Originally when I created my Mt. Whitney images, I did a Google search for the elevation. The source I found had it listed at 14,497 or 4418 meters. Apparently it was incorrect. That might have been the original assessment when it was measured in the 1800s.
Standing at 14,497 feet, Mt. Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states. It was named after Josiah Whitney, the California State Geologist in 1864. If you’re up for a challenge then go for the 22 mile (35 km.) round-trip hike to the summit starting at Whitney Portal. It’s on my to do list.
These images are inspired by the great WPA National Parks posters of the 1930s. Both were created in Adobe Illustrator using a minimal palette of flat color, similar to the traditional silkscreen process. At first I created the daylight version but then thought that a nighttime full moon version might work. Speaking as one who started his illustration career using an airbrush prior to the digital revolution, it was nice to be able to clone the original work and adjust the colors instead of creating a whole new separate piece of art.
Both Mt. Whitney night and day images are available at Steve Forney’s poster store
An elusive bighorn sheep stands guard in the shadows at Kings Canyon National Park. Kings Canyon and Sequoia actually border each other and may be considered to be one park. I’m eager to get back there and hopefully I’ll be lucky enough to spot a bighorn sheep.
This poster was created in Adobe Illustrator using a minimal palette similar to the WPA National Parks posters of the 1930s.
Steve Forney’s Kings Canyon National Park is available in various sizes as a giclée print at art.com