Detroit and get a job in one of the newly burgeoning automobile factories. He was there when war broke out with Germany. Like more than 700 other men from Routt County, Leo answered his country's' call to duty.

As a young man growing up on a ranch in northwestern Colorado, Leo loved outdoor activities. He was skilled with a rifle and competent tackling nearly any task that needed to be done. He decided that if he was going to be in the military, he wanted to be a Marine. He enlisted with the Marine Corps in April 1917 and in June he was sent to Parris Island, South Carolina for initial training. In October he was sent to the Marine Base at Quantico, VA, where he was attached to the 80th Company, 6th Regiment of that organization. The United States had just entered the war in Europe and was ramping up its military strength to join the fighting that was going in France. The Marines had built facilities at Quantico to simulate the conditions they would face in France. There were trenches and bunkers heavily protected with barbed wire, open fields of fire using recently developed Browning machine guns. Recruits were schooled in the use of gas masks and grenades, as well as the Springfield rifle. The Marine Corps emphasized the importance of marksmanship. Leo excelled in this training and in November he was promoted to Corporal.

In January of 1918 his unit received orders to France. On January 24 they boarded the troop ship Henderson in New York City, and arrived at St. Nazaire, France on February 6th. They spent the next few months at the Bourmont Training Base near Blevaincourt, France. In March the Germans began a series of large offensives against the allied line. The Marines were ordered into subsectors along the Verdun front. On May 4 the 4th Brigade, 2nd Division, which included the 6th Marine Regiment, received a sudden change of orders. They were thrown into a gap in the French line at the Marne salient near Chateau-Thierry. It was vital that the German advance towards Paris be stopped. On July 18 the allies began a large offensive. On July 19 Leo's regiment was ordered into battle, advancing from Vierzy towards Tiginy across open ground. They encountered intense German artillery and machine gun fire. Marine casualties for the regiment were extremely high, estimated between 50 to 70 percent. Corporal Leo Hill was killed by German machine gun fire. During the 31-day battle leading up to, and including the battle for Chateau-Thierry, the Marines lost 1062 men killed in action and suffered another 3615 wounded in action. July 19, 1918 would become the single deadliest day in the history of the 6 Marine Regiment.

Leo's family received the sad news of his death. He was the first casualty from Routt County in World War I. He was initially interred with other soldiers and Marines at a gravesite in France. His remains were later returned to the United States. He was laid to rest at a place of honor in Arlington National Cemetery. American Legion Post 44 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado was named in honor of him.

24"x18" oil on framed canvas

A Lynx in Winter

Canada lynx are true masters of Colorado’s snowy Rockies. These elusive cats, largely wiped out by the 1970s, made a remarkable comeback thanks to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Between 1999 and 2006, 218 lynx from Alaska and Canada were released, mostly in the San Juan Mountains. Today, a stable population of roughly 75–100 animals thrives in high-elevation forests.

Built for deep powder, lynx sport oversized hind feet—often over 8 inches long—that act like living snowshoes, letting them glide across snow while chasing prey. Their thick fur with subtle spots keeps them warm and camouflaged. Compared to bobcats, they have longer ear tufts and a solid black tail tip. They’re patient ambush hunters, crouching trailside before launching powerful pounces.

In winter, lynx live and die by snowshoe hares, which make up the vast majority of their diet. They seek dense subalpine forests, willow thickets, and avalanche chutes where hares flourish. Hares have their own tricks: big snowshoe feet and white winter coats. This classic predator-prey dance plays out across the snowy landscape.

Lynx move efficiently on established trails or ridges to save energy, excelling where coyotes and mountain lions struggle. They breed in late winter, with kittens arriving in spring. Studies near Vail and the San Juans show they mostly avoid heavy motorized recreation but tolerate backcountry skiers, preferring denser cover and steeper terrain.

Federally threatened and state-endangered, these “ghosts of the forest” face ongoing pressures from wildfires and habitat loss. Yet their success story reminds us why protecting high-country wilderness matters.

7"x5" oil on canvas panel

Yarmonite - Ute Peacemaker and Promoter of Goodwill

Yarmonite (also spelled Yahmonite or Yarmony) was a Ute sub-chief who became a welcome figure among the early settlers in Routt County, Colorado.

He was part of the Ute people tied to the Yampatika and White River bands who had long summered in the Yampa Valley for generations. They came for hunting, fishing, and soaking in the healing mineral springs long before any towns or ranches existed in the area.

What set Yarmonite apart was his genuine role as a bridge-builder. In the late 1800s, as tensions rose between incoming settlers and Ute bands, he worked hard as a peacemaker, easing worries and fostering goodwill between the two worlds—especially in the stretch of country between Steamboat and McCoy.

He formed a warm friendship with the Crawford family. James Crawford, who founded Steamboat Springs, counted on him. Local stories say Yarmonite even warned the Crawfords of potential trouble around the time of the 1879 Meeker Massacre and continued visiting the Steamboat area every summer after the town got its start.

His legacy lives on all over the map. You’ll still see his name on Yarmony Mountain, Yarmony Park, Yarmony Creek and its bridge, a railroad siding near Gore Canyon, and right here in town with a neighborhood, a street, and even an old school in his honor.

