'Canyon Colors'

6x6 oil on canvas....$120...email me.

Sunset brings out the saturated colors at the Grand Canyon ...this view is not far from the famous El Tovar hotel along the Rim Trail. Shooting this with a digital camera is a challenge...the colors of golden green of the pinyon trees and red violet of the canyon's shadowed walls seem to be too much for the digital lense... opposites on the Munsell color wheel..they are a very vibrant pair.

'Cobalt Rising' - Grand Canyon National Park

5x7 oil on canvas panel
SOLD

A different reality....the night world rises and orange merges into the blue...opposites of the color spectrum. How is this possible? We take this kind of ordinary magic for granted...but it is really incredible when comtemplated. As an observer... what does the boundary of these two worlds look like..feel like...and what color is it? How can this magic realm be translanted into paint? A common art principle explanation is that the half-tone [color change area] is a darker and redder shade of the color in the light and the leading edge of the shadowed area is a tad darker shade of itself. But I feel there is more to this...there must be a rainbow of colors represented between day and night...the warm to cool transition. Perhaps a micro view of this limbo land would be very beautiful in a larger painting...and would certainly be a real challenge.

'Watchman Chasm' - Grand Canyon

5x7 oil on canvas panel.....$120

One of my more imaginative paintings...the personification of the canyon walls...the swirling colors of the Colorado River... mid-morning light. These small oils have a monumental quality that can translate well to a larger canvas....a fairytale come to life.

'Calico Canyon' - Flaming Gorge-Utah

24x30 oil on canvas....$2200..email me for purchase info.

I wish you could see this in person...the last light on the mesa tops with the subtle reflected colors far below...very difficult to get a good digital image of the nuances. Poetry of the quiet time of day. The incessant winds in this part of the country are finally quiet...the sun driven energy softens to the solace of dusk. This large piece is cradled in a noveau modern heavy wood antiqued gold frame with carved vine patterns. I can email more images...perhaps have better luck capturing the rich colors.

'Tonto Junipers' - Grand Canyon NP

12x12 oil on canvas......$485

If you hike down into the Grand Canyon...you will be on top of the Tonto platform before dropping into the lower part of the canyon down by the river. This is a view from the Tonto trail...just a small portion of this vast landscape. The image you see here is not very accurate..my digital camera blurred the background somehow and the blues in this piece are more electric and saturated than shown here. Regardless...perhaps it gives you a feel for this wonderful desert landscape.

'Aerial' - Lake Powell

5x7 oil on canvas panel.....$120

High in the sky......looking down on the spectacular sandstone formations at the northern end of Lake Powell. I needed to paint something different... a new perspective....some breathing space...some air...more abstract. This little study was like painting a puzzle...all the parts had to fit together. I will probably do several pieces of this subject as a series...investigate the structures further. I have found the patterns you see here to be present in all aspects of our universe...from the swirls of stellar clouds to the barely discernible designs in the dirt...the organic flow of this fractual pattern is part of the structure of our perceived reality...just look closely.

'Opposites' - Grand Canyon Sunset

5x7 oil on canvas panel.....$120

Blue and orange are opposites on the standard color wheel... but on the artist's color wheel..the Munsell version...the opposite of blue is yellow and the opposite of red-orange is turquoise. Nothing says the high desert like the use of these colors. I also painted a slightly larger version of this piece ..an 8x10 titled 'Union of Opposites' which you can view by clicking the 'AVAILABLE PAINTINGS' link on this page. If you like art history [my minor in college]...check out the succinct work of the late great Maynard Dixon...a master of color oppositions you can see emulated by many famous landscape painters today.

'Dawn' - Grand Canyon Rim

5x7 oil on canvas panel.....NFS

I know this looks a bit strange...almost abstract...an impression of the bright yellow color of the morning sun on the rock formations far above the Tonto platform of the Grand Canyon. Maybe a bird flying around would have clarified things...but it is what it is...a study of light.

'Drummond's View' - Lake Powell

5x7 oil on canvas panel.....$100

A small study ...morning on Lake Powell...natural designer landscape.

'the Gathering' - Arches National Park

5x7 oil on canvas panel
SOLD

An example of another view of the 'Three Sisters' in Arches NP which was the focus of 'STONE SISTERS' and 'PROCESSION'. This oil study is a close-up of them and more detailed...lots of fun to do. I love rocks and stones so I guess I am living in a good place among them out here in the West.

'Stone Sisters'

5x7 oil on canvas panel
SOLD

Here is the revised version of 'PROCESSION' posted last week. I changed the name...a cheerier title. These magnificent sandstone formations can be found in Arches National Park...wonderful...like a huge sculpture garden. I did not change the composition that much from the original..a few rocks here and there...and the colors of the background were made more atmospheric. Compare for yourself... like those newspaper image puzzles where you have to find 8 things that are different .. only my changes won't be so hard to find!