Wednesday, March 6, 2024

Way off the beaten path!

Well what do you know?! I finished another piece! This one is "Above Snow Hollow Loop" it is 20x10, oil on board. These are the GPS coordinates: 39.946029, -112.414842.

Snow Hollow Loop is south of Vernon Utah and west of Eureka. Miki and I were out there exploring some little jeep trails last May after a very heavy snow season. Neither of us had been in the area before. There is a reservoir and campground down by the main loop but there are a good dozen or more jeep trails that spur off of it. We explored a handful and left the rest for another time when we are out there again.

One thing that was interesting to see is the grey areas around the snow fields. It seems like the as the snow melts it takes a while for the plants to sprout up and turn things green. So the grey areas are where the plants haven't had enough time to grow yet.

Here are a couple WIP shots and the reference from that day. Enjoy!





Monday, February 12, 2024

Burnt Toast

Hurray! Another painting completed. This one is titled "Burnt Toast." It is 14x11, Oil on Panel.

This is a fun landmark in the middle of the 7-mile Rim trail in Moab. You have to squeeze your jeep between the three big rocks in the foreground and the jumble of rocks behind them. This landmark is right below Merrimac Butte and right across from Monitor Butte. Those buttes really do remind you of the Civil War battleships. It is interesting noticing the difference in the rock color of the "Toast" slices from the other boulders around it. I have to assume that they fell from high up on the butte where the layers are darker and redder than those at the lower level around them. I'm not sure if they split when they fell or split from ice and weathering in their current location.

Here are the GPS coordinates: 38.661821, -109.743728 And here is an early WIP and the reference image that I used.




Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

End of a Tough Ride

 Hey friends! Here is another painting that I completed recently. This one is "Destination Towers." It is 10x20 oils on panel and here are the GPS coordinates: 38.683406, -109.750537

This is an amazing place. This imposing feature marks the end of the challenging parts of the 7 Mile Rim trail in Moab Utah. It is a little ways above the famous "Wipeout Hill" which is always a nail biter for me. It is interesting to see how prominent the different layers of rock are and how distinct the coloring changes from the purple at the top to the redish below. Enjoy!


Here are my reference images and an early WIP shot.







Thursday, January 4, 2024

Looking Up

Sunrise over Rock Canyon - 10x20, oil on panel

Here are the GPS coordinates - 40.241708, -111.733310

A few months ago I was riding by the airport and saw some wispy clouds above the mountains. There wasn't much light yet but I kept my eye on them as I made my way north and west out toward Utah Lake. When I got past the campground, the sky was on fire with pink, purple, orange and yellow. I watched for a minute. It amazes me how quickly the light changes or fades some mornings.


I finally got another one framed!
Enjoy!


Tuesday, December 12, 2023

Fall Colors

I had a lot of fun figuring out how to do the fall colors of Utah. This spot is one of my favorite spots on the Alpine Loop on the East side of Mount Timpanogos. Thanks so much for commissioning this piece Kayla! Enjoy!

Timp Alpine Loop - 40.408696, -111.604070

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Painting Again!

 My Cousin and mentor Jenny Richter challenged me to start painting again. So I dusted off my paint box and got going. We would meet at Mary Adams' house and work on different projects as they showed me the nuts and bolts of oils that I had forgotten over the the last few decades. 

Currently I am really drawn to the the extra wide format because I feel like it is the best fit for the landscapes that are currently inspiring me. It is amazing how much differently I look at the world around me when I think that I might end up paining it. It helps me see the beauty and awe in nature again. 

Here are the paintings that I have created in the last few months (most recent at the top and earliest at the bottom, GPS coordinates of the location included.)

Take Out Butte - 39.120369, -110.113605 (10"x20")



Poison Sider - 38.545695, -109.594600 (20"x10")



Devil's Lane - Not Lost Yet - 38.133911, -109.873089 (8"x16")




March Irises - 40.226641, -111.689326 (4.5"x9")


Forrest Lake - Bishop's Question - 40.511916, -111.587120 (9"x4.5")




Sunday, July 31, 2011

Campcakes

Hey I spent a week at scout camp. Here is the full report (well as full as it gets with me any ways).

Enjoy

http://wahoo782.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-camptastic.html





This picture is dorky on so many levels. I'm truly sorry.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Oh Boys!