Yarmonite passed away around 1900 at Fort Duchesne on the Northern Ute reservation in Utah, remembered fondly by the locals he had befriended. In an era of upheaval and forced removals to reservations, he stands out as a powerful symbol of cross-cultural respect and cooperation—one of the bright threads in Steamboat Spring’s early history.

If you’re curious, the Tread of Pioneers Museum has photos and artifacts that bring his story to life.

10"x8" oil on framed canvas

Sandhill Crane: A Profil

Sandhill cranes are found across North America including Northwest Colorado and Steamboat Springs. Fossil records date their species back 2.5 million years. Their primary habitat is wetlands, marshes, and grasslands. Sandhill cranes eat seeds, insects, and various roots. They're famous for their courtship dances where they bow, leap, and flap their wings to attract mates. Sandhill cranes mate for life and can live up to 40 years.

8"x8" watercolor and ink

Ulysses S Grant

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) rose from a modest Ohio childhood to become one of America’s most consequential leaders, preserving the Union and advancing equality during a turbulent era.

Born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio, he entered West Point in 1839, adopting the name Ulysses S. Grant. A gifted horseman but average student, he graduated in 1843, fought bravely in the Mexican-American War, and earned promotions—only to resign in 1854 amid struggles with alcohol and family finances. He worked as a farmer, real estate agent, and clerk before the Civil War revived his career.

Commissioned a colonel in 1861, Grant quickly became a Union hero. His demand for “unconditional surrender” at Fort Donelson (1862) earned him national fame and promotion. Victories at Shiloh, the capture of Vicksburg (which split the Confederacy), Chattanooga, the brutal Overland Campaign, and the Siege of Petersburg culminated in Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Grant’s persistence helped preserve the Union and enabled the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment, freeing four million enslaved people.

Elected president in 1868, Grant championed Reconstruction. He strongly supported the 15th Amendment (granting Black men the vote), signed the Enforcement Acts to crush Ku Klux Klan violence, backed the Freedmen’s Bureau, and backed the Civil Rights Act of 1875. His administration prosecuted thousands of Klan members and saw over 2,000 Black men hold office in the South—though scandals and the Compromise of 1877 marred his final years.

After leaving office, Grant battled cancer while writing his acclaimed Personal Memoirs (1885), completed just before his death on July 23, 1885. Modern historians now credit him as Reconstruction’s fiercest defender and a principled champion of union and civil rights. His New York tomb stands as a lasting symbol of that commitment.

11"x14" oil on framed canvas

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) was a pivotal figure in the American women's suffrage movement, dedicating her life to securing voting rights for women and advancing gender equality.

Before the Civil War, Anthony fought for abolitionism, collaborating closely with Frederick Douglass and others in the American Anti-Slavery Society. After the war, she turned her energies to temperance, co-founding the Woman's State Temperance Society. She also advanced educational equality by helping desegregate streetcars and advocating for women's access to professions.

Her defiance and arrest in 1872 marked a bold turning point tied directly to her relationship with President Ulysses S. Grant: she voted illegally in a Rochester, New York election to challenge the 14th Amendment's protections, casting her ballot for the incumbent President Grant as a deliberate act of protest. This led to her arrest and trial, where her powerful courtroom speech—"Is it a crime for a U.S. citizen to vote?"—galvanized public support and dramatically highlighted women's disenfranchisement.

Anthony's relentless efforts laid the essential groundwork for the 19th Amendment (1920), ratified 14 years after her death and affectionately nicknamed the "Anthony Amendment." In 1979, she became the first woman featured on a U.S. dollar coin, a lasting symbol of feminist progress. Her influence continues to shape ongoing fights for civil rights and equality.

11"x14" oil on framed canvas

The Charm of Ronald Reagan

President Reagan's charm, wit, and ability to communicate effectively resonated with nearly all Americans in the 1980's. He was a president able to work across the aisle and bring about impactful economic change and strengthen national defense. Although President Reagan transformed U.S. politics, shifting it rightward in his 1980 landslide election and 1984 "50-state victory", he also signed the 1986 immigration reform granting amnesty to 3 million undocumented immigrants. While his increase in national debt is controversial, his defense spending helped peacefully bring about the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. President Reagan finished his last term with a 4.5% GDP and inflation and unemployment levels at historic lows. Polls continue to affirm his enduring popularity among most Americans who lived during his presidency.

In this 7"x5" oil on canvas panel, I was inspired by a popular photo of Ronald Reagan in his classic cowboy hat on his California ranch. In this painting, I attempt to capture the president's famous glow and charm that made him likeable and appealing to Americans of all political persuasions.

Rev Martin Luther King Jr

Through his leadership, courage and sacrifice, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, championed the civil rights movement through his powerful nonviolent protests and speeches. He helped end legal segregation, changed public attitudes about race, and expanded voting rights. Reverend King's legacy for America is the enduring idea that America must live up to our promise of equality and justice for all.

In this 9"x12" oil on canvas panel, I attempt to capture Reverend King's thoughtful image reflecting on an incomplete writing of the word, "Equality". Is complete equality achievable? If so, what more can we do, as Americans, to complete the writing and fulfill Reverend King's dream?