"Rockin" Art

Great Gallery

Anthropologists and Archeologists tell us that these incredible pictographs (paintings on canyon
walls) were created by the Fremont culture of native Americans sometime between 700 and 1200AD
These particular pictographs are found in Horseshoe Canyon, part of the Maze District of Canyonlands
National Park

I put the hiker in this photo for scale purposes

The longer you sit and stare at these marvelous paintings, the more intricacies and details you discover

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Petroglyphs (above and below) in Capitol Reef National Park
Petroglyphs are chiseled in the rock as opposed to being painted on the rock

On The Road

Goldie fits right in

It has been a busy week getting ready to head out for our first trip in "Goldie."  So,  I had no chance to do any painting.
Mark has been working hard to remodel and update the old gal,
and we are pleased with how she looks, now we hope everything works. We left Friday afternoon and made our way over the pass to Moab.  I followed in the Subaru as Mark drove Goldie.
She responded well so we were pleased and relieved.

Biking in Canyonlands
After finding an easy to access boondock spot off the Long Canyon Road, we settled in for our first night.  The bed over the cab proved to be a little tight mostly because there is not much  head room, but the bed itself is comfortable.
Saturday dawned clear and was perfect for biking.

The Shafer Trail
We stayed mostly on pavement since it has been awhile since either of us has been trail biking.  The shoulder is wide enough
to give bikers room and not feel threatened by motor vehicles.

Green River Overlook and White Rim Trail
We traveled about 35 miles round trip and were certainly ready to get back "home" to enjoy dinner and a comfortable evening.
We love the canyons of Utah and never tire of the amazing vistas.

Old Timer

Great old Aspen along the trail to Twin Peaks

Using the top photo as my reference, I sketched my composition,
then used masking fluid to save some white trunks in the mid ground and
some light on the cliffs in the distance.  After wetting the old Aspen tree,
I dropped in my darks, using indigo with a few other colors for variation

Working from top to bottom, wet in wet,  the sky is mostly a light wash of cobalt,
Permanent rose and ultramarine were used for the distant cliffs,  then I just had
fun with the fall foliage colors behind the old aspen.

Next, I used a small natural sponge dipped in various darker colors to add
a little detail to my foliage.  Light washes of the fall colors were used on the
old tree as the white bark of the aspen will reflect the colors around it

After removing the masking, I added detail to the other trunks, and then darkened
the gnarly places on the old timer.

Old Timer (along the Twin Peaks trail)