Near Big Bend

The Chihuahua Mountains Viewed from North of Presidio


The West was made for driving. The open highways, vast panoramas and big sky are an intoxicating mix to someone cruising along the colorful two-lane blacktops of the western states. From Taos I made one very interesting trip to the spectacular
region of west Texas, with its' much overlooked National Parks at Big Bend and Guadaloupe. I found the quality of light here to be of great beauty to a visual artist, not to mention the unusual landscape, especially in the Big Bend area.

Legend has it that when the Great Spirit was done creating everything, he had a huge pile of rocks left over, which were consequently left at the Big Bend near the Rio Grande. This story helps explain the strangness of this place very aptly, for its' unique qualities are hard to put into words.

The above watercolor has painted along the side of a desolate two-lane highway on the way from Marfa to Presidio. Although nowadays I don't venture out like that on a painting trip, I felt that it was important to display a few of the works, that I made while traveling.