Sunset Rocks

 Sunset Rocks

Oil on canvas, 24x48

This one is a little out of order, because I had such trouble photographing it! At home, I have methods for photographing large paintings, but out here, it's all fly by night. 

To make this painting, I stand across the road from a massive wall of beautiful, orange, striated rocks above a hillside of sage and cedar. A small house nestles at the foot of these rocks. I would feel tiny and fragile and protected all the time if I lived there, I think.

I'm loving the paintings I am making here, but the discovery part is not as lovely for me. I am a stranger in a strange land. 

Perhaps we are all strangers in the places of our birth, but here, it is visible. Tangible. I am the only white face in the stores, on the streets, in the AA meetings I attend. But it's more than that, more than race. There is a way of living here that is alien to me. I am slowly understanding, and will write about it as I put the pieces together. What I do know is that I have traveled the world, and have never felt quite as apart as I feel here. 

And yet, I know this place.  I know this sky, I know these colors, I feel at ease in this landscape - just not with what is built on it, tangibly or metaphorically.   

These feelings come over me in swirls, ebbing and flowing, making me alternately joyful and sad. There are many parts to this, and I am exploring it all slowly, and with as much courage as I can muster. 

Here's my painting in the landscape

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Around the Area

You can see this amazing stretch of rocks from many spots in and around Fort Defiance. 

Can you imagine living here? 

A road through the region. Awe-inspiring views show up around every turn. 

Here's one from my trip from Tubac to Fort Defiance - 

highway workers burning brush at the side of the road. 

Here's the mission in Fort Defiance. 

And the new hospital, on the north side of town. 

I remember my dad saying that he knew a family out here that was all round-shouldered, because they lived in a Quonset hut. I think they might have lived in one of these. 

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Dog of the Day

Yes, there are lots of dogs out here, and I have plenty more photos - but I wanted to share these with you all. Wachapreague got about 6 inches of snow, Peter says. Abby, on the left, might never have seen snow before, and absolutely delighted in it.  Smokey has always loved the snow!