Wow, I love my boys. They make me smile in 47 different ways on any given day. They are growing up to be fine men and they are always fun to be around.

At Christmas time we dropped in to visit my cousin Laurie. We hadn't seem her and her family in a good decade and the boys were right at home and ruff housing with her kids and like it had only been a few weeks since we had seem them last.



They always have some fun creative project going on. Grant asked for Duct Tape for Christmas so we got him a rainbow assortment. The Viking Duct Tape helmet is a fine example of an inventive application of adhesive backed handy strips.

 Caden the world's greatest gnome impersonator.
 Me and Trent after a little run down the Provo River.
Mason and Miki before Mason went to talk in church. He will be leaving to go to the Missionary Training Center in a few days to learn Japanese and get ready to go to Kobe Japan for 2 years to serve the Lord and the people there.
I'm one Happy Daddy!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

More Postage Due

Yes, Well that is the way things seem to go now isn't it. Yesterday I had a good day. I was invited to go on a hiking trip with the older scouts, Melissa invited me to go paddling down the Provo River with her and her boyfriend Adam and some friends from church invited me and Miki over make some music. Any time I get to be on top of a mountain, paddle and surf a river and play bass it's going to be a good day.

For a while I've been super busy with work and class and scouts and haven't had much time to do much else. I guess that I was feeling lonely even though I had lots to do. You know, everyone expects you to do this or that 'cause you are supposed to or 'cause it is your job or your church calling. But somehow I was feeling lonely because it just didn't seem to me like anyone was thinking "man, I'd sure like to hang out with that Rob Allen dude." Then I get invited to do three different things in one day. Cool.

Here are a couple of pictures from the hike. 

This is from the top of Y mountain looking down into the Rock Canyon with Timp and Lone Peak in the distance.

Me and Trent looking down over Provo and Utah Lake and our house (see middle left).

If you really want to get ya some more of that dish called "what the heck is that Rob Allen dude up to," you can read my posts on our Scout Troop Blog Wahoo782. I post there about every month or so when we are camping or doing something worth taking pictures or writing about. Here is the post about the Y mountain hike and camp out. Thanks for looking! and hey if you ever want hang out with that Rob Allen dude, just let me know.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Crazy Busy Summer

Man what a crazy, busy summer this is turning out to be.

In May I formed a paddling team to compete in the Vertical Challenge to raise money for the First Descents charity for cancer patients. We took first place in the Class III division and raised about $500. Our team logged over 8000 vertical  feet. Which was a lot more than I thought we could starting out.

Then we had a family reunion for all the Allen relatives that I organized. That was a lot of work and emailing and phone calling and such. We had about 75 people show up for it. Most from Utah but some from Texas, Oregon, Maryland, Arizona, and Idaho. This is me and some cousins on a little hike up to Battle Creek Falls.

Next I had a week of summer camp to plan and shop for. My great assistant scoutmaster's wife had a baby two days before we left so I had to line up other leaders to be up there with me and the boys. It seems like we went through 10 or 12 people before we got the 6 days mostly covered. It was good to get away from everything for a week but not so good to have to nag, discipline and pick up trash after 12 boys for a week.  It was definitely a great experience for the boys and that is why we do it right!?

Next week I will be going to LA for the annual Siggraph computer graphics conference. There is always some new cool stuff to learn there.

Then in the Fall I have a new teaching assignment. So there is a whole nother set of lectures and assignments to plan, create and grade.

Busy busy! thanks for looking and please leave a comment.

Rob-

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Amazing Places

I got to go to Goblin Vally and Wild Horse Canyon for the first time today. They are both pretty amazing places to explore. Here are a couple of shots that turned out alright. Let me know what you think about them.







Also a few days ago I was paddling with friends down the Provo River, West of Bridal Vale falls. It was late afternoon and the sun was just barely above the canyon walls. A few times we would come around a bend, riding waves and dodging rocks, and the sun would be lined right up with the river, creating some intense highlights and refractions through the water. After the run we were talking about how beautiful the water is like that and it popped into my head that that is how the sea of glass would look in the celestial kingdom. Intense light mixed with deep shadows, shifting and swirling beautifully as we glide along our journey.