Looking West

Looking Back Toward Patagonia. Oil on deep canvas, 18x18

In the jumble of exhaustion that I brought with me on my trip to Arizona, I got home, unloaded the van and stashed a bunch of paintings in the garage. Last week, back now for a month, I began to go through them, and see what was needed.

Some, of course, I will paint over - but not many! You know, I'm out on the road, I'm making these paintings, and they're coming in a whirl of energy and experimentation. They're building up through excitement and new visions and the challenge and thrill of trying new things - and then I finish, put the painting in the back of the van and head off to my next painting.

I made 45 paintings on this trip. That's a lot. And many of them, yes, share elements. What I saw that excited me really excited me, and I painted it over and over. And yes, they blurred together in my mind, some of them. But no matter. With distance and a little time, they're sorting themselves out.

And this one, I think, is one of the best. I love this painting, the big blue sky, the snow-touched mountains, the gold and red fields rolling off into the distance. This painting takes me back to the West, to a sunny day on a quiet road in this huge and beautiful country.