CHIHUAHUA RIDGE

Santa Elena Canyon is a deep cut in the Chihuahua Ridge on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and a featured spot in Big Bend National Park as well as a dramatic trip for river rafters.  On this day, we stopped at this overlook rather than proceed to the point where the canyon merges with the river.  Soon we were joined alongside the road by several other members of the Outdoor Painters Society who were with us on this trip.

      

      

LATE AFTERNOON STOP

Late afternoon is a more  challenging time than  morning for a plein air painting because the shadows and colors must be anticipated.  Luckily, James Black had scouted this site and knew what it would become.

   

      

ON CHISOS ROAD

The road to Chisos Mountain Lodge has many painting opportunities throughout the day, but one has to be careful (or lucky or both).  Yesterday, the road was closed because of snow and ice - and its's the only road in and out.  Later, we found the road closed because someone drove off the road and was being towed out.  Luckily, we were able to stop at this site long enough to get an impression.  The green on the cactus is wrong, but this 11x14 can serve as a study.

Chisos Snow

On Tuesday, it snowed in Big Bend National Park and guests in Chisos Mountain Lodge were advised the road in and out may be closed due to icy conditions and the absence of snow management equipment.  In Terlingua, where I was, it snowed in the morning and rained in the afternoon.  Snow did not last there, but in the higher elevations of the Chisos Range, it stayed for several days so we caught a glimpse on Wednesday when this 11x14 plein air  study was done.

      

Hill Country Highlight

This 9x12 study was painted last year on a creek North of Fredericksburg.  I was able to stand on a spillway behind a six foot dam in the river so that the water was at my eye level as the reflections from the cliff in the late afternoon reflected directly to me.  It’s unlikely I’ll find that sort of vantage point in another location.  This painting was recently part a group exhibition of Nomadas del Arte at Southwest Gallery in Dallas.  

RED DOOR

On a recent painting excursion, I found myself in the town of Navasota in front of a beautiful stately home on Main Street.  The light and shadow pattern caught my eye so I set up for this painting.  After a while, a lovey woman walked out the front door and came over to see what I was up to.  After offering me lemonade and cookies, she informed me I was painting the entrance to The Red Door B&B where this painting now resides as part of its collection.  I am not so fortunate on all my plein air excursions, so this day was special.

BOLIVER TWILIGHT

Our son Todd came back from a trip to the Bolivar penninsula with a shot of his two boys trying for a last bite of the day and playing with the colors in this scene was just too tempting.