Canyon Cottonwoods

9" x 12" Oil on Panel

I spent a few days in the four corners region of southeast Utah recently. It wasn't nearly enough time. Of course, maybe there's no such thing as "enough time," especially with all there is to see and do in that area.

The weather was great for camping. Aside from all the wonderful landscape scenery, I enjoyed a little wildlife viewing. Pronghorn antelope, mule deer, a couple tarantulas, a few little lizards, a golden eagle, and some wild turkeys (pictured above) were among the native fauna I was privileged to see.

As you can see from the photograph above, I lived lavishly on this trip. Suite #34, from right to left: bedroom, kitchen, and bath. Well, sort of bath.

I did most of my hiking in the canyon shown above. It's where I made the painting shown at the top of this post. As is fairly common in this region, the canyon has several Anasazi ruins and other ancient sites. I wanted to spend time exploring and painting in Bears Ears, but time and resources came up short. I plan to make it there in the relatively near future, hoping it doesn't become too controversial a place to visit. Or maybe even if it does. This picture shows about as close as I was able to get (Bears Ears is that distant bump on the horizon):

Here's a photo taken from the top of a mesa looking towards the Abajo Mountains:

There's so much to see, and so much to paint in this place. More exploration will be needed before I can do more than the occasional painting there. Right now I still feel like I'm just beginning to learn the place. That may take a while. In the mean time, here's a couple more photos taken from inside the canyon:

Thanks for taking time to visit my blog!