One More Time

5" x 7" oil on gessoed masonite
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For me, painting the same subject matter several times is a great lesson.  I tried not to compare the three sky holes as I painted them to see how similarly the values and colors were mixed.

Another View

5" x 7" oil on gessoed masonite
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Really focusing in on the rock wall is a great value study lesson.

Monument Valley Sky Hole

5" x 7" oil on gessoed masonite

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The natural forces of wind, rain and temperature have spent the last 50 million years cutting and peeling away the surfaces of the Monument Valley plateau.  These forces have created incredible geologic formations.  There were several of these sky holes in the valley.  They seemed like such a great painting. I've painted canyon walls, canyon vistas, small rocks, and now sky holes.  Am I painting the sky holes or the canyon wall very close up?

Monument Valley IV

6" x 6" oil on gessoed masonite

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Do you remember those tv commercials where the pick-up was sitting on top of the monolith?  You wondered how they got it up there.  I, with my fear of heights wondered how the driver could be up there!  Those commercials, and many movies were filmed at Monument Valley.  It's amazing when you see the rock formations from far away, and even more amazing when you get close-up.  

The pictures below show some of the petroglyphs in the back area of Monument Valley.  Some are protected with a fence, some you can drive right up to.

Monument Valley III

 

5" x 7"  oil on gessoed masonite

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One of the great things about being an artist is that you take what you see, whether it be a landscape, still life or figure, and put down your feelings toward that and share it with others.  It would be hard for me to paint something well if I didn't feel something for that.  I paint a lot of landscapes because I love the out of doors.

Monument Valley is a place that when you visit you are so awed by your surroundings.  Yes, it's bleak, but it is impressive, amazing, breathtaking.

When we retired our son gave us the book "501 Must See Destinations".  Monument Valley is one of those destinations. "It is the quintessential desert landscape defining the American West."

Monument Valley II

5" x 7" oil on gessoed masonite
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With this study I toned the bottom half of the panel with violet and the top half with yellow ochre.  Normally I tone the whole canvas in yellows/oranges.  But, wanted to see what the earth would look like with a different tone peeking through.  I like the result.

Monument Valley is on the border of Utah and Arizona on the Navajo Nation.  You can drive yourself around the front of the area, but we wanted to go back deep into the Navajo Tribal Park (30,000 acres), so took a 3 hour tour with a local Navajo.  This way we got to see the incredible geologic formations, monoliths, petroglyphs, and pictographs.  We also got an insight into their present day lifestyle and cultural history.

Monument Valley

5" x 7" oil on gessoed masonite

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On our trip through Utah in November we went to Monument Valley, which is famous for it's rock formations and the many movies filmed there.  I kept expecting John Wayne to ride up at any minute!  (John Ford filmed several westerns there.) I know people who are unfamiliar with the west, or who haven't been here,  put all the separate states in one big category "the west".  But, each state has it's own beauty, it's own geology, it's own colors.  The colors of Monument Valley, which is southern  Utah and northern Arizona are very different from the colors here in Colorado.

I started this series with small color studies to help me see the differences.  The winter colors there are very grayed and muted.  I've really found it inspiring to mix all these "new" color notes.  Traveling is a real opportunity to see so much.

Right Before Dinner

6" x 6" oil on gessoed masonite
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These squash were sitting on the counter, just rinsed and waiting to be sliced.  I thought they'd make a great painting before they became part of our dinner.

Deep Shadows

12" x 16" oil on stretched canvas
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I was drawn to the deep shadow that spread across the canyon bottom and the back of the valley.  Additionally, I thought about the cool, not quite melted snow on the shadowy side and the warm, sunny rocks and tips of the scrubby plants  in the light.  This piece gave me lots of landscape challenges: warms and cools, grays and earth tones, sun and shadow.

I tend to push my colors and really tried to stick with realistic notes in this piece.  As Kevin Macpherson says, I tried to "See it, mix it, put it down.  Be decisive."

William Merritt Chase

This is my submission for Michelle Burnett's Following the Master's blog.  William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) is my favorite American Impressionist.  I admire his use of color and his painterly brushstrokes.  He frequently painted his children (8) and wife in their Brooklyn, New York home and neighborhood as well as in Shinnecock, Long Island.