Grand Fountain Geyser

Grand Fountain Geyser 5 1/2x8 pastel, copyright 2012

A little bit north of Old Faithful in Yellowstone is another (somewhat) predictable large geyser, Grand Fountain Geyser.  We just happened upon it during an eruption, which usually lasts about one hour.  We didn't stay for all of it of course, but it was a rather dramtic one as water sprayed in several diractions at once, sometimes quite high.  Shallow terraced deposits have formed concentric pools around the geyser.  It's fascinating and little bit scary when these pools overflow almost to the boardwalk.

White on white is not an easy thing to paint.  The combination of spraying water and rolling steam make for a pretty dramatic view but a challenging subject.  Creating contrast to give it depth seems to be the key.  I used a lighter, yellow paper here, I'm wondering if it would work better on darker paper.