Monument Valley Sunset

Sunset, Monument Valley

Oil on canvas, 10x10

I spent two days in Monument Valley, and I tell you, it was hard to pull myself away on the third morning. 

My soul and spirit and eyes and heart sing with the red earth, the giant rocks, the huge open sky. I love the yellow grass at the edges of the road. The blue sage. The light green plants, I don't even know what they are. 

More and more, I find it is the everyday vistas that pull me. The stuff that people see when they're driving home. The empty space on the road just over there. The unprotected, overgrown land, the spots that have been left alone. 

It helps if they're in a place studded with amazing rock formations, yes, of course it does! But I'd rather paint in a ragged, unprotected place - the road into Monument Valley, for instance - than in a national or state park - even one as awe-inspiring as the Grand Canyon. 

I made this painting at the side of the road that runs through the Navajo reservation where I was staying. While I painted, at least five cars stopped to take photos of the sunset. It was just breathtaking. And free for all. 

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Here is another sunset and a sunrise

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This is part of the Combs range, which, according to an explanatory sign, caused great trouble for settlers to the region. They - Mormons - ended up following the San Juan River to make their way around the mountain range. 

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Above, the megalopolis of Mexican Hat, so named for the rock formation below: 

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Here are a couple more of the amazing sights I saw. The rock formation above was on the way from Mexican Hat to Monument Valley. The yellow and red rocks below were in the Valley of the Gods. 

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Dog of the Day

I saw lots of feral dogs on the trip, but this guy - in Mexican Hat - was not one of them. I watched him leave his house, stroll across the street (Main Street), pee on the telephone pole, then go to the gas station next door to see if anyone had handouts.