Sunday, April 25, 2010

IN CELEBRATION OF NATURE



















"Rio Grand Color" 8" x 10" oli/c

Driving through northern New Mexico
on your way to southern Colorado,
the landscape begins a transformation
from the desolate to the sublime.
All along the highway there are
pull off points where cactus gives
way to aspens. I find it to be the
most interesting drive and look
forward to passing through this
area on my way from Texas to Colorado.

The problem is I'm always in such a
hurry to get to Colorado I zoom past
this area stopping occasionally to take
pictures. Then when I'm done painting
in Colorado I'm so tired I zoom past
this area in my hurry to get home.

On this occasion I stopped at a roadside
rest stop to eat some lunch. The light
was hitting the aspens down by the
creek bed at the bottom of a canyon.
So I asked myself, "Self, I asked, would
any plein air painter worth his salt pass
up the opportunity to capture this scene?"
You see the answer. Made my 15 hour
drive into a 17 hour drive, but it was
worth it.

No comments: