Facing East - and The Presidio

 Facing East

Oil on black canvas, 10x10, $125

In the evenings here in Tubac, the setting sun lights the Santa Rita mountains with an amazing pink glow. Sometimes it's tinged with turquoise, sometimes it shimmers with gold - nearly every night, it's a reminder of the astonishing beauty of this world in which we live. 

Here's my painting in the landscape. I did move the house (photo to the left) over in front of the mountains (photo on the right)...

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HERE IN TUBAC, people volunteer for all sorts of things. My dad has been the president of the board of the Center of the Arts, then was a greeter there for years. My stepmother has put together the Center's big fundraising auction, an activity that can pretty much swallow you whole.

This year, my dad is going to be a docent at the Presidio San Ignacio de Tubac. A few days ago, I watched a YouTube video about the Presidio, and the next day, visited with Dad. It's a truly

remarkable place, rich with history and full of really interesting art and artifacts.

The Presidio was built in the early 1700s, as a place of protection for the Spanish settlers who lived in Tubac. The fort and the town were abandoned, destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries. There's nothing visible remaining of the actual Presidio above ground, though an underground excavation gives a glimpse into the structure and history of the building.

At the site, in addition to the excavation, there is an old school house, a 1940s home, a series of pretty amazing paintings, a museum, and a whole lot of maps.

Highlights for me included learning that Arizona's first paper was printed in Tubac, and seeing the many baskets, weapons and pieces of pottery found on the site.

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Dog of the Day

Here's George, looking a little grumpy. And there's Kevin, too!

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A Final Thought

"What moves me of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough." 

- Eugene Delacroix