Hi Everyone,

I finished my second Santa Elena Canyon picture last week and would like to share it with you.  It’s a 9 x12 like the first one.  ‘One Who Sees’ asked me a question on one of my other postings and that is:  Do I feel a kinship with the land when I paint landscapes?  The answer would be a yes.  I have read a great deal about the history and geology of the west and the southwest and have hiked or ridden horses over parts of it.  People have lived in the southwest for thousands of years as they have throughout North America, but have left more undisturbed haunting remnants of their sojourn here thousands of years ago.  It is a raw and beautiful land of extremes.  I have been in the mountains during June without a cloud in the sky and the temperature in the 80s and have watched large snowflakes drift softly to their death upon the warm ground.  I’ve ridden horses along the edge of mountains that dropped away a thousand feet or more to the desert floor and just a few months ago I drove through a dust storm so thick that I could only see about 8 to 10 feet in front of me.  It is not unusual to have wind gusts this time of year of 60 to 70 mph.  The temperature, especially in the mountains can drop 30 to 40 degrees at night.  Every now and then I lecture on the fauna and flora of the area.  I’m not trying to give the impression that I’m an expert on this area because I’m not, but I know enough of bits and pieces to entertain others.  As I’ve rambled on with this discourse I hope that I have answered ‘One Who Sees’ question about 'do I feel a kinship with the land?'  As an aside, ‘One Who Sees’ (Betty Ann), has a lovely web site that I highly recommend.  I thought her colored pencil painting of the little girl exquisite and her graphite work is well worth the look.  The composition and use of values found in her oil painting of a water lily are very instructive.