Last year, during my winter stay in Bisbee [we were still living in Mystic at the time], I drove up to Flagstaff to visit friends. The most direct route from Phoenix is I-17, which is how I drove up. On my way back, however, I took the scenic route. It heads out of Flagstaff to the east and continues in southeastern direction along Lake Mary Road for about 80 miles until it intersects Hwy 87. Hwy 87 crosses over the Mogollon Rim before winding down through the Mazatzal Mountains and into the Phoenix valley. It is a spectacular drive, and should you find yourself needing to head either to or from Phoenix and Flagstaff, it is well worth the extra time for the drive.
About 30 miles south of Flagstaff is Mormon Lake - popular with fishermen and wildlife. Small clusters of homes line the forested area along the road, and scattered cabins are also found in the open meadows near the edge of the lake. As the road curved around the southern edge of Mormon Lake, I was struck by the expanse of snow covering it, and the San Francisco Peaks in the distance. Pulling over and climbing up a snow berm, I took several photos.
This one is a closer crop of a wide-angle shot. I loved the contrast of the log cabin and barn against the ponderosa-covered hill behind it, and the SF Peaks in the far distance. I chose to leave a lot of white - most of which is the lake - in this painting. I feel it is necessary to give the sense of space and scale to this scene, and to show that man's presence is still subordinate to the land and sky here.
Across Mormon Lake
9x12 - oil on board
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From yesterday afternoon:
Lenticular-type cumulus foreshadow the coming arctic storm
This purchase of a $100 box for my cat Nelson included a free pair of running shoes. Thankfully, the box met to his approval.
Our sone lives in Durango. We get down there whenever possible. I love painting that area!
ReplyDeleteHi Pam - thank you for stopping by! I am so happy to be living in Durango now; the whole area is beautiful and very inspiring to paint. I just checked out your blog - wonderful work; I'll look forward to seeing more.
ReplyDeleteThat's a very fancy meatloaf pan. And red is definitely his color.
ReplyDeleteOkay, that cloud picture gives me the heebie-jeebies. How ominous. Wow.
Cats and boxes: it seems to be a universal theme to pile oneself into a small box even when there are far more comfortable areas to lounge in throughout the house.
ReplyDeleteThose clouds were really odd! I had to put on the telephoto lens to adequately capture them, as they weren't really that big.